1 Story homes or 2 Story

dmartin726 · October 2013

What do you prefer? Have you lived in both?

We always lived in large condo buildings, until we moved. Now we are in a 2 story townhome and while I like the upstairs/downstairs, I am wondering if I would prefer a ranch style home.

I like the 2 story because I feel safe (you know, I'm really going to have my shit together by the time the murderer makes it up my staircase..big safety feature haha), I like that I can conceal the upstairs mess when company comes over, I like the way the outside of 2 story homes look.

I hate dragging laundry up and down. Forgetting 1 stupid thing upstairs. Teaching kids to go up and down and worrying the whole time.

What do you prefer?

eaglesfan700 · October 2013

Two story always. Nothing about a rancher appeals to me

kcisthebombdotcom · October 2013

We have a bungalow with bedrooms on the first and second floor and a finished basement. Bringing laundry upstairs is kind of a pain (we have a chute so I don't have to carry stuff down) but its nice to have a separate room in another area of the house so I can do my laundry while dd sleeps. I like being able to go downstairs and yell obscenities at the television while watching sports after the kids go to bed. Lol. I think having a room on a separate floor will be nice as the kids get older. i definitely get annoyed when I have to go upstairs multiple times when I forget shit though.

joyfullyfound · October 2013

Two storeys. I agree with all your points but the pros outweigh the cons to me.

eaglesfan700 · October 2013

Actually, our house is three stories and I love it. The up and down the stairs doesn't bother me

magentawarped · October 2013

As much as I hate hauling things up and down stairs, I prefer a second story.

Arnegard · October 2013

In the two married homes we've had, both are ranch with a basement. Two story homes are not common here. Unfortunately, split levels are and I hate having no entry space and having the mess on the landing in between. Also most splits here are 2 up, 2 down. Until the kids get older I do not feel comfortable having the kids on a different level.

spring_time · October 2013

I also prefer a two story. When we were thinking about building a house, a lot of them are being built with the laundry room on the second floor. I hate trekking laundry up the stairs, so I thought it was brilliant! That is until my mom asked what happens when the washing machine malfunctions? Then I didn't know, although I still like the idea.

jensriot · October 2013

I prefer a two story for all the reasons you listed. Our master is on the bottom, so I can hear if kids are up and running around upstairs. I also like gating them up there so I know they aren't going to the kitchen or front/back door at night. I know that's entirely possible in a single story too, but it's so easy just to have it at the top of the stairs.

Allycat11 · October 2013

I definitely prefer a 2 story home. Right now we live in a 2story townhome style duplex. My biggest complaint about the 2 stories is that I have to haul laundry up and down 2 flights of stairs because our washer and dryer are in the basement. We are in the process of buying a bi-level home which isn't ideal but it is the only way we were getting a 4br 2bath, 2 car garage with a good sized yard in our school district of choice. I am happy we ended up with a bi-level over a 1 story home though.

eaglesfan700 · October 2013

letranger said:
We live in a 3 story home. Stairs don't bother me. I like the separation.

Our playroom is on the third floor we actually call it "up up up" which is what eagles kids called their playroom. I totally stole it.

Aww, really? That is so sweet. I am honored to share the name!

Mrs.Greg · October 2013

Our current home is a rambler. We are looking for a new house and have only been able to find 2-story homes the size we want with enough bedrooms. I'm nervous to live in a 2-story house. I know that every little noise I hear from whichever floor I'm not on will scare the crap out of me. DH leaves for work by 5 every morning. I don't like the idea of being upstairs without him and having to go downstairs alone. Since everything is on one floor now, it's easy to know that the noise I just heard was the heat kicking on or the house "settling" or whatever. But I scare pretty easily.

Andrewsgal · October 2013

2 story. I love having the playroom, media room and kids rooms separate from our living area and our room. I think it will be really nice when they are teens and the playroom turns into a pool hall so to speak.

roxy_jj · October 2013

I prefer two story. I like to have the separation between living space and bedrooms. All the ranch style homes I've lived in or stayed in, the noise has really carried throughout the entire house. It's really annoying when someone is up early or late. Our laundry is on the second floor, so carrying laundry up and down the stairs isn't an issue. Out here, most of the houses are ranch style and I'm not a fan. It took us a long time to find our current house.

peacelove&mama · October 2013

We have a bungalow, just one story and a basement. I dream of a two story home.

caybeh · October 2013

We have a bi-level with 2 up and 2 down. Our dream home is a 2 story old (like early 1900s) but with updates. I love two stories and the idea of sleeping rooms all in one place. I love older homes in the fact that I feel like they were built with a lot of built in storage as they utilized every nook and crany. Bi-levels are very common here. There are new two stories built too, but they are pretty expensive.

rockyrollgirl · October 2013

I don't know that I really have a preference, I have lived in both. I guess it depends on the house.

jenniann87 · October 2013

I grew up in a two story, then when I moved in with DH we were in a small 2 bedroom apartment. Our current house is a bungalow I guess, its one story with a dormer attic that has been converted into a master bedroom with walk in closet, we also have a full partially finished basement. While I love our house, I cant wait to start looking/building next summer. Ideally we will end up with a 2 story house. I really like 2 story homes, all the bedrooms are on one floor, you can easily disguise whatever mess is in the rooms when company is coming over and I want a playroom for DS up there.

Our current house is great and we got an awesome deal on it, but I really don't like having our room and DS/SS rooms on different floors. And the fact that there isn't a master bath upstairs in the master bedroom really irritates me, especially when I was pg and walking up and down the stairs multiple times a night. But oh well.

So yes 2 story for me!

zbeesma86 · October 2013

I've lived in both and liked both-- when I was pregnant I HATED our stairs, especially after my csection.

my parents live in a ranch- I like the layout- everything is open and lots of space- and it's all kind of centered around their pool.

I really miss having a basement--. But doing laundry was a pain! we had to bring laundry up/down 2 flights of stairs!

I guess I'm mixed- I like both.

pitterpatter129 · October 2013

We lived in a 2story when I was a teenager. I hate stairs. One story for us. There aren't many 2 story houses around here though. The one we lived in was old. There is only one 2-story in our entire neighborhood. Strong winds/tornados/ice storms...I'd rather have an underground house!

lightgetsin · October 2013

I like 2 story because 1 story feels like an apartment to me. The only appeal of 1 story is if you live somewhere hot, it is cheaper to cool.

meglew · October 2013

I prefer a 2-story home. Our laundry room is actually upstairs, so it is nice to not have to haul all of it up and down the stairs.

hokies94 · October 2013

I grew up in a Ranch style house with a basement. We now have a 3 level house and I much prefer it. I'll never go back to a ranch style house. I feel like we were always on top of each other. Here we can be on different levels and have more space.

I like that if DH wants to watch sports or a movie at full blast (I swear he's deaf) he can do it in the lowest level and we won't hear it in the bedrooms.

Our laundry is on the top level with the bedrooms so no lugging laundry. Our kids also learned to do stairs early. We never put gates up and taught them stairs early.

Disneygeek77 · October 2013

We currently have a 1.5 story and really like it. I like having the kids rooms and mess upstairs, but since the master is on the main level, we don't have to go up and down the stairs all the time. Plus, I don't know, it has this cozy, warm charmer feel to it.

Spin313 · October 2013

I've lived in both and prefer a two story.

maize27 · October 2013

We had a ranch and just bought a cape. I love not having the bedrooms next to the family room. Having to tip toe around after kids go to bed or during nap time is a pain in the neck.

penguingrrl · October 2013

We currently live in a single story (2 bedroom cape with pull down attic instead of an upstairs) and I hate the layout of where the bedrooms are. In order to use our only bathroom guests are right by the bedrooms, all of which is within line of sight of the living and dining rooms. I dream of the day that if we're running behind when company is coming I can skip having perfect bedrooms and just tell people to stay downstairs. The one thing I do love in my layout is that the kitchen opens to a family room that's all the way on the other side of the house, so noise and TV in there after bed time isn't an issue at all.

If I have the option when I buy my own house it will have all bedrooms upstairs and be older. I don't love houses built after about 1950. Capes are cute but the rooms are tiny, don't like ranches and positively hate split and bi level.

JMU_Bride09 · October 2013

We've done both, and I much prefer two stories. I really dont like the bedrooms being on the same level as the kitchen and living room. I need more privacy than that.

jnksmom · October 2013

We have lived in both and I prefer a 2-story. I like that the loving space is separate from the bedrooms. Our laundry room is upstairs also but the stairs don't bother me. I like that the kids stuff is all upstairs in the playroom/bedrooms and the downstairs stays relatively clean all the time.

mylittlesunshine · October 2013

The two homes we have owned are ranch and I have liked them. We made sure both times that the home had two "living" spaces. One living room is by the bedrooms and one is in the back of the house. I have never felt like I have to tip toe.

Both my parents and the ILs have a two story and the one thing I notice and don't like is that the temperature of the upstairs is always colder in the winter/hotter in the summer. The main floor is fine, but upstairs is always different temps. I am never comfortable temperature wise when I am sleeping up there. Whereas in our ranch, it always feels like the temperature maintains the same throughout the house.

BlueJewelM · October 2013

I've only lived in two story homes with a basement and currently we live on one. I enjoy the 3 levels. Keeps me in shape.

.

BUT

I dream of living in a sprawling ranch home with a basement someday. I just love the look of them.

alake · October 2013

We are in a two story. Our bedroom is downstairs and the kids are upstairs other than DS. I have as an adult always lived in a two story home. Growing up we lived in a bungalow. We are planning on building a ranch style home in the next few years. Our cabin is a bungalow and I quite enjoy it.

ariel06 · October 2013

I've lived in a ranch, two level, and now a split. They all have some good and bad points. Our split has a larger entry and huge hall closet (So big we've considered moving the laundry room there). So I think it depends on the layout of each.

notkateanymore · October 2013

As an adult, I've always had One-story houses. But now I would do anything for a 2 story. I just need space.

JeffandLeslie · October 2013

spring_time said:
I also prefer a two story. When we were thinking about building a house, a lot of them are being built with the laundry room on the second floor. I hate trekking laundry up the stairs, so I thought it was brilliant! That is until my mom asked what happens when the washing machine malfunctions? Then I didn't know, although I still like the idea.

The water soaks through the floor, and you get really confused when the smoke detectors in your entryway start leaking.

I still love laundry room upstairs even after dealing with that.

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