Get Real with Doug Robinson: Here’s How Many Bedrooms You Really Need

Here’s How Many Bedrooms You Really Need

Purchasing a new home comes with many decisions that impact your finances as well as your current and future needs. While a small two-bedroom home may be fine now, it may not serve you well down the road. As your family grows and changes, a quaint two-bedroom home may become crowded and uncomfortable, leaving you with two costly options — move to a larger home or build additions on your current one.

Before buying a new home, it’s important to consider how many bedrooms you really need. While it’s easy to change your home’s decor, it’s not easy to change the square footage when you outgrow your home’s essential living spaces, especially bedrooms. To prevent cramped quarters, consider your current and future needs before you sign on the dotted line.

Current Sleeping Needs
Start by assessing your current bedroom needs. If you’re a married couple with two children, you may want to start with a baseline of three bedrooms, giving each child their own bedroom for privacy and future growth. While children often share bedrooms when they are young, this usually becomes an uncomfortable situation as they grow older. If you have three or four children, you may need a larger home with four or five bedrooms to accommodate everyone’s sleeping requirements.
Future Sleeping Needs
While it may be difficult to predict your future needs, it’s important to think about possible changes that may impact sleeping requirements. If you’re a young couple without children but plan on them down the road, you should factor that into your bedroom requirements. If your finances allow, purchase a three or four-bedroom home that provides room for family growth. Future sleeping needs often vary based on family dynamics, such as starting a new family, downsizing as children grow up and move out, moving parents into the home, or taking care of aging relatives.
Flexible Spaces
To determine how many bedrooms you need, you should also consider the requirements for flexible spaces in your home. Flexible spaces are rooms that can accommodate various activities when necessary. For example, an extra bedroom in the house can be turned into a guest room, an office, a sewing room, or an art studio as family needs change. When purchasing a new home, it’s a good idea to have an extra bedroom that does not have a fixed purchase when you move in. Flexible spaces make lifestyle changes less complicated and less costly.
Overnight Guests
If you have a large family who often visits from out-of-town or friends who pop over for an overnight stay, you’ll need a guest room in your home. Having an extra bedroom in these situations is a big plus. Although a spare bedroom may get less frequent use, it serves an important purpose when it’s needed. When not being used, it can provide extra space for storage or provide a space for relaxing with a good book and a cup of hot chocolate. A guest room is a great space for a coat and hat rack, an umbrella stand, and closet storage for extra clothes and linens.
Resale Value
When it comes to resale, professional realtors usually recommend no less than three bedrooms for home buyers. Although there’s still some interest in smaller two-bedroom homes, most buyers are looking for three or more bedrooms to accommodate future growth. In many cases, homes with two bedrooms are purchased by investors for a lower price, so they can add more bedrooms and flip the house for a considerable profit.