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We tend toward large homes in the US and this tendency has become more and more pronounced despite the shrinking of our average family size. Much of this growth is probably a result of cheap space and cheap energy. There is simply a lack of significant economic incentive toward modesty. Land is relatively abundant and affordable, providing ample space for our swelling dwellings (ridiculous phrase but I couldn’t resist). The energy to condition and power the extra space is some of the least expensive in the world. We are almost encouraged to tack on extra rooms even to the point at which we run out of names for them. Only in the US would you actually have a space called a “bonus room”.
There is, however, a limit to this excess. Energy costs are rising and will likely continue to do so. Our ideas regarding space are likely to change as we need more land for food and denser communities to reduce the impact of travel. Eventually, it is likely that economic forces will encourage more modest homes for the majority of us. We already see a little of this effect in some portion of the empty-nester community (couples who’s kids have left home) as they leave their large suburban homes for smaller, more urban living. Though, even in that community, the majority seem to want to hang onto their larger home regardless of the number of rooms sitting unused.
There are a wide variety of factors that contribute to a reluctance to live in less space but one I have noticed in particular is the extra bedroom problem. This refers to the phenomenon where a bi-annual visit from a friend or relative is used to justify the need for an entire extra room (and often a bathroom to go with it). It is an argument we encounter constantly in our effort to build more modest, affordable homes. Young couples, years from having kids, are looking for three bedroom homes because their parents come down a few times a year to visit. Parents whose kids have their own homes and families are looking for houses with a couple extra rooms for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
This is not to say that having that extra room isn’t useful. It is nice to have someplace comfortable for guests to stay in your house. It feels good to be hospitable. But, isn’t it somewhat wasteful to build, furnish and condition a room that goes relatively unused for 350 or more days out of the year. It seems similar to the person that buys a huge pickup truck and justifies it by the two times a year they move something bigger than a couple bags of groceries. Isn’t it more responsible and efficient to use some sort of shared resources for those days when your needs are increased? Rent a truck to move something heavy? Rent a room to accommodate your relatives?
I know that the inability to offer a place to crash other than the living room floor or couch goes against many peoples idea of hospitality (mine included), but in the end the extra room seems an impractical extravagance. If our goal is lower impact, more responsible housing, then we need to address inefficient use of space. The shared amenities of a community also need to include shared space for hospitality.
How do you feel about the extra room requirements of many home buyers? What are some other solutions to the hospitality problem? What other extras do we justify by very occasional use? Is there a good defense for the guest room?
Let me hear it in the comments.
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Comments
02.04.10
I'm in complete agreement with you. There's absolutely no need for a spare bedroom. It is simply a convenient want. Why pay so much extra for the room and to heat/cool the room when you could simply put your out of town guests up in a hotel room for a few days or you could offer your own bedroom to your guests while you take the couch.
02.04.10
Cheap credit and the belief that house prices would increase forever were other key parts that fueled it.
I question how expensive an extra bedroom really is in comparison to appliances or an extra bathroom. You might be able to pay for the extra bedroom by lowering the thermostat 5 degrees.
I was looking Intentional Community Directories where people are looking to live with about 10-15 people in a green, sustainable house. My wife and I discussed this and having more people, like a large extended family, living together may be a more efficient living style.
02.04.10
In How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer, the author uses the extra bedroom problem to argue that sprawl is irrational. People should be able to recognize that the cost of that extra bedroom usually greatly exceeds the occasional benefit, but because of flaws in the way we think, they do not.
02.04.10
I saw this post and was thinking about a predicament I noticed around here. I moved to a 2 bedroom apartment last year hoping to get a roommate. However, not being from here, I couldn't find one. Interview after interview, and nothing. I thought it must just be me, but I hear this all the time. I have a friend who's roommates all moved out and got married...now he has 3 rooms to fill with no real prospects. This happens pretty regularly I'm finding out, but costs of moving, even if just to group us together, are too much. Also, lease timing almost never works out. So what do you do? I have all my paintings and supplies in the extra room now, but know that when I move again, I'm not going to plan for a roommate unless I have one lined up. My friend with the 3 spares, not sure what he'll do, but at our age (at least here in MN), everyone is getting married and wants their own space. So the empty rooms continue...
02.04.10
I got a 2-bedroom, 2-bath condo because I thought it was what I should do. I have since regained my marbles, gotten a roommate, and have plans to sell the condo in the next 1-2 years. I will go back to renting because I have realized that the old standard American Dream is not mine.
02.04.10
As my husband and I were apartment hunting, I was adamant that we get a 2 bedroom place. I wanted an extra space for guests, and for our computers. As we started looking though, I realized I would rather have a much nicer 1 bedroom instead of a kind of dumpy 2 bedroom in our price range. Buying a pull-out couch has totally solved my issue with having a place for friends to crash, and I've realized a home office is kind of unnecessary at this point in our lives. Two people do not need two bedrooms, but I think we're taught that we do.
One comment on empty nesters keeping their big homes though - my grandmother refuses to leave her 4 bedroom home, even though she is the only one who lives there, because she owns the house out-right, and spent her whole life paying off the mortgage. The way she sees it, why move to a place where she'd have to pay rent or start a mortgage all over again if she already owns this place, however big it may be.
02.04.10
Great discussion. I have this argument with my parents all the time. We live in a 900sq ft, 2 bedroom, 1 bath condo. And we consciously chose a much smaller condo than we could have afforded so that we would conserve energy and live well below our means, and not accumulate so much STUFF. Like Brianne, I kinda wish I have a mortgage now, so I could pick up and leave more easily, but we do love our home.
And it is exactly the size space we need. We've got an elliptical in our "spare" room, and a nice big chair for reading (or blogging), and we use the room every day. When guests come, we have a portable, inflatable bed on a fold-up frame that we wheel out and make up for our friends. It is nearly as good as a "real" bed, affords guests private sleeping space, and allows us to use our room how we want. My parents won't sleep on it because it's not a "real" bed and then complain about Chicago hotel prices when the visit, and tell us to get a bigger house. We're of a very different mindset, to say the least. Boomers vs GenX, the battle continues...
02.04.10
This is a great post--something I don't usually think about. You have a great point--the basic answer is that people do it because they're selfish and also because they don't want to be inconvenienced when they have guests. Or I guess I can only speak for myself--that's why I have a guest room--so when people come visit my comfort level stays the same. Granted, I have 2 kids and a husband and live in the burbs, so it's not like I'm having to choose between a one or two bedroom apartment--but you make a really good point--something which I can guarantee never crosses the minds of the average adult pursuing the American dream of a Mcmansion with a 3-car garage.
02.05.10
I think that a house should only have one extra room, make it your office/spare room/storage. Also, if it's just you, that rule doesn't apply, there are plenty of decent pull out couches/air beds. If your parents have back issues like mine do, you can sleep on the lower quality bed. Our floor plan(I currently live at home with mom, we have a three bedroom/two bath), is only about 1600 sq feet, but is very open and takes out un-needed space(we have only two very short corridors in the house, everything else is open space or bedrooms/bathrooms with doors). We also only have one story. People come over and they don't complain about being cramped at all. Also, when looking at a home, we need to pay attention to the materials used by developers/builders. Some of these big homes are also of shoddy construction.
02.15.10
Hospitality? What we do is offer a tent pitched in the yard or the camper, if guests come over. All our 4 bedrooms and the den all serve multiple purposes, only one of which is accomodating someone's overnight stay. We enjoy our space, and with modern fixtures, solar panels, insulation, and programmable heating/cooling, our energy costs are a fraction of any of our neighbors. My wife and I have worked hard to buy and own a house big enough for us to live comfortabley as we see fit, and no one is gonna scold us into giving up what we've worked and planned so long and so hard for most of our married lives.
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