What geographic area are you in, roughly? What is the minimum size for bedrooms in your area?

I live in Stockholm, Sweden, but my cottage is in the Southern Swedish countryside. The typical small bedroom is around 5 square meters but anything that will fit a double bed is fine. I'm thinking of the design of capsule hotels (google that if you don't know) but with bigger beds.

[https://www.houzz.com/photos/50-square-meter-house-floor-plan-phbr0lbl-bl~l_36920[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/50-square-meter-house-floor-plan-phbr0lbl-bl~l_36920)

http://www.home-designing.com/2015/10/small-home-designs-under-50-square-meters

Is there any chance the kids can share a room at the cottage? Or sleep on a single size bunk built into the wall rather than a double size bed?

At our cottage when we were kids mom and dad had a proper room with a double (queen? Can't remember) bed however my sis and I shared a sofa sleeper in the living room. We loved it. The whole place is roughly 20'x20' footprint but there is no bathroom indoors. That would add a bit of sq ft. Our whole lakeside lives were spent outside including most of the cooking and eating so a lot indoor space was just not necessary.

Look at passive solar design too; it's possible that you won't have an absolute need for a/c with proper site planning, architecture, and landscaping. If it's super well insulated, that small a space is so easy to keep warm.

Apparently, no, but they've agreed to a type of bed (not sure what the proper name is...) that's stacked on top of each other like a bunk bed but has 2 doors for entrances and the beds are separated from each other. They've said that the rooms don't need a desk or anything, just the size of the bed.

However, they still do prefer the full 3 bedrooms.

How old are your kids?

Are there walls on the outside of those beds, to form a a sort of cubby?To me that looks like all the annoyance of a bunk bed (noise from the person up top, having to climb up when you're dog tired, hard to make the beds) with none of the fun (giggling all night, sharing clothes, making blanket forts). Obviously that's just my bias speaking and nothing other than personal preference. It looks like an efficient design as far as that goes.

If they aren't walled in, I don't see how they are preferable to traditional bunks.

They are walled in, come with windows, and are completely separate from one another. I have a 13 year old son and a 14 year old daughter who are completely able to make their beds. I bet they wouldn't enjoy the whole blanket forts thing at this age. They want and deserve some privacy. (PS: my profile pic is of my son)

You're right, different genders at that age definitely need their privacy! But the love for blanket forts is eternal, if it's in your soul lol :-D

As for making the beds, making a bunk bed is tough. I have a lot of trouble with it and anyone who has them says the same. Having the wall there seems like it would just make a difficult job that much more impossible, so instead I would say go for proper rooms, 9x9 or so; just big enough for a bed and small dresser to be used as a bedside table, and maybe a comfy chair.

81 square feet times 3 out of 500 or less? Haha how do I fit that in? I'm looking for floor plans.

Best of luck.

The short answer is that you can't fit what you want in that amount of space. Double it, and it will still be absolutely tiny. It's not the bedroom space, or living room space that is expensive to create. Kitchens and baths are where the expense lies. And no matter how small you make the home, you will never make those expensive portions small enough to get below a certain baseline of costs. All you do by trying to shrink the least expensive portions is raise the costs per square foot of the project.

Sophie, how about raising the roof? For loft space?

If they've do have 2 rooms then there is no point in the capsule beds right? I'd do loft beds with the ceiling as high as you can.

Sophie,

Is 1000 square feet not enough? We currently live in 700 square feet and we living comfortably. In fact, we have extra space for a large walk in closet. So far, money is not a problem for us because if you think long term, a smaller house will be way more efficient than those big, bulky cookie cutter McMansions. If we already can find a way to live in 700 square feet, we definitely can do it in 500.

Toby people in North America don't have the capacity to visualize this as a viable option. I'm sure it will be great! Good luck

Generally speaking 200 sq ft/person is considered the minimum for comfort. 200x4=800. Apparently you live in 700 now, however subtracting 200 sq ft from that is a lot. The size of two average bedrooms, or a bedroom and kitchen. It's not really a matter of not being able to imagine it; we were a family of 9 living in 1300 sq ft and at one point we were 5 living in 620. But the kids had to share rooms, and anyone with a double bed was sharing that bed with at least one other person.

Expectations will need to be adjusted to make it work.

I'm so happy I don't live in Sweden. Id find it depressing to live in this small of a space where the winters are dark, dark, dark. Efficient is fine, this just sounds claustrophobic - tiny house on steroids. Here you'd have DCFS investigating this arrangement with two kids involved. My best - and no we can't imagine this as an option because we don't need to - yet.

Post your floor plan if you want comments. I've seen plans for 600 sf and I couldn't imagine where you could trim it down anymore (other than going twin size bunk style beds). Good luck!

The best child's bedroom I have ever seen was designed by Saarinen for the Millers in Columbus Indiana. They had a twin bed, a desk, lots of storage (all built in of course to maximize space) and a full wall of window with drapes = 9x9/81 sf each. They had the bedrooms lined up right off a communal space. Bedrooms can be extremely minimal (the large window wall was key to the success of this small space!) and if not offset with larger communal spaces to gather then they will feel like a jail cell for sure!

480sq ft. Maybe you can alter this plan to seperate 1 bedroom into 2? Or add a loft?

https://www.floorplans.com/plan/480-square-feet-2-bedroom-1-bathroom-0-garage-country-32887

I did a search for 3 bedrooom up to 600 sq ft and got no results. This was 557 sq ft, but doesn't seem to be offered anymore. Larger image on link. http://www.littlelivingblog.com/2016/09/the-whidby-house-557-sq-ft.html

Did you just search on google or somewhere else? I searched the same thing on google and got plenty of things :|

Attention to everybody who is posting * on my thread (hint, it's not all of you,) be aware of this.

First of all, this house is a camping lodge, not a permanent house. We have a normal house and we only intend to live in it for a few days to weeks at a time. So STOP treating it like it is. Has anyone called DCFS or whatever other authority because their kids stayed in a capsule hotel? Believe it or not, no. Otherwise, such a thing wouldn't exist. Child protective services are for the kids whose life are in danger because of the parents, not because somebody decided their bedroom was too small. Would tents exist if you were there to protest? How about those shipping container houses? Or Sleep Pods? Or just about any room smaller than 200 square feet?

Second of all, the measure of a room compared to a jail cell is absolute nonsense. If you came here to yell at me or my family, keep in mind that student apartments and dorms sometimes do get that size. Have you tried calling DCFS for that, too??

Third, 500 square feet is not that small!! It only feels small because you make it do. As a matter of fact, even 1000, 2000, even 3000 square feet will feel claustrophobic if it is poorly designed. My kids love the place we live in, and it is not small, cramped, or claustrophobic.

If your ignorance calls for houses double the size of the house I'm currently living in right now, then you clearly have no idea what you're talking about. Google up "tiny house for family" right now. These things do exist, in many forms around the world outside America. It is not cruelty, and it is absolutely not something for the DCFS to consider as that.

Just reread and saw that you are in Sweden. I saw something on t v years ago (I don’t think it was HGTV) and the film interviewed a family of 4 in Sweden. I simply was amazed at how lives are lived there; clean, compact, stylish, simple, etc. Then they story went on to talk about how kitchen cabinets go with the seller. This was long before I knew anything about IKEA. I was fascinated by the whole idea…I don’t need 4 sets of china and silver and crystal….and waste floor space with cabinet to store them.

We have finally downsized. Not to 538 sq ft, but a big drop in size from our previous homes. It was the best thing to do…we almost feel relief from the overhead on other priorities we have owned.

My daughter’s first purchase was a condo in Harvard Square. 470 sq ft. (I won’t tell you how much it cost because you would faint…Cambridge is $$$$$$). You didn’t feel like it was that small. Between windows and sliders and access to a beautiful yard, it had an open feel.

Now she is in an industrial loft about twice the size and it feels so huge. I think it comes down to being able to see lots of the outside and where you put the walls.

You might enjoy her new view...

Lindsey,

You're absolutely right. But I have absolutely no idea on what to do. A well designed floor plan is key when it comes to energy and space efficiency. Our family would rather go outside during this time, instead of staying at home.

Saw on hgtv's tiny house program - idea.

https://tinyhouselistings.com/a-space-saving-ceiling-suspended-bed/

[Not sure I'd want a bed hanging at ceiling] pull bed out at night. As was said already: raise the roof a bit. You build it your way, nice chance for you.

A larger platform maybe - hold 2 beds, pulled in different directions / as an L shape? Privacy wall / pocket door[s] somehow?

I think something could be done with this plan. Shown with two bedrooms, there is so much wasted floor space with the big hall closet and the closets in the bedrooms and the 3 ft swing of the door….What with Ikea Pax systems, and the fact this is only a vacation home for you…closets removed; PAX on either side of headboards; cut the back bedroom in half?

This is amazing, but what is the square feet?

Check out Clei wall beds. Made in Italy.

500 sq ft, Toby H

Even on vacation, and in fact very much on vacation, personal space is still a requirement for individual family members. Especially teens. If your goal in creating such a small house is to save money, then I suggest that you wait a bit until you can afford to do this vacation home more comfortably.

**Channeling memories of being forced to be packed like sardines into the family station wagon for unpleasant road trips**

Contrary to some of the snooty opinions here, there is a trend toward smaller houses in the US. the International Residential Code will be adding this appendix to the 2018 edition.

https://tinyhousebuild.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Proposed-Tiny-House-Appendix-and-Reason-Statement.pdf

Toby have you contacted any architects or builders in your area? They would be best able to advise you and you'll need their services to build in any case, right?