Size Matters

Living large in a smaller home

by Hannah Bloch

Back in 2003, David McGee made a bold move. At a time when interest rates were at rock bottom and most of his friends and associates in Portland, Ore., were buying ever-bigger homes, the Intel employee-turned-contractor cashed out his mortgage ... and downsized. He and his wife sold their 2,800-square-foot house and moved with their three young daughters to a place half as large. “People said we were crazy,” McGee recalls.

(story continued below)

EXTRA:
> A house is a house
> SUSANKA: "What we need is meaning"
> Angie's List Quick Poll results

David and Tiffany McGee, with daughters Madeline (left), 7, and Marlena, 5, say they feel more at home living in less space. (photo by Mount Burns)

Today, McGee is part of a growing trend. Big houses are still the norm: The average U.S. house has more than doubled in size since 1950, and now measures 2,434 square feet. But increasing numbers of homeowners are finding that these houses aren’t what they were cracked up to be. Space goes wasted or unused. Utility, maintenance and tax costs pile up. In some cases, folks simply find themselves feeling a bit lost in colossal homes that look impressive from the outside but inside have all the warmth of an airplane hangar.

And so something new — and small — is happening. People are beginning to realize that when quality is high, less can do more. In a survey last year by the National Association of Home Builders, 63 percent of American homeowners said they’d prefer to live in a smaller house with “high-quality products and amenities,” such as marble floors and top-of-the-line appliances, than in a larger house with fewer of those features.

At the forefront of the movement advocating smaller, more efficient and better-designed homes is Sarah Susanka, a British-born architect now based in Raleigh, N.C. Susanka started a mini-revolution eight years ago with the publication of “The Not So Big House,” which became a bestseller on the strength of its simple, sensible message: Bigger is not necessarily better; quality trumps quantity of space; and houses should nurture and inspire rather than impress.

It’s a philosophy that Susanka believes can actually improve people’s lives. Half a dozen subsequent “Not So Big” books have tapped into a growing public hunger for understanding of better design and use of space. “I heard people saying, ‘What is going on with these big houses?’” Susanka says. “I am giving voice to that part of the marketplace that doesn’t understand why anyone would do that.”

Altogether, her books have sold more than 1 million copies. They’ve helped turn Susanka into a sort of rock star of home design. She addresses sold-out crowds across the country, stays in touch with fans and true believers via her website, encourages like-minded architects, real estate agents and other home professionals to affiliate themselves formally with her, and is even venturing into lifestyle-guru territory with a forthcoming book titled “The Not So Big Life,” due out in January (see sidebar).

Eric Hughes, a residential designer for the past 20 years in Grand Rapids, Michigan’s second-largest city, says Susanka’s message is resonating there. When she came to speak last year, more than 3,000 people showed up, and fans had to be turned away. “Ten years ago, people here would show off with the biggest house,” he says. “The biggest change now is that people are starting to see that smaller is better.”

In his own business, Hughes has noticed a shift. “I used to do a lot of 4,000-square-foot homes,” he says. But now, he says, “They’re 2,000 to 2,400 square feet with a lot more built-ins and details. People are coming into them and wondering, ‘Why would I buy bigger when this is so much nicer?’”

Hughes sometimes uses his own home as a model to show clients how much can be done in a limited space. For the past four years, he and his wife and three kids have lived in a lovingly detailed 900-square-foot house with a 400-square-foot basement. “We try to use every ounce of space to the fullest,” he says, including closets he redesigned to get three times the storage space and a kitchen that doubled in space with the addition of built-in cabinets and shelves.

Back to top   A House Is a House...

(left photo by Janine Beorgson) (right photo by Jay Shafer) At the extreme end of the not-so-big spectrum is the home design of Jay Shafer. The 41-year-old founder of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses in Sebastopol, Calif., builds houses that seem almost unimaginably pared down — but still manage to be habitable. For five years, Shafer has lived happily in one of his own creations, a 70-square-foot “very homey house” he built of cedar and transported from Iowa to California. Now he says he’s upsizing to a 100-square foot house, complete with a porch and gabled roof. “I really like well-designed spaces, and that means a space that feels like it’s hugging you,” Shafer says. “But it’s not squeezing you too tight, and it’s not giving you a sense of the abyss because it’s too big.” So what’s inside a Tumbleweed Tiny House? In his own, Shafer says, is a “wide-open” front room that measures 6 feet by 6 feet. It contains a desk, shelves, a heater, two chairs and a closet. Through a passageway lined with more shelves is the kitchen — 4 feet by 4 feet — complete with sink, stovetop, counter and mini fridge. A bathroom, 2 feet by 4 feet, holds the shower and toilet. (“The toilet is IN the shower,” Shafer explains). A ladder in the kitchen reaches a loft that stretches across the entire length of the house, a capacious 8 feet by 12 feet long. Such extremes aren’t for everyone, and Tumbleweed houses are hardly big sellers. But Shafer says interest is picking up. Through his website, tumbleweedhouses.com, he has sold as many houses in the past year — five — as he did in the five previous years combined. The smallest (70 square feet) fetch $30,000 and the largest (750 square feet) go for an economical $80,000. A Hurricane Katrina survivor who bought one of Shafer’s homes is now marketing a few of his designs to other survivors along the Gulf Coast. Shafer says the advantages of his tiny house are both economic and environmental. His bills are low, and he uses very few resources. “Plus you’re not having to deal with the whole hassle of a lot of extra space,” he says. He envisions planning entire communities of teeny houses. But sometimes the law can interfere. When he built his first one in Iowa City, Iowa, a local ordinance forbade such small dwellings. So Shafer bought a standard-sized house and lived in his tiny house in the backyard. As for downsides, he can think of only one. When he wanted to host a housewarming party, he could invite just four friends at a time. However, he says, “With all that money you’re saving, you could rent out an entire Holiday Inn.” — H.B.

Adding details such as wood trim, varied interior lighting and cozy corners help do just that. A small space can be intimidating, she says, because “people fear being too cramped and feeling too claustrophobic. But basic tricks can make less do more and make a home more beautiful and inspiring to live in.”

Feeling at home was something McGee had never experienced in his previous, larger house. His modest furniture, for example, seemed out of proportion to the space. “The old living room was just cavernous,” he recalls. “The furniture looked so little and so far apart. It felt like we were yelling across the room to talk to someone. But in the new living room, six to eight people can sit comfortably and enjoy each other’s company. It’s cozy.”

Maria Orefice was initially disappointed when she learned that structural issues would prevent her from building an addition to her 2,000-square-foot ranch house in Tarzana, Calif., outside Los Angeles. Now, she says it’s a blessing. “As I get older, I want less around me,” she says. “You reach a point where you wonder, ‘Do we really need this stuff?’” Plus, she adds, “I really don’t want to clean!”

Mildred and Swieliang Tan can identify with Orefice. For 12 years, the Chicago couple enjoyed the sprawl of their 2,500-square-foot Hyde Park home. But with their three children long grown and gone, they’re now looking to downsize to a 1,000-square-foot condo. “We’re getting older and have some health problems, and the stairs and size of our current home is just too much,” Mildred says. The couple also looks forward to getting rid of yard work completely. “We’d rather spend our time doing something else,” she adds.

Susanka says homeowners need to rethink their use of space to reflect an informal lifestyle. “We should equate the way we live today with the way we think of ourselves on vacation in a cabin,” she says. “It’s as if we had a house with the same qualities: informal spaces being completely open, giving people a sense of relaxed space.”

Georgia Salaveri, a real estate agent in Weston, Fla., north of Miami, says she’s noticing more homebuyers seeking exactly that. “I do feel people are looking for more multiuse space,” she says. “They don’t want a family room and a living room. They want a great room instead.” But, she adds, it can be challenging to find homes that provide the informal space these buyers are seeking. “Builders haven’t caught on to that idea yet,” Salaveri says.

Builders say they simply respond to buyers’ wishes, and of course most buyers want the highest possible property value. Part of the challenge lies in the way homes are appraised, based largely on square footage and location rather than on fine interior detail. “One of the biggest hurdles of the whole not-so-big philosophy is to try to get someone to appraise a house and base it on not-so-big-house principles, not square footage,” Hughes says. Adds Salaveri: “A lot of people don’t have a clue about interiors of homes or the value of ceramic versus marble.”

The costs of those interior details can be substantial, and Susanka cautions that not so big shouldn’t be mistaken for cheap. The price per square foot of a not-so-big house can range from $120 to as much as $400. All the things that make a smaller house special can add up fast, meaning a beautifully and wisely designed 2,000-square-foot home can easily end up costing just as much as one double the size.

Sarah Susanka says unique lighting is just one way to add to a home’s value and character. (photos by Ken Gutmaker)

Aloi says living in such a large house makes her feel special, and in that sense she’s not so different from homeowners who’ve chosen the not-so-big path. They say the character of their houses and the care that’s gone into making them homes is important. Beyond this, they take a long view and believe they are helping the planet by living this way. As David McGee says, “I feel good leaving a smaller footprint on this world.”

Back to top   SUSANKA: "What we need is meaning" Susanka has become a rock star of small-home design. (photo by Ken Gutmaker) YOU’VE JUST FINISHED WRITING A NEW BOOK. WHAT’S IT ABOUT? “My previous books have been about living in three dimensions, but this book [‘The Not So Big Life’] will be about ... the fourth dimension: time. It will help people to live pragmatically.” WHO’S MOST DRAWN TO YOUR PHILOSOPHY? “My clientele cuts across all age ranges and economic brackets. They have a higher level of education and are known as ‘cultural creatives.’ They think of the planet, family and community. They’re not altruistic; it’s just the way they’re wired. Lots of people assume these must be mostly empty nesters, but they’re 25 percent at most.” WHICH PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ARE NOT SO BIG? “Portland, Ore., and Seattle are in the groove; and Boulder, Colo., Asheville, N.C., and some areas in Boston. There’s a mind change happening in the Northwest that is spreading across the country.” DID YOUR PHILOSOPHY BECOME MORE POPULAR AFTER THE TRAGEDY OF SEPT. 11? “Definitely. I got hundreds of e-mails from people telling me they’d shifted priorities. There was more awareness that there’s a tradeoff when we work so hard. It takes a kind of shake-up for people to say, ‘Why am I doing this?’ Downsizing makes a heck of a lot of sense because what we need is meaning.” CAN YOU SUGGEST AN AFFORDABLE WAY HOMEOWNERS CAN PUT YOUR PHILOSOPHY TO WORK? “A lighted painting at the end of a long, dark hallway transforms the experience of walking down the hall. You feel enlivened. That’s a $300 maximum improvement.” WHAT ARE PITFALLS YOU’D WARN HOMEOWNERS ABOUT IN TRYING TO CREATE A NOT-SO-BIG HOUSE? “If you ever find [a builder or designer] NOT talking about money, panic! It’s so crucial and so difficult to pin down. Prices can increase vastly more and faster than anyone can imagine. Also, really do research and find both a builder and designer on the same page. One of the hidden values of an architect is he’s usually done good work to find builders. Last but not least, make sure to ask the right questions. I have a list of them on my website, notsobig.com.”