(Nan’s Note: Small homes are where it’s at. I’ve felt this way for a long time, having grown up in a house half of which was rarely used. After the McMansion period in building history, homeowners are finally getting sensible – they want smaller homes. This is great for the environment, because a smaller home uses fewer materials in construction and less energy to be run.
McMansion owners may feel cramped in a small home, but it’s a matter of learning and getting used to a new lifestyle. There are construction tricks that can give the feel of space when there is less of it. When the furniture and fixtures are of proper scale, a small space can be very comfortable, too. Read on to find out some construction secrets, and if you are a downsizing McMansion owner, bravo to you!)
By Vishu Magee, Taos, NM architect and designer
One theme stands out as the housing industry comes back to life: people want to build smaller homes. Have we finally come to our senses and embraced a greener outlook? Or are we just cutting back because economics are forcing us to?
In either case, a preference for smaller homes will endure only if we can be happy with a little less. Lifestyles will have to become less consumerist, and we must explore more substantial, nonmaterial sources of fulfillment. On a practical level, we’ll be designing more efficient spaces, shoehorning our stuff into a smaller footprint, and getting rid of things we don’t really need.
Before you build, read the rest of this informative article at Su Casa Magazine.
- Inside Your Energy Efficient Home
- Building Value: How Energy Efficiency Measures Enhance Real Estate Portfolios
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
We simply need to get used to living in smaller spaces! Our parents and grandparents did it (heck, I grew up in a family of 5 in a 1000 square foot rambler with one bathroom). Great post!
We are so consumptive in this country that bigger always seems better, we are never happy with what we have, always striving to have more and more and more. If we were happy within ourselves, we’d shed a lot of stuff, materially and emotionally.
great article, very informative