Dadmomh----I love the reference to the home shows on TV.:B
I watch a lot of these shows, it amazes me that the family of 3 need to move from their 3500 square foot home because the baby is due any day now. "We must upgrade to a minimum of 5000 sq ft, or we won't all fit"
I stole this elsewhere on the WEB:
After many years of dramatically increasing home size in America - from an average of 983 square feet in the 1950s up to 2300 square feet in the 2000s, despite declining household sizes - the trend appears finally to be going in the other direction.
Then---Mom, dad and six(+) kids fit in a 3 bedroom 1000 sq ft.
Now----Mom (dad lives in his own house) and 2 kids, need a minimum of four bedrooms and 2000 sq ft.