Sunday, March 19, 2006 Trend: smaller, more open spaces posted at 10:54 AM There's a good article on MSN about how a large portion of the American population is looking into "downsized" homes. [Architect Sarah] Susanka's idea was so simple it was radical: "It's time for a different kind of house," the architect wrote, manifesto-like, in her 1998 book "The Not So Big House." "A house that is more than square footage; a house that is Not So Big, where each room is used every day. A house with a floorplan inspired by our informal lifestyle instead of the way our grandparents lived." She derided most spraddling suburban tract homes, with their unused dining rooms and their too many bathrooms, as spacious but not particularly comfortable -- less nests than "massive storage containers for people." There is a really interesting table at the bottom of the piece, recreated here. Average size of new homes built in various developed countries Country Sq. feet United States 2,349 Canada 1,800 New Zealand 1,900 Australia 2,200 U.K. 815 Ireland 930 Japan 1,000 Comments This is such a good direction for houses to be moving towards in the US. I hate the idea of having rooms I don't use. Its a house, not a museum! :D By  mari at Sunday, March 19, 2006 8:50:00 PM   Exactly! By  Heather Meadows at Sunday, March 19, 2006 9:29:00 PM   I am so glad that in the US at least we can pick what we want. I like having a dining room that is formal. I like having enough room to not 'see' the other people in the house all the time. I like different areas - like office and dining and family room. Your house should be able to be difined by YOU not what someone thinks. M By  Anonymous at Monday, March 20, 2006 2:31:00 PM   True, it definitely depends on your needs. You make use of your formal dining room quite often, so obviously that's not a waste of space :D I, personally, want to try to get by with as little space as possible. Less to clean! ;> But I definitely need enough space so that if I don't want to be in the same room as Sean, I don't have to be ;) Our old apartment worked out well for that--if he was in the bedroom, I could hang in the office, and if he was in the office, I could be in the bedroom. I figure our new one will work pretty much the same way. By  Heather Meadows at Monday, March 20, 2006 4:02:00 PM   Post a Comment

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