I am so excited. I am starting the house searching again. Before I began my search last time, for some reason I thought I didn't want to have a two story home, but after seeing some, I ended up liking one. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. So here we are starting a new home search. I am finding myself more inclined to two story homes than just a single floor. It might be just me, but two story homes seem more spacious.
What do you think? What would you prefer, one or two story homes? Why?
@candy11: I have a two story, and see myself living in one until I downsize and purchase my "last" home. I want to have a one story when I'm retired and stuff so I can live there a long time and have it be accessible in old age. Until then, I like having the sleeping quarters away from kitchen/living areas.
Oh and I should add that where I live, climate has nothing to do with it really. I live in Canada where we have to heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. Not sure if that factors in to some people's decision.
Good luck on your search :)
My husband and I both prefer one story homes in general, but wouldn't be opposed to two-story. Our dream home is a one story though.
I'm not a fan of ranch style homes but I will take whatever I can get -- I am SO done with apartment living!
I would prefer a rancher so, of course, I live in a 3-level townhome. LOL I had no idea what a pain in the ass steps would be. After we renovate my DH's home we'll move move in there and either sale or rent the TH. His house is a 2-story but only the bedrooms and a master bath are upstairs and there is a bedroom on the first floor too. I've already told him we'll also move the washer/dryer onto the main level so we won't have to go to the basement to do laundry.
Something else I found that I hate? Cathedral ceilings. Have to hire someone to paint them and even change the battery in my smoke alarm. Hate, hate, hate those high ceilings!
I think it depends on the area. My old college roommates were from Ventura, CA and they said most homes there are what I call a "ranch." A ranch to us is a one-story home. Where I live almost every home is a two-story and the one-story home are built in the 55+ communities or are very small.
Hrm, I don't REALLY have a preference. I think it's nicer to have 2 stories and have the bedrooms away, but it's also nice to have 1 story and everything is a bit easier to get around - also, a lot of the 2 stories down South seem to have the "master down" so, really, it's kind of like a ranch anyway until you have kids and they're upstairs (this I think is super weird, but I guess I'll just have to get used to it lol).
It depends on my stage of life. DH and I built a house a little over a year ago, and its one story with a bonus room upstairs. We are expecting our first baby, and while we have very small children we'd like to all be on one floor since I have safety concerns about stairs/little babies. We *almost* bought a two story house but stopped short because every bedroom except the master was upstairs, and the stairs were steep. However, after we are finished having kids and they are a bit bigger... two story all the way.
Considering I've lived on either the seond floor or third floor of an apt the last 4 years... our house will be one story. No more stairs for me! haha
I don't really have a preference. We currently live in a one story but growing up I mostly lived in two stories. Both have theirs pros and cons.
@Lily_of_the_valley: +1 I feel ya! FI and I are living in a tiny condo right now. I can't wait til he is done with his PhD and we can go buy a real house!
I definitely prefer two story homes! For some reason they feel more homey to me.
2 storey (btw, am I spelling it correct, right? It seems weird that so many posts above missed the e ETA - Story is American).
I want a decent sized house, and land costs money. You can get better value with a 2 storey home. I think it can also cut down on noise if one person is up while another sleeps.
I prefer and wanted a two story home but the sale fell through and I ended up with one. Hoefully FH and I will be able to buy another house in 5 or or so years and we can have the two story.
I've lived in both and prefer a two story. I like the separation of the bedrooms from the rest of the house.
I like a 2 story house. I like the feeling of being upstairs and doing some activity or downstairs and doing sometning. Like when FH is working up stairs in the office and I am doing something in the kitchen, we can have our own separate spaces. If one of us wants to go upstairs and to bed early, the other can watch TV downstairs.
When I live in a ranch house, it was homey and cozy but always felt like everyone was all close together and you never had any privacy. Like if FH was watching something on TV, I couldn't get away and go read a book or go to bed early because I could always hear the TV.
I vote for two story homes. Though I like the togetherness of one story homes, two levels gives you separation and peace especially when there is a family gathering going on but you need to go to bed early for work!
Definitely two storey. You just don't see many ranchers here, and if you do they're either tiny (think sub 800 sq ft) or super expensive. It's the land/footprint that costs money, so in an area where land is expensive, there just aren't that many ranchers to choose from. Most people i know have 3 level homes (basement and main and then bedrooms above), since building up is cheaper.
I'd prefer a 2 story, but am okay with a 1 story. I do NOT want a split level. I haven't ever see one I like.
I honestly don't mind, I care more about having space and the functionality of the house.
I do, however, think having a one story house would be easier when you have small children, but that wouldn't stop me buying a two story home if I fell in love with one.
We'll be building our family home (apparently) and as FI-to-be is a builder, I'd say he'll be choosing how many storys our home will be.
@OctBride-2012: I think cathedral ceilings are gorgeous...as long as they're not in my home! :)
SHOCKED at the results. I thought for sure more people would like a one story home! I had a horrible experience with a two story home. The top was always so hot and the bottom so cold. Horrible!
i like both styles but the layout is most important. i've only lived in 2 storey homes but would consider a 1 storey in the right setting.
the only difference with a 1 storey is that due to the larger footprint, you need 2x the amount of land to still have a decent sized yard. also, if you ever have to replace the roof, it's twice the size as a 2 storey roof, therefore, more cost.
we considered building a single storey for our next home but we are going with a 2 storey because of location. we want the view (it's at the beach).
I like two story. I like having the living area separate from the sleeping/personal area. We entertain guests downstairs and have our bonus room upstairs for our own movie nights/computers/wedding stuff. It also keeps the downstairs tidier!
If you only have one story, where do you send the kids to sit when they're bad? We always had to sit on the stairs -- cause our rooms were interesting! =)
I prefer houses with two, three, four, maybe five stories. I love stairs!
We have a ranch and it works really well for us since one of our dogs is blind and can no longer go up and down stairs.
One story. Definitely. I want to grow old in my house. Ideally I'll live in it forever. And I don't want to have to climb up and down stairs when I'm an old lady. This happened to grandma. She fell and broke her back and had to move into a retirement home. That sucked.
I own a 2 story and but after a year of ups and owns on theses stairs Id love a one story lol
Since I grew up in a two-story home, I'm so used to it and like it better than one floor. However, if I was single and never wanted to get married, I'd get myself a nice little ranch.
I grew up in a one level house and hated it. Everything was just too close. The first home that I bought was a 2 level plus basement town house, and our forever home is also 2 levels plus a basement. I much prefer the seperation of public and private spaces that comes with having things on different levels.
I live in a tiny one story right now and I hate it. Mostly because we have ZERO hallways. All the rooms just have a door that leads from one to the other. No hallways = no closets = no storage space for our stuff! My daughter's bedroom is right next to the living room and her toys are slowly taking over, even after our pre-Christmas toy cleanout. Also, it feels like we're all living right on top of each other since there's no real separation to our rooms. It gets suffocating after a while.
If we had decent hallways and some closet space I probably wouldn't mind our one story so much. But I grew up in two story houses and that's what I prefer and what I'd like to settle down in eventually.
@OctBride-2012: That's hilarious. The apt we live in now has cathedral ceilings. It's a huge waste of space and all the heat gets trapped up high where it does you no good. I'm also sick of climbing up to the third floor where we live via the effin' stairs. Rancher it was for us!-- Though there's a fully finished basement in case you want to get away from the hustle and bustle of first floor life.
I grew up in a one story house, so that is what I am used to. All the homes out here in the southwest have only one floor.
But in England, where I will be moving to in a year, that is definitely not the norm. A one story house is very rare. Almost all are very small and are two story.
Can't say I have a great preference. I prefer open floorplans, which seem more available in one story homes, but I like being able to save on space (land) with a two story home.
@Mrs.Camera: & @pfinarffle: I thought they were the bees knees when I first bought this place. Now I lay stand in the master bathroom and look up at the ceiling about 3 miles away and cringe. It also took me forever to figure out how/where to hang pictures in the bedrooms. It's like a cruel joke to have walls that tall and pictures hung 6 feet from the floor. LOL
We have a two story (plus laundry in the basement.) DH strongly prefers a multi-story house, but when it's time to move or downsize/retire (we're in our 40s) I'm going to push for a ranch because all the stairs are a drag!
Two-level home lover here. Having everything on the same level with no steps down or separation feels claustrophobic to me.
I've only ever lived in a 2 story house. In our house hunt we did see one or two ranchers and we didnt care for them, but the layout sucked. I wouldnt totally eliminate a rancher because I am sure there are some kickass ones out there.
I have a 2 story home...prefer a 1 story because I'm clumsy and have accidents on steps. LOL
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