One vs. two story house... Thoughts?

farrijc

farrijc

Active member
We are looking at building a home in the neighborhood next to ours. I have narrowed it down to two plans, one is a single story, the other is a two story with a game room and three bedrooms upstairs. The difference in size between the two houses is small, maybe 150 sq feet, and the price is very similar, too. Right now, my kids are ages 9, 7, and 5. We've never lived in a two story, so I'm having trouble deciding. For now, I think it might be easier to stick with the single story, but I'm also thinking it might be nice to have the upstairs once the kids are older. We are planning to be in this house until the kids are grown. Weigh in with your opinions, please!
 
We lived in 1 story homes until this current one, which is a 2 story. We love the 2-story option so much better. We plan on being here when the kids are teenagers too, so can see how valuable the extra space will be then. I don't know if I could go back to a single story home now.
 
We have a 2-story and I love it. Yeah, it's sometimes a pain to go up and down the stairs a million times a day, but hey, it's exercise, right? :thumbup:

I like being able to move all my clutter upstairs when having company. And I like the privacy it provides for the bedrooms from the living areas downstairs. (and the noise buffer ;) )

My one big recommendation is make sure you have a full bathroom downstairs, or at least with a shower, plus a room that can double as a bedroom. You will never know when someone is sick or injured and can't maneuver the stairs. Or when you have a visitor who can't. We built our house and I could have had a larger laundry room (which many times I have wished for), if we had left out the shower in the downstairs bath. But I'm SO glad we have that option now. When my mom visits and can't do the stairs, it's easy to set her up in the office and she has a bathroom available right next to it.
 
jacinda said:
We lived in 1 story homes until this current one, which is a 2 story. We love the 2-story option so much better. We plan on being here when the kids are teenagers too, so can see how valuable the extra space will be then. I don't know if I could go back to a single story home now.
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How does 2 story mean extra space?
 
Our downstairs consists of:
Lounge
Dining room
Kitchen
TV room
Spare bedroom (so handy for guests). We use this room as a playroom 99% of the time. All the kids toys are in here and the spare bed folds up into the wall to give more space.
Full bathroom
Laundry

Upstairs consists of
Bedrooms
Full bathroom
Study (converted bedroom)
 
I've always lived in areas where land is expensive so most houses are 2 stories. I don't think I'd like having the bedrooms with the main public living areas. The 2 times I think it would be convenient to have 1 story are when you have babies or later in life when mobility is an issue. Otherwise, I would rather have 2 with all bedrooms upstairs.
 
I have only lived in single stories... and that is what we have now. When we were thinking of moving, the two story was appeal... contain the mess to upstairs... however, comes to the end of the day, I do not want the bedrooms upstairs in case of fire... but that is me... :) Also, we have a full basement - so that is our "second" floor and I never use it... hahaha
 
I say 2 story!

I live in a 2 story house and we love how the upstairs (bedrooms) and downstairs (living areas)are divided. It is a buffer for noise (our bedrooms are quieter at night when the kids are sleeping and DH & I are watching TV downstairs) and I enjoy the added light the rooms get (since a two-story home often can allow for the rooms to have more external walls. thus more windows.
 
2 story. I am a huge fan of having the private spaces on a separate level from public spaces. It's so nice to be able to have that. Also, usually in a 2 story you end up with a bigger yard, which is nicer to have
 
rach3975 said:
The 2 times I think it would be convenient to have 1 story are when you have babies...
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Yes, and I can attest to that. The first night we brought the twins home from the hospital, I was staying downstairs because I had had a c-section. But I couldn't get them to eat, so I threw one baby under each arm and climbed those stairs so I could kick the bed and make DH come help me. Good thing I was taking pain pills though. :blink:
 
maryinaz said:
We have a 2-story and I love it. Yeah, it's sometimes a pain to go up and down the stairs a million times a day, but hey, it's exercise, right? :thumbup:

I like being able to move all my clutter upstairs when having company. And I like the privacy it provides for the bedrooms from the living areas downstairs. (and the noise buffer ;) )

My one big recommendation is make sure you have a full bathroom downstairs, or at least with a shower, plus a room that can double as a bedroom. You will never know when someone is sick or injured and can't maneuver the stairs. Or when you have a visitor who can't. We built our house and I could have had a larger laundry room (which many times I have wished for), if we had left out the shower in the downstairs bath. But I'm SO glad we have that option now. When my mom visits and can't do the stairs, it's easy to set her up in the office and she has a bathroom available right next to it.
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That's a good point about the downstairs bathroom, hadn't thought of that. The plan I'm looking at does have a study/bedroom and bathroom downstairs. Because of that, I would be sacrificing space in the kitchen and master bedroom on the two story, which is one of the reasons I'm having trouble deciding.
 
We're hoping to move in a few years and I'm only considering one stories. Mainly because the hubby is a good deal older than I am, and honestly, there may come a time when he can't manage stairs. He's had some knee problems in the past (and I have some as well), and I see no point in having rooms that might be inaccessible to him at some point. *I also wish that all houses were handicapped accessible for that same reason. And LOL I don't want to haul laundry, the vacuum, etc up and down the stairs.

Also, the old adage about warm air rising...yeah, my two story condo was a bigger pain in terms of heating/cooling. It was hard to get both floors comfy at the same time.
 
Another consideration is that you would get more yard space with a 2 story. Which is relevant if you're building in a smaller lot, but probably not so much if you have a lot of land. It's all personal preference, but I've always preferred multi-level homes. We have two stories with a full basement and we love it!
 
We live in a 2 story and I hate it lol....but my kids are still smallish ( 8 and 4 ) so they still want to be up in our face all the time instead of in their rooms lol. I really hated it when Ella was a baby and Avery was younger. I was constantly worried about them falling down the stairs. That's not so bad now that they are both older. I also don't like it b/c the master bedroom is downstairs..I think if all bedrooms were upstairs I'd like that better.

The main reason for us though is the heat in the summer. It gets so hot in the South and our upstairs AC has to run itself to death to keep the upstairs cool. Our power bill is ridiculous in the summer but we can't turn it off b/c it'll be 101 degrees up there in 10 minutes.
 
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nikkiARNGwife said:
We live in a 2 story and I hate it lol....but my kids are still smallish ( 8 and 4 ) so they still want to be up in our face all the time instead of in their rooms lol. I really hated it when Ella was a baby and Avery was younger. I was constantly worried about them falling down the stairs. That's not so bad now that they are both older. I also don't like it b/c the master bedroom is downstairs..I think if all bedrooms were upstairs I'd like that better.

The main reason for us though is the heat in the summer. It gets so hot in the South and our upstairs AC has to run itself to death to keep the upstairs cool. Our power bill is ridiculous in the summer but we can't turn it off b/c it'll be 101 degrees up their in 10 minutes.
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Well, I live in Texas so the cost of cooling it is definitely a concern. Having said that, I know that the efficiency in the new house will be superior to what I'm in now, so that would factor in, too.
 
I live and hate our 2 story for all of the reasons listed. I love that the living area is upstairs, but it's hard with kids and pregnant. I love the small footprint if the house because we don't have much land. What I want next time, is definitely have the laundry on the same level as the living area. It would be so much easier to carry up the kitchen/half bathroom laundry than all of the clothes, bath towels, sheets all week.
 
I live in FL, and our home has an A/C system which seems to compensate for the upstairs warming more quickly. More often than not, our upstairs is actually cooler than it is downstairs. LOL!
 
I grew up in a 2 story. And one of my first homes was a 3 story townhouse (garage was the 1st floor, so we had to go up a flight of stairs just to get into the front door). Among multiple other apts which were 2 and 3 stories high -- I can say that if I never live in a 2 story house again, it will be too soon!! I hate stairs, lol.

I LOVE having everything all spread out on one level. Makes daily life easier. You don't have stomping & noise and what not above you. No stairs to fall down (O.M.G. I have fallen down stairs WAY TOO MANY times, lol). And heating was a pain in the butt. I used to section off the upstairs (with a blanket or a full size - floor to ceiling - curtain) from the downstairs just to try and save money so that the heat wouldn't run constantly trying to heat the upstairs. I suppose there are good reason to have multiple stories, but I just can't justify ever living that way again (if I have a choice) lol :)
 
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We moved from a 2 story into a 1 story about 2 years ago. I hated the 2 story. It was hard to cool, going up and down the stairs constantly, cleaning (taking vacuum upstairs was a PITA also, it was out of sight, out of mind......I got behind on cleaning the upstairs a lot which totally grossed me out) and the fear of getting everyone out in the event of tornado/fire....I just worried non-stop. I had my littles upstairs which I worried for safety with stairs. I also had teenagers upstairs which I thought was good until the one that had a bedroom above the master admitted he could hear us when we talked, watched tv or *cough*had sex*cough*.

I love the one floor plan because easier/cheaper to cool/heat, everyone is where we need them if we need to do a emergency evac and the master bedroom has privacy needed. I would stay in this home forever. Steve is wanting to move in about 5-10 years to go further out in the country with land.......that home will be a 1 story.
 
We moved into a 2 story this year-- and I LOVE it. Being able to separate from the other household members by an entire floor of the house is such a huge bonus :p Going up and down the stairs (and down into the basement) sucks sometimes sure (for me, not for them-- with my leg issues it can be tough) but I would rather have the two levels than make it easier on the leggies. It's really lovely.
 
Wow! You're getting a mix of opinions.

I lived in a one-story (we call them a ranch around here but I didn't see anybody use that term-I wonder if that is a local thing?) then a 2 story. When it was time to move again and build I insisted on a one story. I hated having to run upstairs for things all the time and much prefer the one story.
 
I have a split entry house and I love it. Half a flight up, half a flight down. It will be great when my son is older and needs his own area plus I can keep all the toys downstairs and thus have an area that is adult/visitor ready all the time. If I had small children, I would prefer a ranch style house though.
 
abm234 said:
Wow! You're getting a mix of opinions.

I lived in a one-story (we call them a ranch around here but I didn't see anybody use that term-I wonder if that is a local thing?) then a 2 story. When it was time to move again and build I insisted on a one story. I hated having to run upstairs for things all the time and much prefer the one story.
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I don't think it's a local thing - DH is a architect and he thinks all 1 story homes are considered ranches.

We live in a 1 story - but actually have a walk out basement that leads to our detached garage. So we have to walk down stairs to leave the house everyday. We are moving in 2 weeks to a multi-level house (has 4 levels) and the bedrooms will be upstairs. I am so looking forward to this! To be able to have the bedrooms away from our living area will be heaven :)

I guess you really just need to think what will work best for your family! Good luck with your decision.
 
I have lived in both and I think I personally prefer the 2 story. One of the things I love now for instance in the family room off of the kitchen and breakfast nook is open all the way up 22 feet to the top ceiling, open to a loft upstairs, tons of windows and bright beautiful light. I really feel better with open space in a house. There are 6 of us and I like the space and not feeling like everyone is up behind all the time. Also I really need all that light to function better, it honestly makes me happier and feel better... but that is probably just me lol. We live in Central Fl and A/C plays no part what so ever no matter the temperature as we have two ginormous units and even in the peak of the day with the sun coming in the windows it is 70 degrees in my house.

One thing I will say, I agree with what someone else said, I really wish my laundry room was downstairs! That is a HUGE major issue for me. I have a ton of crap to lug up there all the time, not to mention cleaning products and if I am busy I often forget that I have stuff in there since I can not hear it buzz down here and it ends up taking me longer since clothes sit around so much. meh!
 
I've lived in both, too, and liked them both for all the reasons mentioned above - and hated them, too. hehe We live in a large one-floor apartment now with a loft space (about 1400sqft, so similar to a small house). We have super high ceilings (22-24' like Tanyia's) since we're on the top floor and I love them. The loft space is where we keep our home office and it has a ceiling fan so it stays nice and cool.

I love one stories because of the high ceiling potential and everything is accessible for everyone. We have a split floor plan so not all the bedrooms are on the same side of the house, which is a must for us now and in the future. I can see wanting all the bedrooms close if you have little ones, though.

There are always pros and cons. I would think about how you're going to use the house now and in the future and choose which works best for you. If you get a 2-story, I highly recommend ceiling fans upstairs especially in the south. We have them in every room and they help so much.

Good luck!
xoxo
 
I've lived in a two story or multi story for the last 25 years. I HATE it! I'd do anything to have a single story. You have all that space on a single level, and I feel it makes the house feel much bigger. I grew up in ranch homes and I would love to buy one to retire in.
 
My sister has a home I LOVE. It's a two story and the downstairs is very big. There's a large kitchen, dining, formal living and dining, family room, office, master bed and bath, extra full bath. The upstairs has three bedrooms, a bathroom and a large loft/game room. That would be acceptable to me.
 
I prefer a 1 story. DH prefers a 2 story. We are currently in a 2 story. The house we rented before we bought this was also 2 story. Before that we lived in a few one story homes and one that had a huge attic bedroom but wasn't really considered a 2 story.

I have bad knees. There are times that stairs are really rough for me. Sleeping downstairs when my bed is upstairs is not an option for me. I won't go to sleep at night unless I'm in my bed. Napping on the couch is okay, but not sleeping there for the night. EVER. In the last place we lived, I fell down the stairs holding my then 2 year old. He hit his head on the fish tank (thankfully he was fine) and I dislocated my knee and tore the meniscus. That very night after I managed to somewhat get my knee back in place on my own, I crawled up the stairs to go to bed. This happened in March. In July I had surgery (finally!) to fix the tear. Between the injury, surgery and recovery, I spent over 7 months basically crawling up and down the stairs. No fun. Not going upstairs would not have been an option even if my bed had been moved downstairs as the upstairs had the only bath/shower. Downstairs was just a powder room. When we moved in we had a 3 month old baby and a 3 year old. Carrying kids upstairs for 3 years didn't do my knees any favors.

This house has 3 bedrooms upstairs. Downstairs we have 3 bedrooms. The master bedroom is upstairs. There are 2 bathrooms, both downstairs. At this point one child sleeps upstairs and one sleeps downstairs but for the first 4.5 years we lived here both kids slept upstairs with us. Our upstairs is above our garage only. This provides us a quiet environment upstairs. DH works midnights and sleeps days. When we moved in here we had a 3 year old and a 6 year old. I was a SAHM and the little one was only in preschool 9 hours a week. Having a quiet place for DH to sleep while the little one made his noise was priceless. These days, during the school year, we are all gone while DH sleeps. During the summer we are home though and we still love that he can sleep peacefully upstairs and not worry about our noise as we are downstairs at the other end of the house, far away from the garage. So, for now, I just deal with the stairs because it keeps DH happy. I do love the size of our room and I absolutely ADORE having a balcony and a sliding glass door in our room. There is nothing better than sleeping with the door and windows open during the spring/fall without worrying about being on ground level and whatever creeps/creatures could get in.

Our house could serve quite nicely as a 1 story though, which is why I fell in love with it. We plan to be here for a very long time, after all. Since we have 3 bedrooms, laundry and bathrooms downstairs, we could live without ever going upstairs. This gives me comfort. Some day the office will be our bedroom as it has an en suite.
 
i grew up in a three story townhouse, and my parents are now in a raised ranch. so i've lived in both. when i was younger, i liked the three story. i also like the one story, with everything on one level.

so, i don't care either way, as long as i can have a full, finished basement. i told my fiance that, and he laughed. i've always had either a full or partially finished basement. i like it, and i want it. that and central air, and programmable thermostats, and a giant tub in the bathroom... and a garbage disposal. those are my requirements.
 
I have lived in both and but right now in a 2 story. I love that the mess is upstairs and I only have to worry about the downstairs being presentable to company. My girls' rooms look like tornadoes hit them and the fight to get the clean is a raging battle in our home but when guests are here I close the upstairs doors and our house looks perfect. However, we have had injuries and going up and down the stairs has posed problems for us but we have managed. We also live in CA so the heating/cooling is always tough for us since the expense is so high and unpredictable.
 
I think I would really prefer a one story. The biggest reason, for me, is cause I still have little kids. Even I fell down the stairs two weeks ago at my parent's house cause my knee gave out randomly. I think in the end, while a two story has benefits, I think a one story would be more practical for us.
 
If I could get the same space and same amount of rooms in a one story, I totally would do that.

In our area and price range, that's not possible, at all. I'd love to spread out more (in one floor), but our lots are so small that 2 stories are just so much bigger.

I love the idea of a room upstairs for kids to go hang out, make messes and not be too loud for me. But like I said, if I could have a big game room one the same level as everything else, I'd love that.
 
With have a 2 story with a finished basement (so three levels) and I would love to have all the space we have (3400 sq ft) but on two levels. I'm not complaining though because it's very easy for us to find peace and privacy the way it is now. We lived in small spaces for so long while in Germany so it's so nice to be able to sit in the basement and watch TV and not worry about disturbing someone who wants to read or take a nap.

My big pet peeve and therefore a word of advice would be, if at all possible, make sure the laundry room is on the same level as the bedrooms. Our laundry is on the main level and the bedrooms are on the top level and it makes me crazy to have to drag all the dirty cloths downstairs to wash them, them drag them all back upstairs to put them away.

How exciting to build a brand new place!!!
 
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