Despite the name, a 1.5 bedroom apartment or house does not mean you only get half a room. It is a very common sight and so it is important to drill down and understand what this term actually means. But if it is not literally half a room, what does it mean to have a 1.5 bedroom apartment?
A 1.5 bedroom means that you have a full size bedroom and then another smaller room. The smaller room may be attached to the full bedroom, or separate in a loft or other configuration. It is due to definitions that the room is referred to as a half room.
There are many different types of houses and apartments that may have 0.5 in their listing. It is important to understand exactly what these terms mean and I will show you the various ways real estate agents and listings on real estate websites use these terms to describe many different things.
What Is a Half Bedroom?
Any reference to .5 or half a room is because it doesn’t qualify as a full room for several reasons. A reference to ‘half’ something in a real estate listing can mean a few things, but with rooms, it doesn’t mean literally half a room.
For 1.5 bedrooms, usually, it means one bedroom and a den of some description. Sometimes the additional .5 will be a separate room, but not able to qualify as a bedroom. This is because many jurisdictions require that a bedroom have certain features such as a big enough window, minimum room area, etc.
A room generally needs certain features to be classified as a bedroom and this will differ on the specific legal rules of that area. There need to be two means of egress, with one of them leading to the outside such as a window or similar. There needs to be a window and minimum square footage, somewhere around 70-100 feet.
There are other requirements for rooms to be counted as bedrooms. These can be certain heating abilities, for example, the room needs a direct source of heating, and regulations regarding electrical outlets and lighting. There may also be requirements for private access, as in your room cannot be a thoroughfare.
Once a room does not meet the requirements, it cannot be referred to as a bedroom. However, although it may not meet specifications in some way, it may function very well as a bedroom and so buyers or renters happy with such features can look into the listing further.
What Is a 1.5 Apartment?
A 1.5 apartment can refer to several things. It may just be an apartment with only one full sized bedroom and then another smaller room. There are many different configurations that may involve a loft or basement as well as rooms you would consider a study or storage. As the additional room does not meet the requirements legally then it will be referred to as some type of half room.
A 1.5 apartment may even refer to a 1.5 bathroom apartment, which means that it has one full bathroom and then another smaller bathroom that only has a toilet. The listing should be clear whether it is referring to half bedrooms or half bathrooms and you would expect at least two bedrooms when having 1.5 bathrooms.
Is a 1.5 Bedroom Apartment Big Enough for a Couple?
A 1.5 bedroom is fine for a couple. Although being on the smaller side, the full bedroom plus additional room that could be used as a study or privacy and would be about the minimum comfort for a couple. Bedrooms can differ in size but could be a master bedroom big enough for a king-size mattress.
Is a 1.5 Bedroom Apartment Big Enough for a Family with Children?
A 1.5 bedroom will very likely be much too small for a family with children. Even with one child, you would need to all be sharing the single bedroom and using the other half room for other purposes or having the child in the half bedroom, leaving no other rooms. Once the child grows past a few years old, a 1.5 bedroom apartment will start to feel very cramped.
No matter the configuration, once you have more than one child it would be difficult to have much space in a 1.5 bedroom apartment. Although the half bedroom may be similar in size to a normal bedroom, it really couldn’t have two children past infancy.
The rule of thumb is that each child will make your house or apartment feel 30% smaller. When you only have 1.5 bedrooms, this is going to mean a relative loss of space very quickly.
What Is a Good Size Apartment or House?
There are many other factors that have to be considered when looking at the best house for you. Depending on location, the same size house or apartment may be double the price or more. There may also be other features of the dwelling like gardens, pools, or similar which change the price significantly.
However, one metric that is going to be primary in most people’s minds is size. I believe the ideal size in square feet per person is about 700. This means for a family of three, the ideal house size is somewhere around 2100 square feet. A one-bedroom apartment is unlikely to be larger than 700 square feet and given that the extra half bedroom is going to be smaller, you are unlikely to get much more than 900 square feet in a 1.5 bedroom apartment or house.
