Sherry’s post a few months ago about what furniture & decor we still own after downsizing sent me down memory lane and made me look at photos of our former house. It was fun to revisit those rooms—and a reminder of how much “extra house” we used to have. Some rooms were so underused that I’d almost forgotten about them.
We loved that house, but it was larger than we needed. Spending a summer in our smaller pink beach house clarified that for us (read more here). We moved from 3,150 sq ft in Virginia to 1,400 sq ft in Florida—less than half the space.
Some rooms here are smaller versions of what we had before, while other rooms simply don’t exist anymore—we went from three bathrooms to one and no longer have a garage, a dedicated home office, or a formal dining room. Living in this smaller house through a global pandemic and a year of at-home learning tested the setup, and after 2.5 years we’ve learned which spaces we truly miss and which we don’t.
6 Rooms Versus 14 Rooms
Our current home has six conditioned indoor rooms: a multifunctional ground floor with a kitchen and sitting area, three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a multi-use upstairs family room that serves as TV room, office, craft area, and play space. Here’s a quick overview:
If you want more photos and details about each space, see these posts:
- The Kitchen/Sitting Area
- Our Bedroom
- The Bathroom
- Our Daughter’s Bedroom
- Our Son’s Bedroom
- The Upstairs Family Room
We also benefit from generous outdoor spaces—a large upstairs deck, two porches, a pool area, and other exterior spots that expand our usable living area and get a lot of use in year-round warm weather. Indoors, though, those six rooms are all we have (beyond a small laundry closet and a short hallway).
Note: a grand foyer with furniture and its own closets can count as a room—for example, our previous house had an entry foyer that was roughly 12′ x 12′ and was listed as a room.
By contrast, our Richmond house had FOURTEEN rooms, including a kitchen, family room, dining room, office, multiple bathrooms, bedrooms, a dedicated art/homework room, a laundry room, and a bonus room.
- The Kitchen
- The Family Room
- The Dining Room
- The Office
- The Downstairs Bathroom
- The Foyer
- Our Bedroom
- Our Bathroom / Walk-In Closet
- Our Daughter’s Room
- Our Son’s Room
- The Hall Bathroom
- The Art / Homework Room
- The Laundry Room
- The Bonus Room
That’s eight fewer rooms now, and we also lost extra storage spaces like a giant walk-up attic, a two-car garage, and a large outdoor shed—areas that used to hold a lot of our stuff.
Downsizing forced us to get rid of excess and break the habit of filling every storage space. I’m proud we did it—we used to have so much stuff in the attic and the garage always felt like a cleanup project.
The Rooms We Don’t Miss
Quick disclaimer: everyone’s needs are different. This is our experience and what worked for our family. If you’re considering downsizing, take this as one perspective to help identify what spaces you truly need.
When we reflected, several rooms stood out as surprisingly easy to give up.
Don’t Miss: A Foyer
We once cherished having a proper foyer, but in practice it was mostly a pass-through because we used the garage entrance more than the front door. In our Florida house the door opens straight into the living area, and it hasn’t been a problem. We’d rather prioritize a practical entry with storage—a small mudroom or a laundry closet with hooks—over a grand formal foyer.
We worked out furniture placement around the front door and even have practical storage for coats and backpacks near the entrance, so the lack of a formal foyer hasn’t felt like a loss.
Don’t Miss: A Laundry Room
We once built a full laundry room with marble backsplash and cabinetry, imagining it would become a useful staging area. In reality, it wasn’t used the way we expected—laundry spent more time in hampers or on beds than staged in that room. Having a tucked-away laundry closet in the kitchen of our current home turned out to be ideal: it’s central, convenient, and still private enough to hide the mess and noise.
A dedicated laundry room was nice, but for our family, a well-equipped closet-style setup works better and helps prevent forgotten loads.
Don’t Miss: The Dining Room
Formal dining rooms have declined in popularity, and ours rarely got used. We ate most meals at the kitchen island. In our smaller house we have one indoor dining spot—the kitchen table—which we prefer because it seats people facing each other and feels more social. When we host, we often eat outdoors by the pool, which provides flexible seating for guests.
Don’t Miss: The Bonus Room
Our bonus room—finished attic space that served as an upstairs family room—was flexible and beloved, but we still have that functionality in our current home’s upstairs family room. It’s a child-focused secondary living area where messes are allowed, and it includes a TV, art desk, and open floor space. In other words, we didn’t lose the benefits of that extra room—we just shifted it into a smaller footprint that works just as well.
Missed It at First: The Office
As people who work from home, we worried about losing a dedicated office. Early on—especially during the pandemic when everyone was home—it was a challenge. We juggled calls, school, and work across different rooms. Over time we carved out a bright, functional desk area in the upstairs family room and adopted flexible routines: one of us works at the kitchen table, the other in the bedroom when quiet is needed, and I often work outside on the deck. The result is a flexible, lighter setup that suits our current lifestyle.
Do Not Miss: The Garage
We debated this one, but ultimately we don’t miss our garage. It always became a catch-all for clutter and required regular cleanouts. Without a garage, we’re forced into better habits: less impulse acquisition, quicker decisions about donations, and weekends reclaimed for family time instead of cleaning. We do have a small shed for tools, though admittedly it can get messy too.
Sometimes Miss: Our Ensuite Bathroom
We don’t miss having multiple bathrooms in daily life, but we do sometimes long for the specific renovated ensuite from our last house—mainly because we only enjoyed it briefly before moving. Still, that trade-off was intentional: we gave up a fancy marble bathroom in exchange for a walkable beach lifestyle, outdoor showers, and more outdoor living.
The Trade-Offs of Downsizing
Downsizing is full of trade-offs. We traded extra square footage and some luxury features for a simpler, lower-maintenance home near the beach. We share one bathroom but shower outside most of the year; we gave up a garage but gained a large second-floor deck and easy access to shops and restaurants. Our home is smaller, cheaper to heat and cool, and easier to maintain. Those trade-offs suit our priorities: more time outside, less time maintaining storage spaces, and a lifestyle that fits our family now.
If you want to read more about our downsizing process, how we organized a smaller kitchen, what items we kept, and other practical tips, check the posts linked throughout this article or visit our about page for the full story.