A dream house can be in other people’s dreams. Growing up, I didn’t have any rendition of Barbie’s dream home. Instead, I had her country living house, which was a tad more modest having three rooms, a living room, a kitchen, and one bedroom, all on a single story. The rooms were equally sized and could hold about two people (dolls) comfortably.

Barbie’s original 1962 dream house pre-dated my 1970s house and had more of a one-room loft vibe. Later, she made friends and got pets, and her dream of the ideal home changed. The floorplan looked more like a modern home from the Agave community of Austin. It is now an eight-room, 3-story multi-level living floorplan with an elevator, a home office, a full bath, and sometimes a carport.

The Barbie® Dreamhouse® is bigger than the country house, having more rooms, but the kitchen, living room, and primary bedroom are similar in size. The house just had more rooms with more gadgets and more versatility.

The moral of the story is when the dream changes, don’t assume how much square footage will fulfill the dream. If you want more rooms you may need more space. Where that space winds up is going to be unique to the floorplan you are looking at. I saw a house this week that had a 14’x14’ bathroom. Some people would love that. Others would call that wasted space. Bigger isn’t always going to be better.

Like Barbie, the utility you need out of a home may change over time. There have been many iterations of the dream house over the decades. I’m sure there’s a Barbie out there that is dreaming of that loft space built in the 60s. Everyone has a dream home but there are only so many floor plans. When you are ready and find yours, don’t wait for another Barbie to buy it.