# What does a 4000-5000 sq ft home offer above what a 2000-3000 sq ft home does **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2017, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206 "2017-07-14T01:09:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/21 "2017-07-14T15:22:38Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’ve always wondered - for those of you with 3000+ square feet homes, what’s the cleaning situation? How often do you dust bedroom 5? Does bathroom 4 get dirty? Does someone come 'round to vacuum the formal sitting room or do you do it all yourselves? > > I have 1080 sq ft for one person and it’s pretty hard to keep up with some times. How is it for 6000 for two people? Goodness, my dear, the upstairs maid takes care of such things. _monocle_ ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/22 "2017-07-14T15:34:35Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I’ve always wondered - for those of you with 3000+ square feet homes, what’s the cleaning situation? How often do you dust bedroom 5? Does bathroom 4 get dirty? Does someone come 'round to vacuum the formal sitting room or do you do it all yourselves? > > I have 1080 sq ft for one person and it’s pretty hard to keep up with some times. How is it for 6000 for two people? We have a 3500 sqft house. The basement has my workshop, my wife’s craft room, the laundry room, the guest bedroom, the guest bathroom, and the billiards room/minibar. The first three of those don’t need cleaning, the next two only need cleaning when we have an overnight house guest, which is fairly rare, and the last one doesn’t see much activity as my wife doesn’t drink and my kids aren’t tall enough to play pool. The top floor contains the master bedroom, the master bathroom, and two master closets. Since we use one closet as storage, it never gets cleaned, and since we’re only in the bedroom to sleep and in that bathroom to bathe, they only need to be cleaned maybe monthly. The middle floor is maybe 40% of the total square footage, and since we have kids that gets cleaned more regularly. So we probably do as much cleaning in our 3500 sqft house as you do in your 1080 sqft house, because a large portion of the house is specialty rooms that don’t need much cleaning. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/23 "2017-07-14T15:43:29Z")
As far as “what do you get” that’s mostly covered already in “larger rooms, and more specialty rooms”. We went from a 2400 sqft house to a 3500 sqft house. The kid’s bedrooms are slightly larger, and their closet space doubled. The master closet space went from one small closet to two large closets. Living room is large enough to add a piano instead of just fitting the couch and TV. Workshop space went from a corner of the garage to it’s own room. My wife’s crafts are in their own room instead of taking over the dining room table. We have a billiards room and minibar that just didn’t exist in the last house. The laundry room tripled in size and now has a wash basin and counter instead of just the washer/dryer. Back porch is maybe 4 times larger to fit the house, and has two levels. Total acreage the house sits on is 3/4 of an acre instead of 1/6 of an acre, so more space between neighbors and more garden space and more room for the kids to play. Yes it costs more to heat, but it’s not much of a maintenance change, but it is more of a lifestyle upgrade since there’s more space. You do get used to it. I forgot what living in a tiny apartment was like until my sister came over and went “you live in a freaking palace, I think my entire apartment would fit in your living room” and I went “we aren’t even close to the largest house in the neighborhood, and a couple of neighborhoods over the houses are twice the size” 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/24 "2017-07-14T15:54:18Z")
My house is 5,000 sq ft (well, I think 4,975 formally). Previous house was 6000. I do feel a little cramped in this one, mostly because the previous one had a pantry that was much bigger, and half the basement was storage room, which was nice - but otherwise it’s ok. 5 br - ours, two for the kids, one that is wife’s office and one guest. It is nice and cozy. I don’t know what I’d do with 10,000 sq ft house. But 5K is just about right. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/25 "2017-07-14T16:00:27Z")
Layout really matters in houses that size. A couple of moves back I owned a house that was 4,500+ sqft. with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. Due to the layout the downstairs guest bedroom had a weird room between it and the media room that could have worked as a living room for the guest room that already had a sitting area as part of it as it was we had my brother-in-law living down there and the only thing that room got used for was storage and as a giant hallway a total waste of 400 sqft. Functionally that house was 3,000 sqft due to some weird layout issues but a lot of it was common space that needed to be kept clean since it was where guests would be it caused my wife and me to hate large houses All that said if I got to design a custom house I’d be looking about 7,000 sqft once I got all of my preferred specialty rooms in place and sized for what I’d prefer. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/26 "2017-07-14T16:04:16Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > This actually isn’t obvious. I have no idea what the space is for, but there are plenty of 3000-4000+sf houses that _still_ only have 3-4 bedrooms. There’s a **14,000** sf house for sale in town - it has 4 bedrooms. In fact none of the above 3000+sf houses currently for sale here have more than 3-4 bedrooms. I have clients with a 9,000 sq ft house with only two bedrooms. They don’t have kids, so they have a master suite, which is huge, and a “guest suite” which is also quite large (with a small kitchen). The have a large home gym, two home offices, a giant great room, a wine cellar, and a bunch of bathrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/27 "2017-07-14T16:44:16Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I have clients with a 9,000 sq ft house with only two bedrooms. They don’t have kids, so they have a master suite, which is huge, and a “guest suite” which is also quite large (with a small kitchen). The have a large home gym, two home offices, a giant great room, a wine cellar, and a bunch of bathrooms. I wonder how easily such a house would sell. I would expect difficulties. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/28 "2017-07-14T16:47:17Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I wonder how easily such a house would sell. I would expect difficulties. Well, it’s always hard to sell a $10M house, but I can see a couple with grown children wanting a breathtaking home for entertaining and such. Also, it’s ADA compliant. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/29 "2017-07-14T16:48:06Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Other than the obvious answer of ‘1000-3000 extra square feet’. > > I know a married couple with two kids. The wife has found a better, much higher paying job and they are wanting to get a bigger home. Current home is 2 levels, about 2500 sq ft. I think 4 bedrooms, 3 full bath. > > They are thinking of a home closer to 4000-5000 sq ft, but they seem confused as to what amenities a house like that offers above a house like the one they live in. > > A bigger house would obviously have an extra 1-2 bedrooms and baths, so it may be 6 bedrooms, 5 bath. But other than that, what else would it have that you don’t see in a 2000-3000 sq ft home? > > Three car garages seem common in houses that big. What common features does a house that large offer that you generally do not find in 2000-3000 sq ft homes? > > Do homes like that usually have some kind of communal party room instead of or in addition to a living room? Larger homes ( 4,000 square feet or more ) often have a great room inside of them that has 400+ square feet in it for entertainment. Usually, the bedrooms are larger. The kitchen is much larger too. Extras such as media room/man cave, and higher ceilings are common as well. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/30 "2017-07-14T17:06:15Z")
We went from a 1200 square foot home (built 1890) to a 4800 square foot (built 1883) home 3 years ago. When we moved in it had 6 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, a parlor, formal dining room, family room, 6 fireplaces, 4 sets of pocket doors, and a large kitchen (original kitchen and original butler pantry space had been converted to a large kitchen). Since this is a _cough_ vintage _cough_ home, it does not have the wide-open floor plans of a modern design although with the pocket doors open on the first floor there are sight lines throughout the floor. Already mentioned is more bedrooms/bathrooms or bigger sized rooms in general. I’ve honestly never understood the 1:1 bedroom to bathroom thing but if you have kids and guests I can see why it would be attractive. We have a 1/2 bath on the first floor, a full guest bath on the 2nd and 3rd floors, and our master suite includes a walk-in closet and full bath for our use. Guests can share a bathroom. 😉 We got a glaring reminder yesterday of how we take for granted our home and it’s scale when we visited our friend’s new home (built circa 1950s). It is a really great house, lots of space, an awesome basement bar and billiards room, etc., but my wife and I both felt slightly claustrophobic due to the 8 foot ceilings. We are so used to 10 foot ceilings that it felt a bit oppresive. In two of the rooms I think we would have hit our heads on the ceiling fan. In our home, we’re used to needing a ladder to change light bulbs in ceiling fixtures. As for cleaning, it is a lot of work. Certainly unused guest bedrooms don’t get much attention. Cleaning the living spaces for us is a lot. About 6 months ago we agreed to hire a cleaning service to come in once a month and they clean everything top to bottom. This has greatly reduced the amount of cleaning we perform on a week to week basis. Of course when you have a cleaning service you feel the stupid urge to clean right before they arrive so it isn’t too messy and they think we live like barbarians. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/31 "2017-07-14T17:11:22Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I have clients with a 9,000 sq ft house with only two bedrooms. They don’t have kids, so they have a master suite, which is huge, and a “guest suite” which is also quite large (with a small kitchen). The have a large home gym, two home offices, a giant great room, a wine cellar, and a bunch of bathrooms. Except those “home offices” could easily be bedrooms, unless they’re not code compliant because they don’t have an escapable window or something. But if you’re dropping millions of dollars on a house, you can probably afford a little remodeling along with that. If you can’t afford the remodel, maybe scale back from 8 figures to 7 figures? ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/32 "2017-07-14T17:41:36Z")
There might also be additional amenities in the neighborhood given that it sounds like it’s a swankier house. If they entertain a lot or have guests frequently, it might be good to have a larger house. That said, I hope they have someone to help them clean the house - that seems like a TON of house to manage. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/33 "2017-07-14T19:04:41Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > The master bath has a 6 person tub. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Ever tested that capacity? Yep! Tested its functionality with numbers 1 thru 6. Best performance is with 3. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/34 "2017-07-14T19:17:02Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > Office, great room, theater, library, sitting room off the master, larger foyer, 2 living rooms, 2 master bedrooms, larger kitchen island, much larger kitchen, butlers pantry, larger pantry, mudroom… Man cave, workshop, darkroom, bowling lane (always wanted one of those!), servants’ quarters, boat or camper/RV storage, potting shed, gallery, greenhouse, wine cellar, sunroom, lap pool, laundry, loft, lift for auto repair, music or theatrical performance space, recording studio, orgy room… With the exception of bowling lane and orgy room, I’ve seen all of these in residential homes (not all in the same one). ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/35 "2017-07-14T19:28:07Z")
I find that the very large once mostly have extra rooms, bigger rooms and wasted space. In my life, I have moved from 6,000 sqf, to 2,500 sqf, to 1,700 sqf. My next home will probably be 1,500 or so. There are only two of us and we just don’t need all that space. I do have a second home that is 920 sqf, and it is plenty of space too. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/36 "2017-07-14T20:09:16Z")
Outdoor kitchen and entertainment areas with fire pits and such are becoming very popular here in CA. You may “only” have a 3,000 Sq Ft home, but often you have another 1,000 Sq Ft of outdoor living space that you use most of the year, too. It’s likely to have a TV and stereo, and the outdoor kitchen has a fridge and storage, too. Some, or all of that area may be covered and heated. Really, it’s more living space than yard or garden. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/37 "2017-07-14T22:04:23Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > bowling lane (always wanted one of those!) I investigated… First of all, a bowling lane is 60 ft long. Add to it the space in front and the machinery in the back, and lounge space, that’s 110 ft or so. You need about 12 ft width, so that’s 1300 sq. ft just for the two bowling lanes. And the house has to be at least 110 ft wide (or deep). The cost of the two lanes, installed, with machinery is around 250K. And I don’t even want to think what the yearly maintenance on those lanes would come to. The lanes have to be oiled, cleaned, and the machinery maintained. I decided I will just go to the local bowling alley instead. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2017, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/38 "2017-07-14T22:28:43Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I decided I will just go to the local bowling alley instead. Me, too, but I can dream, can’t I, or what’s a heaven for? I know quite a few houses around mine that wouldn’t have a problem with it, at least space-wise. And $2mil houses aren’t going to balk at a $250K addition for a hobby. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/39 "2017-07-15T17:16:18Z")
> [@Okrahoma](#): > > I wonder how easily such a house would sell. I would expect difficulties. The gym and offices can probably be converted into bedrooms pretty easily. I thought a bedroom was just a room with a closet. So as long as there is a closet, you’ll be able to list it as a bedroom when reselling it. ---
**Author:** ![Okrahoma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90db22/32.png) [@Okrahoma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Okrahoma)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206/40 "2017-07-15T17:30:14Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Me, too, but I can dream, can’t I, or what’s a heaven for? > > I know quite a few houses around mine that wouldn’t have a problem with it, at least space-wise. And $2mil houses aren’t going to balk at a $250K addition for a hobby. You’d probably be interested in something like this: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xawputDTx-M&feature=youtu.be](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xawputDTx-M&feature=youtu.be) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-a-4000-5000-sq-ft-home-offer-above-what-a-2000-3000-sq-ft-home-does/791206.md?page=3)