Do you live in a bilevel house? Can a fam fit into one?

amother

Hotpink

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 1:46 pm

Hi all,

Looking to hear all practical opinions about fitting a family with 6 young kids (not sure if/when more are coming but the possibility is there) into an 1800-1900 sf bilevel.

I know I would definitely prefer a bigger, much bigger house but if an opportunity for an affordable one comes along -do you think it is practical to get a family of this size into a bilevel?

I now live in a 2000sf townhouse with a typical Lakewood layout: 4brs, 2.5 baths, a huge kitchen and lr/dr + 2 office/playroom rooms. The basement is not mine.
The sf is similar but the layout seems so much better than in bilevels.

I don't know where all the footage goes in a bilevel, it appears everything is small in them: the kitchen, the bedrooms, no additional rooms, tiny kitchens and dr/lr.
Is one full bathroom and one half-bath practical?

Are those small kitchens usable for the amount of counterspace needed in a kosher kitchen with milchig/fleishig/pareve separation, regular "volume" cooking and baking, machines on counters etc?

And of course no way to increase the space by finishing the basement for ex- cause there is no basement.

Please advise.

amother

Salmon

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 1:49 pm

amother wrote:

Hi all,

Looking to hear all practical opinions about fitting a family with 6 young kids (not sure if/when more are coming but the possibility is there) into an 1800-1900 sf bilevel.

I know I would definitely prefer a bigger, much bigger house but if an opportunity for an affordable one comes along -do you think it is practical to get a family of this size into a bilevel?

I now live in a 2000sf townhouse with a typical Lakewood layout: 4brs, 2.5 baths, a huge kitchen and lr/dr + 2 office/playroom rooms. Not using the basement.
The sf is similar but the layout seems so much better than in bilevels.

I don't know where all the footage goes in a bilevel, it appears everything is small in them: the kitchen, the bedrooms, no additional rooms, tiny kitchens and dr/lr.
Is one full bathroom and one half-bath practical?

Are those small kitchens usable for the amount of counterspace needed in a kosher kitchen with milchig/fleishig/pareve separation, regular "volume" cooking and baking, machines on counters etc?

Please advise.

looking at your square footage, I can advise you that as a family of 8 we are perfectly comfortable in a bi-level house (not in lakewood) of just over 1500 ft. All boys , very lively, but just enough space for us. Would I like an extra 400 sq ft? Sure, but we certainly dont need it

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 1:54 pm

I'm not familiar with Lakewood real estate, so I don't know what your "typical" layout is, and you didn't mention how many bedrooms are in the bilevel, but if the townhouse has more room, more efficient use of space and more bathrooms, why not stay put?

Personally, I think one full bath for at least eight people sounds awkward at best.

mommyla

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 1:55 pm

I hate bilevels. The layout makes no sense. As you said, I tend to wonder where all the square footage goes because everything is small. They're also hard to add onto if that's in the cards for "someday."

And 1.5 baths for 8 people sounds challenging...

amother

Hotpink

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 2:13 pm

Bilevels in question have 3 bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs.

I usually use one br for whoever is a big baby so that I, said baby and other kids can get some sleep.

I used to live in small spaces at different stages of the family life, diff. number of kids.
I had not been used to bigger spaces.
The question is if it is practical to move *this* size family into such type of house.

I used to live in some places where the lack of space was really uncomfortable and unmanageable.

Some places could be made nice, others - impossible when all your beds just won't fit into bedrooms. Or your clothing, books and toys are spilling from everywhere because there is no storage space. And we are not talking about decluttering here.
I am not getting rid of bookcases, keyboard or a couch- right?
And still need to keep a certain amount of good outgrown clothing and coats somewhere.
Or there is no room to fit a large enough table or highchair in the kitchen.
Or not enough counterspace, or cabinets. I don't own but the amount of pots, pans, bowls, basic dishes and necessary kitchen accessories of three types adds up.

Now we live in a spacious rental but buying something of similar size is not yet possible, as the prices are through the roof and keep going up.

zigi

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 2:23 pm

it might be worth it to store extra things in storage rental. you learn to be neater iy'h and have less things. I have a similar amount of kids. I have barely any counters. I use my table as another prep area. people have only 1 bathroom. I couldn't manage that way. bh I have 1 and half.
you do have to time bathtime.

Rubber Ducky

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 2:38 pm

I do space spanning professionally. 1800 square feet isn't tiny, but you'll have to be well-organized, and the 1 1/2 baths sounds...challenging.

Looking at the house, I would ascertain whether there's room for possible future expansion (you need to know the setbacks), whether I could get another bathtub (or a shower) into the existing footprint, and how best to make the kitchen workable (assuming it wasn't originally designed for a large kosher-observant family).

amother

Hotpink

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 2:38 pm

Zigi, when I lived in Brooklyn for example, I had a tiny piece of counter available if I wanted to take other 2 tiny ones for dishracks. And I did - because I had no time to wipe dry all the dishes I wash right away. I keep my dish racks, mixing machine, food processor, kettle, toaster on the counters. And in a small kitchen you can't really put some stuff because along with little counter space comes very little cabinet space.

With regards to storing things I don't mean extra furniture but basic stuff that you don't really put into paid storage.

amother

Hotpink

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 2:40 pm

Rubber Ducky, if you have experience working with bilevels (not a 1800-sf colonial, they have remarkably different layout!) - what is the maximum # of people you have been able to put into a house like this?

ETA: very impressed with your projects ))

amother

Gold

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 3:04 pm

We are a family of 6 going on 7 living in a 1400 sf colonial in Lakewood, and it is excellent, less space to clean - Pesach is much more doable (I do wish we had more bedrooms though....) But it also has a very smart layout.

A family member of mine lives in a typical Lakewood bilevel with 10 children. The house as it was originally would not be able to fit her family. She has made changes over the years since she bought it (over 14 years ago) to better fit her family.

Converted the 1 1/2 car garage into a play room, small bedroom, small study and 1/2 bath.
On the other side of the stairs she has 2 nice size bedrooms, full bath and laundry room. I think those were original.
Upstairs the kitchen was extended to take over the dining room.
Dining Room was moved to the living room.
one bedroom upstairs became the living room.
2 bedrooms and a full bath remain upstairs.
Pull down stairs to the attic - gives her much more accessible storage, the house doesn't have any because there is no basement.

So now she has:
5 bedrooms (one small)
2 1/2 baths
play room
Nice size kitchen with eating area
Nice Size Dining Room
Small Living Room
Play Room
Small Study

Its not a big house but definitely doable. The kitchen\dining room\living room move was a big home update, but made a huge difference.

PinkFridge

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 8:36 pm

I should have gone amother to talk more freely.
I live in a small house, slightly bigger than that. If you have other options I'd try to wait.
Not that I'm bitter ;-) The neighborhood was really good for my kids, and that's a factor too.

amother

Azure

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 10:02 pm

growing up in a tiny 3 bdrm townhouse with 6 kids and now raising my own family in a large home I can tell a few things.

First of all, living in a small home is doable if you want it to be. My parents never complained about the lack of space, they were just thankful that they owned their home as many family members were living in small rental apartments. If you are the type that will complain often about the small home and what you wish you can have then don't do it.

The other thing that is most important in my opinion is having the right amount of bedrooms for your family. You don't want boys and girls sleeping together nor do you want 5 children sleeping in 1 room. So make sure you can spread out your family comfortably.

It sounds like you won't have a master bathroom. Are you okay with that? Are you able to add that at some point. It's hard when you had it before to give that up.

Rubber Ducky

Thu, Nov 05 2015, 10:25 pm

My biggest concern for you is that you are going from a larger to smaller. You have become accustomed to spreading out. But yes, large families can fit into small homes successfully.

See what you can do to maximize storage, have at least one large communal area, and create "away" spaces for when someone needs a bit of privacy or quiet. Partial walls or divisions can define private areas, sometimes a small den or alcove can be carved out of large room — even an outdoor treehouse or playhouse can do the trick for children!