Too Much Space?

Let me start by saying that this site is great and I've learned a great deal from it. Thanks to all who contribute

I'm making the move to indoor growing and have started to plan my space. The area that I'm working with is 9.5' x 6' x 7'. My intent is to split the space into a 3' x 6' clone/veg room and 6.5' x 6' flower room. I currently have a 600w HPS for flowering. I read somewhere that a 600w light's footprint is approx. 4' x 4'. My concern is that my flower space is too big for the light, even with reflective wall and floor surfaces. I should add that I do plan on adding another light in the future after I get a couple grows under my belt so the extra space would be nice but in the meantime what do you all think?

Perhaps just grow a few plants to assess if you'll need another light, how many are you intending on growing?

Sorry, I should've added that info in the initial post. I want to start with 5-8 plants and if all goes well eventually go into a perpetual grow. That's down the line after I get some experience though. I just want to be as efficient as possible.

Well, I have 7 x WW under 1 x 600w HPS and they're doing just fine - I could probably squeeze one more under there but it's pretty tight as it is. A little LST and good pruning and 8 plants could fit quite nicely under 1 HPS light I reckon.

So you're saying that the size of the room shouldn't matter as long as the plants are under the light's main footprint? Should I consider mylar or panda film to keep as much of the "edge" light on the plants as possible or is that not worth the extra expense?

You could consider the addition of a light mover. This would spread the light over more plants as well from many different angles to increase growth even on plants that got enough light prior.

We'll, it'd just be a waste of space really, if you want to use the space and double the amount of plants then by all means, add another light - otherwise leave it at 1. I would go for Mylar and yes it is worth it, everything you do in your grow should be to maximize efficiency - without some sort of reflective surface around the plants you're just wasting light, money, etc. Mylar is also very cheap, I found mine on ebay at quite a reasonable price.