Small Homes

     When it comes to our homes, it turns out that bigger isn’t always better. It is more resource intensive on the Earth for one thing. For another, it simply is wasted space. Environmental Building News in 1999 had information that showed the remarkable growth in U.S. house size from 1950 - 1999, and the simultaneous drop in people-per-house. It showed that Americans have quickly become the most housed people in the history of humanity—on average, North Americans now have about 4 times more space per person in new houses than they did in 1950! Another graph compared energy efficiency with house size, showing that a small, poorly insulated house was considerably more efficient than a large, well-insulated house. This was so because people were paying to heat, light and maintain rooms that they didn’t spend much time in.

     For some “too big” may seem unlikely to family life, but some psychologists have postulated that there's a negative impact on family togetherness, problem-solving, and communication skills when everyone has their own individual spaces to which they can escape.

     In the most recent times when the real estate market has been uncertain, there is definite economic reasons to see why smaller homes are better. Plenty of people have seen prices on their large homes plummet, and payments have been more than they could handle. In deciding how big a mortgage people could afford, many mortgage lenders used scenarios that didn't take into account other long-term financial goals. Purchasing the largest home you qualify for, without thinking of other pressing financial concerns, can leave you vulnerable to foreclosure or even bankruptcy.

     The movement into smaller homes is starting to catch on. USA Today has a recent article that pointed out that smaller homes are popular in American culture more than before. “New homes, after doubling in size since 1960, are shrinking. Last year, for the first time in at least 10 years, the average square footage of single-family homes under construction fell dramatically, from 2,629 in the second quarter to 2,343 in the fourth quarter, Census data show.”

     The smaller your living space, the less energy is needed to heat and light it, and the less you have to spend on utilities too, which meands more money to spend on things that you’d enjoy more. With some thoughtful, careful interior design, you can create beautiful living environments out of some surprisingly small spaces. Stores such as IKEA have wonderful ideas on multi-functional furniture and deocrations as well as how to make the most of your space.