Build Better - Not Larger

"Homeowners are eager to simplify!"

On the heels of the recession, there’s been a resurgence of interest in small houses (1500 square feet and less) and even smaller retreats (800 square feet and less). Folks appreciate that living smaller is easier on their pocketbook, their time, and the environment. Plus, small houses and retreats are fun!  Shelter magazines and newspapers (like the New York Times) are featuring these smaller wonders more and more frequently, and architects are displaying more of them on their websites. Now is the  time to rethink fundamental small house design strategies for homeowners eager to simplify smart.

• Does your home serve you—or do you serve your home?
• Will your home afford you the necessary space to create happy, healthy memories and stories in the year ahead?

"These are not questions most of us ask ourselves, but we should.  After all, our homes are meant to serve a distinct purpose in our lives—to be both the space we come back to, and the space we go out from each day.  Our homes are, in essence, the foundation of our daily lives.

If your home is serving you well, it is a safe harbor from the storms of life—a space to relax, rest, and connect in meaningful ways with loved ones and friends.  And it’s a secure port of departure when you’re ready to brave the choppy seas of life again.  A home serves you best when it provides both of these benefits.

A home doesn’t serve you when it complicates your life and takes more than it gives.  When possessing your home (and maintaining the possessions within it) becomes your focus, you end up spending your limited and valuable resources (time, energy, money) taking care of it.

 That’s when you know you’re serving your home.  You’re spending less time living the life you want, because you’re spending more time cleaning, maintaining, and repairing- and perhaps also paying a hefty mortgage or rent for the privilege.

The good news is it doesn’t have to be that way.  It’s possible to live more by owning less.  And that’s the premise of my writing in The Minimalist Home.  It’s a purpose-based guide to a simpler, decluttered, refocused  life- one that makes sure your home is serving you, and not the other way around. It recognizes that each of us can love the house—the home—we live in."