Green | February 24, 2009 | 14 comments

Goodbye, McMansions!

source: http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/michael-cannell/cannell/downsizing-dream-home

Image
ajcowley
"Whether we like it or not, the small house may now become a reality. New homes shrank by 100 square feet last year, according to the Census Bureau, and a survey last month by the National Association of Home Builders reported that 88 percent of homebuilders are constructing smaller homes."

"Here’s the critical question: is the downsizing merely a pause in the inevitable pursuit of more bulked-out McMansions, or a cultural shift that will lead Americans to value efficiency, as the Dutch so famously do?"
  1. groups:
    Green,   Earth and Science,   Architecture,   Trends
  2. tags:
    Green,  Earth and Science,  Architecture,  Trends,  5 more
  3.     
    |

14 comments // Goodbye, McMansions!

  • ampersand
    • 0
      ampersand  

    • Having an obsession for sustainable design, and after a couple decades of designing and building homes for myself and others, using the current parameters of life in North America, I came to the rough approximation of 700 s.f. per person for useful and comfortable compact detached home design.
      This figure seemed to hold as a multiplier for a one, two, or three person home.
      I imagine that overall figure could go down very slightly with more people sharing the home.

    • 2 years ago
  • platkat
  • Elligirl
    • 0
      Elligirl  

    • I'd much rather have a bigger yard than a bigger house. Give me a garden to play in and it's better than an extra bed room!

    • 2 years ago
  • TabulaRasa
    • 0
      TabulaRasa  

    • Sure this house is great if you're single and plan to stay single for quite some time.... It's better than an apartment no doubt. But once you get a family started, people need their room... maybe not so much room but quite a bit.

    • 2 years ago
  • puma74
    • 0
      puma74  

    • My house was built in 1925. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and it's 1000sq ft. Granted we have a insulated Florida room and a full basement, but for 18 cats, 2 ferrets, a turtle and 2 humans, we all manage fine. People should invest in what they have, instead of running to something else big and better.

    • 2 years ago
  • kcfoxie
    • 0
      kcfoxie  

    • We just had an IKEA open in Charlotte, NC. I was talking to my sister in law about it, and she was on speaker phone with another friend. He didn't understand the excitement about "another furniture store" and I said IKEA's focus is on small spaces. Maximizing the most out of what you have available. He said that's not an issue I have 6000 square feet, and I remarked "yet you were just complaining about not having enough storage room..."

      he said he'd look into the IKEA business.

    • 2 years ago
  • meimei1948
  • kcfoxie
    • 0
      kcfoxie  
    • meimei1948:

      My parrot needs windows.

      My cats (3) would also like windows.

      My partner needs his dedicated TV space.

      I need a garage for our three diesel vehicles, the biodiesel reactor that makes our heating and vehicle fuel and all the outdoor stuff (chairs, tent, coolers).

      I need a computer room with one solid work bench and 4 small IKEA Dave computer table stations for testing.

      Simply put, I need about 1200sq/ft to keep the family happy. We've lived in 600sq/ft and it killed us.

    • 2 years ago
  • jeffreyak
  • itdango
    • 0
      itdango  

    • it makes sense. in central NJ (and i'm sure many other states), all the houses being built are McMansions, and the people I know that live in them are constantly complaining of absurd utility bills, wasted space, and poor construction planning. i rent a ranch home, and i love it. gotta make the most of what you got.

    • 2 years ago
  • darkhorsejim
  • Blkwdw
    • 0
      Blkwdw  

    • I saw a guy on Oprah who had a house about this size and he worked it, it was modern and had pretty much everything you need

    • 2 years ago
more from Green:
from the community

top videos