Cohousing-L Mailing List: small units- okay?

[lpoley (lpoley]

        It was quite an eye opener recently to check out a projected  budget
for our project and realize that what our family could afford according to
this plan was a no-frills, 2-bedroom,  850 sq ft unit (including ownership
of a portion of the common house and lands of course).  
        We have our first child on the way and we may or may not stop at
one.  I was hoping to get some feedback from residents  of some completed
projects about the ease or difficulty of living in a very limited amount of
private space in cohousing. 

Are there there any families  of three or more out there currently living
comfortably in under 900 ft. of private home? 

Can good design really make that space feel like it is "enough"?
 
Does access to the common house ease the personal space constraints to a
significant degree? 
        
Or is it worth it, based on your experience, to do the additional working,
scrimping and saving that would be required to purchase a larger unit?
        
       At the moment it is hard to imagine feeling truly comfortable in that
amount of space - but I certainly would like to believe it is possible!
        (We did live comfortably in a whole lot less space in  Peace Corps
Ecuador but there you can live on your porch 99% of the time - No winters!)
      
 Thanks in advance for any comments!

      Lisa Poley
      New River Valley Cohousing
      Blacksburg Virginia