The other day, I stood at the edge of my small yard attempting to figure out where I might place a child’s swing set.
I found that I didn’t have many options. My deck takes up a portion of the yard, while trees line the border.
I’m sure I’ll figure out a spot and still have room for my two dogs to run around, but it would be easier if my yard was a bit bigger.
That line of thinking, of course, led to thoughts of moving. But, where to and what style house would I buy?
Right now, we live in a three-bedroom colonial. I grew up in a three-bedroom ranch-style house.
I like the colonial, but I think I’d like my next house to be only one story. From what I’ve found, builders usually build ranch-style homes on larger lots since single-story structures tend to have a wider footprint than colonials.
On the other hand, two-floors offer more privacy. If you’re having friends over, you only really need to clean the first floor.
Still, I kind of appreciate the compactness of a ranch.
Which do you prefer, ranch-style or colonial?
Style is less important than functionality and efficiency. One advantage of single story is that if you want to age in place or someone in the household has a disability, it’s much easier to adapt. Secondly, small is beautiful. Remember, most families have rooms they never or almost never use. Any visitor who really matters won’t care if all your rooms are immaculate. More compact usually means less energy consumption. The same for the size of a lot. Think about what you really need for house and grounds and then see if you might even reduce that. Good for the wallet, good for the planet!
Ranch, definitely. Stairs take up useful floor space. If company comes, close the doors to the spaces you want to hide. As you get older, you will not have to move. It is easier to remodel. On the other hand, a roof will be more sqft. on a ranch and more expensive to replace. But that should only happen every 25 years. Go with the ranch.
I will go with colonial style. Either way, both homes are enjoyable to live in so whatever your choice is, I’m sure you will find contentment.
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