Size Does Matter – and Smaller Is A Beautiful Thing

Over a decade ago in college my roommate and I were sharing a 350 SF box of a room. The dark brick walls encased the two smallish barrack style beds, narrow desks and ridiculously small closets. The entirety of my life’s possessions occupied the right half, and my roommate’s, Lorrie’s, the left. In the middle, we had a shared tiny fridge with a Gevalia coffeemaker on top. Occasionally, we’d have friends over, and play poker or Pictionary, sitting Indian-style on an old blanket, drinking Rolling Rocks and discussing the meaning of life, the Universe and everything in between rounds. We were young, and didn’t need much out of life, and a hug from a friend shared freely made up for the cramped dark catacombs we called home for four years.

Years later I would move into a studio apartment belonging to the man who would become my husband. The size of that space was about 600 Square Feet, and it came with its own brick wall, so I felt perfectly comfy in it. It was impossible to make a mess or turn into a pack-rat in a place that size. It was also harder to argue with each other; there were no extra doors to slam or a room to run to. That, too, is still a place I remember fondly.

Each of these had imposed a certain style of living upon its inhabitants, where space was shared, but not grudgingly, where whatever we did we had to do together, and where the morning light streaming into the window beckoned one to go outside, instead of just looking at it.

Having moved to Florida years ago and having acquired a pair of boys and a pair of dogs, my living arrangements now consist of a spacious 2,400 SF house. We are a friendly sort of family and do what we can to play together. We watch the same shows, enjoy the same music and, generally speaking, are a pretty easy-going bunch. But I do occasionally miss the strange closeness imposed on one by a smaller space. I miss not having enough room to clutter with things I don’t need or laundry I am too lazy to do at the moment. I miss wanting to go outside and stroll through the park instead of perching myself with a book on a folding chair in my back yard. We evolve, as we get older, and the spaces our lives occupy are rarely truly home. The ones that are, have to be just right for the time and space in our lives where they occur, and once the kiddos fly off to a cramped dorm room of their own, hubby and I will occupy a tiny house with a huge back porch and just enough room to be comfortable in. No McMansions for the two of us, – more a home that wants to be a loft sort of thing. The smaller footprint of the home will be much more for our convenience than for the sake of the environment. After all, if size does matter, shouldn’t it matter in both directions?

If the number of requests we are receiving for the Eco-Logic Collection, which starts at a cozy 928 square feet of smart living space, is any indication, size in the opposite direction does, indeed, matter. More and more empty nesters and those just starting out are opting for smaller homes, so maybe when it’s time for my hubby and I to downsize, it will not be such a drastic and uncommon thing after all. Hopefully by that time the outdated ordinances calling for a minimum size of a home in any given community will catch up with the wishes of those who matter most, people buying and building homes, and we, as a country, will evolve to more intelligent living choices.

For now, I’ll reminisce on the past and dream of a smaller, more sustainable future.

Subscribe to our New Homes Blog!

Related Posts

• April 6, 2009 -- The economics of Green…