I found this HUD report quite interesting.
Some of the information should be useful to you in planning and designing your new home, renovation, or addition.
Enjoy,
Carl
By Jann Swanson, mortgagenewsdaily.com, July 6, 2010
• There are 130,112 million residential housing units in the U.S. and 86 percent of those are occupied…Only 68 percent are owner-occupied!
• The median (1/2 larger, ½ smaller) size of an occupied home is 1,800 square feet. Newer Homes are usually larger, with a median size of 2,300 square feet.
• Yards are shrinking! Median lot size for single-family homes is 0.27 acres.
• Three bedrooms are becoming more and more common.
• About half of homes (48 percent) have a separate dining room.
• 35 percent have a functioning fireplace.
• Read the complete summary report…here