Officially 6 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, but two of the bedrooms have been put to other uses. Two other bedrooms are currently not being used, since the kids moved out. But they were in use until fairly recently, and we have specific uses planned for them in future. For now, though, the upper floor of the house (two bedrooms, a bathroom, and some storage space) is a place we seldom go. The rooms on the other two floors get used all the time.
On the main floor, the living room has bookcases, reading chairs, a couple of couches, fireplace and the TV; it’s used every day. The kitchen obviously is a busy place. Dining room is currently undergoing remodeling, but gets used when it’s in shape. My office has books, computers, file cabinets and whatnot associated with bookkeeping, correspondence, and various other aspects of running a household (and sometimes working from home). Both main floor bathrooms get used every day. The guest bedroom gets used quite a bit, as we frequently have family come to visit from out of town; it’s also a nice place to sneak off to for a nap. The master bedroom is where we sleep and store clothes and personal stuff. The deck gets used most of the year, for dining or just sitting out in the evenings, though obviously not much in the winter months. We put the cars and various lawn and gardening things in the garage.
The walk-out basement has the laundry room, my workshop (in the furnace room) with all kinds of power tools and the nuts & bolts and so forth you need to have around the house. The den has a fireplace, the bar, microwave, fridge & sink, and the stereo, along with couch and chairs and so forth; we use it for socializing, reading, and listening to music, or just to hang out by the fireplace. (There’s also a second kitchen range, which is very handy when we’re having a party. It’s also great for baking dessert or bread while dinner is in the kitchen oven). My wife’s office/studio has her computer, file cabinets and various office impedimenta, as well as her tools and equipment for painting, floral design, sewing and assorted craft stuff. She’s in there for some part of almost every day. My music room has my guitars and other gear (mic stands, amps, speakers, all that junk), another desk & computer, and the piano. The closets hold instrument cases, board games, folding chairs, and several inflatable mattresses (when we have a big party we often have 10 or 12 out of town guests staying two or three days). I use the music room a lot, to practice, write songs, or just hang out and jam with friends. There’s also a full bath on that floor, which gets used often, and a storage room where we keep the deck & patio furniture in the winter and the camping gear (along with, sadly, a lot of our books in boxes, because we don’t have enough bookcases for them yet - something I’m working on). Off the den is the patio (under the deck), which we use for summertime parties.
Once the current remodeling is done, we plan to turn one of the kids’ bedrooms upstairs into a library/reading room, well apart from the rest of the house, nice and quiet. The other bedroom will become another guest room, easing the need for air mattresses in the living room and elsewhere when we have a houseful of family.
The only additional space we feel we need right now is an outbuilding large enough to house the tractor and other lawn & garden stuff; it’s way too cramped in the garage right now. That’s on the “someday” list, but it’s moving up in priority.
It seems like a “big” house, but we have a lot of interests and hobbies, many of which require a fair amount of equipment, tools, and space. We also do a good bit of entertaining. So no, it doesn’t seem too large to us. In fact, it’s a great relief, after living in a much smaller place for many years, to finally have room to spread out and enjoy the things we enjoy.
(Oh, and this “empty nest syndrome” people talk about? It’s a myth! Seeing the kids grow up and move out, and getting our house to ourselves is great!)
