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Is Bigger Really Better?
By Amy Kennard
Midwestern Family
January/February 2007 |
| “Home is where the heart is.” How many families today use this mantra over and over in describing the place they go after a hard day of work, school or play? However, in the era of “supersizing”, many people succumb to the pressure that bigger is better. |
| The latest trend in homes comes straight from the architects who design them and the builders who build them. It’s a theory that puts comfort at the forefront of design, and finds quantity of square footage taking a back burner to quality of features. |
| Sarah Susanka, world-renown architect, interior designer and author, is a visionary of this concept, which she calls “The Not So Big House”. All her life, Susanka made mental notes about how people lived in their homes. As she was growing up, she noticed how people lived in their homes. Over the years, she observed a propensity of unused space in most homes, from formal dining rooms to uninhabited living rooms. Sarah saw features once considered positive, such as high ceilings, bright lighting and expansive square footage, causing a home to “lack soul” and generally be less comfortable for families to relax. |
| In her book, “The Not So Big House”, she writes, “The inspiration…came from a growing awareness that new houses were getting bigger and bigger but with little redeeming design merit. The problem is that comfort has almost nothing to do with how big the space is. It is attained, rather, by tailoring our houses to fit the way we really live, and to the scale and proportions of the human form.” |
| Sarah’s concept utilize the resources that would have been spent on square footage in rooms that are rarely used and puts it into qualities to make a house more of a home. “Most people…focus on floor plan options and square footage,” she says, “when that is really only a small part of what makes an impression in the completed project. What defines the character of a house are the details, such as a beautiful stair railing, well-crafted moldings around windows and doors, and useful, finely tailored built-ins.” |
| The idea dates back to the turn of the last century. Two Englishmen, John Ruskin and William Morris, feared that the machine age was in danger of destroying the quality of life. They believed life needed to be rehumanized, and the place to begin was the home. |
| The pair founded a movement called Arts and Crafts, and began designing custom-crafted, smaller home, with features such as large fireplaces and built-in bookshelves and cabinets. The style was embraced by many architects of the time, exemplified most popularly by Frank Lloyd Wright, who aspired to create a democratic, distinctly American style that was affordable to the common people. Examples of their work can still be seen in bungalows and “prairie” style homes of this era, which feature low roofs, open living areas and abundant use of natural materials. |
| Today, families are seeking a welcome environment with more usable space than some of the traditional cookie-cutter houses that are becoming more prevalent. Many don’t need a formal dining room, but would like to have a library or sitting room instead. Traffic flow may be important to those with small children or who entertain regularly. Some are looking for a retreat in their home, seeking small alcoves or lower ceilings to add more warmth and comfort. |
| An Architect's Point of View |
| As an architect herself, Sarah can see the value of design concepts such as visual weight, framed openings, spatial layering and the third dimension. Her task has been to explain the value of such terms to homeowners in the hopes that they can understand how those effects can bring more comfort to their homes. In turn, homeowners can better communicate their wants and needs to the architect by using terms they mutually agree on and understand. |
| John Shafer has owned his own architecture firm, John Shafer & Associates in Springfield since 1992, and came to embrace the “Not So Big House” concept through the book, A Pattern of Language, by Christopher Alexander. Published in the mid 70’s, the book is a valuable resource for homebuilders, contractors and developers who want to develop their own design “language” in order to create more individualistic homes and buildings. “What interests me,” John says, “is the concept of doing more with less, both from an energy point of view and a lifestyle simplification point of view. It seems to me a lot of houses are built with the notion that more must be better. Often we find that too many spaces or too large of a space do not promote the “home” aspect of a house. People often like cozy as a contrast to luxury, so we design those types of spaces.” |
| Terry Ruhland, owner of Plum Creek Builders in Chillicothe, has made Susan’s concept the cornerstone of his building philosophy. He states, “Comfort doesn’t come from square footage; it comes from the features within that square footage.” |
In the past two years, Terry and his team have built two “Not So Big Houses” in the Dunlap area, and says he invests a significant amount of time with his clients in the planning stages, thus insuring that the home is designed to fit their specific needs and lifestyle. “Building this type of home allows the owner to pack more power into every inch of space. This type of architecture and planning creates a home that is in harmony with the owner’s lifestyle.”
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| Specifically, though, what does that mean for a prospective home builder seeking to build a haven instead of just a house? Sarah identifies six central concepts: |
| 1. SHELTER AROUND ACTIVITY - Think back to when you were a child and built a cozy hideaway out of blankets or old boxes. The adult version of this is a smaller area of the house you can go to while still look out into a larger space. Sarah defines small areas of space in a home without the bulk of interior walls, giving a house the illusion of area without a lot of square footage. |
| 2. DOING DOUBLE DUTY - Many architects and builders are getting on board with the concept that each space should be able to serve more than one function. For example, a built-in eating area in a kitchen can be constructed so as to double for more formal dining when needed. |
| 3. VARIETY OF CEILING HEIGHTS - Though high ceilings are sometimes considered more desirable than lower ones, Sarah recommends varying ceiling height. She uses the example of her own bedroom, in which she chose a low-ceilinged alcove to contrast with the eight-foot-high ceilings on the rest of the level. This definition, she says, helps define an alcove and create a feeling of warmth and comfort. |
| 4. INTERIOR VIEWS - Many people spend more time wondering what they’re going to look at on the outside of their home than what they’ll view inside. Composition of interior views from one room to another is just as important as what you’ll see outside the window of your home. |
| 5. DIAGONAL VIEWS - You can increase the perceived size of a home simply by arranging a space so that you can look along the diagonal, from one corner to the opposite corner. This is easily achieved by reducing the number of room dividers in your home, wasted space that disrupts the flow and decreases your sight lines. |
| 6. A PLACE OF ONE’S OWN - Sarah cites A Pattern of Language when discussing the importance of alcoves in a home. “No homogeneous room, of homogeneous height, can serve a group of people well,” the author states. “To give a group a chance to be together, as a group, a room must also give them the chance to be alone, in ones and twos, in the same space.” She is an advocate of window seats, alcoves, or small nooks in the house where one or two adults can retreat. |
| “Your house should be an expression of who you are,” Sarah preaches. “Tailoring is the key factor. What makes the “Not So Big House” concept work is that superfluous square footage is traded for less tangible but more meaningful aspects of design that are about beauty, self-expression and the enhancement of life.” |
| While you may be able to afford a house with abundant square footage, you may find that reducing the overall volume while attending to crafting details such as flow, function and flexibility will actually give you more livable space. Building a house based on your specific needs and that’s tailored to your lifestyle will ensure that you have a “home of your very own” for years and years to come. |
Not So Big Solutions for Your Home
Sarah Susanka |
Inside the Not So Big House: Discovering the Details that Bring a Home to Life
Sarah Susanka and Marc Vassallo |
The New Family Home
Jim Tolpin |
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The House You Build: Making Real-World Choices to Get the Home You Want
(American Institute Architects)
Duo Dickinson
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