Housing > Small House Society > Resources > Glossary
Small House Dimensions. People often ask how small a house needs to be in order for it to be considered small. There are various names floating around to describe smaller than usual homes. Below are some names with square meter / feet cutoff points to offer guidelines. You can use an online conversion utility to calculate different sizes. For more information about smaller living, visit the Small House Society.
- micro home, 15 square meters / 161.46 square feet
- compact home, 20 square meters / 215.28 square feet
- miniature home, 25 square meters / 269.10 square feet
- tiny home, 30 square meters / 322.92 square feet
- little home, 35 square meters / 376.74 square feet
- small home, 40 square meters / 430.56 square feet
- efficiency home, 45 square meters / 484.36 square feet
- large small home, 50 square meters / 538.12 square feet
- diminutive two-bedroom apartment, 70 square meters / 754 square feet
- downsized home, 100 square meters / 1076.39 square feet
- average size home in the United States, 200 square meters / 2152.78 square feet
- How many people will be living in the home?
- Will there be frequent guests?
- Do you have or are you planning to have children? If so, how many and when?
- Will one or more people be planning to operate a home-business in the home?
- Are there other special needs/wants such as wheelchair accessibility or room for an art studio or grand piano?
- Construction material costs are kept at a minimum
- Cleaning and maintenance is reduced to a minimum
- Land required is reduced and/or available green space is increased
- Initial and ongoing heating, air-conditioning, lighting, and related utility costs are reduced
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