Semi-detached house with rather small children's rooms

Funny enough, the big one is exactly empty and the children prefer to live in the small ones.

Of course, there is more coziness there. For playing football, you have to go outside anyway, 30 sqm is not enough for that.

It seems to me that only children are being planned for here, but not teenagers. Teenagers neither play outside nor like to stay in the living room. Most close their door as soon as they are home and spend the rest of the day in their room, often with friends. If there is no couch or a larger bed, etc. fitting in, that becomes a problem...

It seems to me that only children are being planned for here, not teenagers. Teenagers neither play outside nor like to stay in the living room. Most close their doors as soon as they get home and spend the rest of the day in their room, often also with friends. If there’s no couch or bigger bed, etc. fitting in there, it becomes a problem...

It’s less about not wanting to plan, but about being able to. With the floor space, you certainly don’t get more than 13m² per child if there also has to be a bedroom and bathroom. But personally, I find that okay for teenagers as well.

Sure, if it can't be helped, then it can't be helped and 13sqm is not exactly a tiny hole either. I was more concerned about the repeatedly made justifications, "my child plays outside all day or in the living room," which I find very short-sighted.

I also find the argument "playing outside" misplaced. Of course, children have to go outside as well, play football, ride bikes, climb trees, etc. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that a dark 6m2 hole with a bed as a kids’ room is okay. I can only speak from my own experience, but as a teenager we often hung out at friends’ places and did whatever. Most of the time we were wherever we were least disturbed or where there was the most space. Of course, you can make it deliberately small so that all the neighborhood kids are not hanging out in your own house, but in my opinion that is not the point. I had a schoolmate who had to share a 12m2 room with his (7 years younger) brother. Of course, he was always outside, inside he felt like the ceiling was closing in on him. 13m2 is already okay, but under 11 I find it borderline, though it doesn’t have to be 25 either. A 140cm bed should fit in, and if there’s also a seating area, all the better.

In our current (old) house, a youth room has just under 11 sqm. That works, but you have to furnish very, very cleverly. I find something a bit bigger definitely better. Definitely. But if the house doesn't allow for more, I think 12 sqm is already good. You have to put a lot of effort into planning and later furnishing, but it can definitely be sufficient. We explicitly planned the children's rooms with the specific furniture beforehand because we have little space available and it matters that the limited space is enough for everything and not suddenly 10 cm are missing. In the current house, we have a few corners that are not so optimal. That's why precise planning is worthwhile.