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my home is smaller than your home...
A couple weeks back I previewed a fabulous property tricked out with green features. After the tour of the 1.6 million dollar, 7,000 square foot home, the owner informed me that she wasn't living in the house and wanted to sell because it was too big.
She had moved to a 900 square foot home.
Many people are starting to realize that one of the most practical ways to emphasize the logical of ecological living is to simply reduce the actual footprint of their home. We're entering an era where braggin' rights are being claimed over the smallness of one's home. In a swelling backlash to the McMansion, more people are adopting the smaller home lifestyle in the belief that less is more.
Just as the cars on U.S. highways are frequently single-occupancy, a growing percentage of home sales go to single owners, and yet it can be hard for a Buyer to find a quality built not-so-big house -- especially if one wants to move into the 1000 square foot or less territory. Zoning restrictions frequently restrict smaller homes and builders tend to emphasize more square footage over less.
But the times they are a-changin'.
One municipality in the metro Atlanta area is introducing zoning allowing for Cottage Housing Developments (CHD). The homes in this neighborhood will be tiny in comparison to the typical Atlanta product and the neighborhood design unconventional with cottages clustered in groups of four to twelve homes around common green space. The maximum square footage on these cottages will be 1,000 sq. ft.! These homes will emphasize cozy charm and quality construction over soul-less, bland, suburban "homes" that emphasize square footage and acreage over style, sustainability, and stewardship.
In future journal entries I will be telling you about a couple of exciting themes in smaller homes that I am working on. These homes will be a triumph of style and substance due to state-of-the-art green building features. Here's a quick sneak peak:
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Hobbitatstm are small homes that will be bursting with character and whimsy thanks to the unique skills of a talented finisher known as "The Cottage Innovator". They will feature a signature aesthetic that has already resulted in rave reviews and rapid home sales.
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Cargo Containers used to ship goods from China are being transformed into ingenuous living spaces throughout the world. I'm working with a group who will bring some of the first of these masterpieces of adaptive reuse to the Atlanta market.
More to come, so stay tuned...
Burke Sisco
Current market conditions have buyers and builders thinking smaller according to this article by Kelly Evans of The Wall Street Journal.
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