Living Big in a Small Home
Two things happened to me when I read the article below. I first starting thinking, I would love to downsize my home. When we originally bought this home we had been in a home that was about 1500 square feet and would run into each other. So of course we went overboard and increased our living space to over 3100 square feet. But nine (9) years have passed, our daughter has graduated from college and is now in and out in our lives. She is an archaeologist and works seasonally in Arizona. In the Fall of 2010 she will be heading off to Memphis, Tennessee to start her graduate studies in Egyptology. So you can imagine the enormity of our home. But the caveat is, I don't want to move and pack up this house again!
The second thing was a video that came into my inbox the same day. This video is from PlanetGreenDiscovery.com. It is titled World's Greenest Homes: Hong Kong Space Saver. This engineer lives in a 330 square foot home that has been in his family for a very long time. It explains what he has done to accommodate his sorroundings and make his living spaces work for him. I know you will enjoy watching this video!
World's Greenest Homes: Hong Kong Space Saver
The article below is from RealtorMag.
After years of upsizing, Americans are enjoying the benefits of more modest living spaces.
By Maggie Sieger | February 2010
With the average home size declining, owners are cleverly doing more with the square footage they have.
Years before house staging came into vogue as a sales tool, Howard Hoffman was helping sellers rearrange their furniture to maximize floor space and enhance a home’s beauty. Hoffman, GRI, SRES®, now owns Stage & $ell, a home staging and redesign company in Indianapolis.
Chances are he’ll have a lot more business in the years ahead from people needing to resize their lives. With baby boomers entering retirement, young adults delaying marriage, and the economy improving by fits and starts, Americans are starting to embrace the idea that less is more when it comes to their square footage. The average size of a new house decreased last year for the first time in nearly three decades.
"Home buyers have been changing," says Fran Litton, a planner with Evans Group, an architectural firm in Orlando, Fla. "They still want the luxury and toys, but they’re putting them into a smaller space."
Although the average square footage of a new house is still double what it was in 1960, in the last year, it decreased slightly to 2,215 square feet from a high of 2,277 square feet in 2008, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. While the decrease doesn’t approach mid-20th century levels, it is the first drop in house size since the recession of the early 1980s.
Smaller houses can mean bigger challenges for real estate professionals. "Eighty percent of people appreciate only what they can see," says Hoffman, who also works as a sales associate with F.C. Tucker Co. in Indianapolis. "You have to make sure you’re showing them what you’ve got." That means making sure each room is easily identified. "Get rid of that desk and computer in the dining room," he says. "Make sure buyers can see it’s a dining room."
Hoffman also advises clients to remove rugs to show off hardwood floors and take pictures off the walls. "The less the eye has to distract it, the bigger a room feels," says Hoffman. "People buy what they see. If they can’t see the floors or the walls, they won’t buy the house."
Interior designer Roberta Lathrop agrees. She tells her clients with smaller kitchens to clear the counters. "You can’t have all the small appliances sitting on the counter," says Lathrop, who runs Designs by Roberta in Belmont, Mich. "It will start looking very cluttered very fast."
Smaller houses require owners to rethink what they have and how they use things. "If you have a smaller house, maybe you don’t need half a dozen different pans," she explains. "Maybe a single flat griddle that you can put over a couple of burners will do."
One of the first tasks she assigns clients is to go through their stuff—ruthlessly. "We all have too much stuff," she says. "Get rid of it. If you’re attached to an item, or think maybe you’ll need it, put it in a box and store it somewhere for six months. Then go back through it.
Have you used it? Have you even missed it? If not, donate it. Get it out of the house." That goes for clothes as well, she says.
Read the entire article . . .
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
The second thing was a video that came into my inbox the same day. This video is from PlanetGreenDiscovery.com. It is titled World's Greenest Homes: Hong Kong Space Saver. This engineer lives in a 330 square foot home that has been in his family for a very long time. It explains what he has done to accommodate his sorroundings and make his living spaces work for him. I know you will enjoy watching this video!
World's Greenest Homes: Hong Kong Space Saver
The article below is from RealtorMag.
After years of upsizing, Americans are enjoying the benefits of more modest living spaces.
By Maggie Sieger | February 2010
With the average home size declining, owners are cleverly doing more with the square footage they have.
Chances are he’ll have a lot more business in the years ahead from people needing to resize their lives. With baby boomers entering retirement, young adults delaying marriage, and the economy improving by fits and starts, Americans are starting to embrace the idea that less is more when it comes to their square footage. The average size of a new house decreased last year for the first time in nearly three decades.
"Home buyers have been changing," says Fran Litton, a planner with Evans Group, an architectural firm in Orlando, Fla. "They still want the luxury and toys, but they’re putting them into a smaller space."
Although the average square footage of a new house is still double what it was in 1960, in the last year, it decreased slightly to 2,215 square feet from a high of 2,277 square feet in 2008, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. While the decrease doesn’t approach mid-20th century levels, it is the first drop in house size since the recession of the early 1980s.
Smaller houses can mean bigger challenges for real estate professionals. "Eighty percent of people appreciate only what they can see," says Hoffman, who also works as a sales associate with F.C. Tucker Co. in Indianapolis. "You have to make sure you’re showing them what you’ve got." That means making sure each room is easily identified. "Get rid of that desk and computer in the dining room," he says. "Make sure buyers can see it’s a dining room."
Hoffman also advises clients to remove rugs to show off hardwood floors and take pictures off the walls. "The less the eye has to distract it, the bigger a room feels," says Hoffman. "People buy what they see. If they can’t see the floors or the walls, they won’t buy the house."
Interior designer Roberta Lathrop agrees. She tells her clients with smaller kitchens to clear the counters. "You can’t have all the small appliances sitting on the counter," says Lathrop, who runs Designs by Roberta in Belmont, Mich. "It will start looking very cluttered very fast."
Smaller houses require owners to rethink what they have and how they use things. "If you have a smaller house, maybe you don’t need half a dozen different pans," she explains. "Maybe a single flat griddle that you can put over a couple of burners will do."
One of the first tasks she assigns clients is to go through their stuff—ruthlessly. "We all have too much stuff," she says. "Get rid of it. If you’re attached to an item, or think maybe you’ll need it, put it in a box and store it somewhere for six months. Then go back through it.
Have you used it? Have you even missed it? If not, donate it. Get it out of the house." That goes for clothes as well, she says.
Read the entire article . . .
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
Posted by Nancy Strong at Wednesday, February 10, 2010 10:00:00 AM 
Categories: Grow Your Business, Sales Strategies
Tags: Real estate agents Real Estate Sales Strateigies home staging Real Estate
Categories: Grow Your Business, Sales Strategies
Tags: Real estate agents Real Estate Sales Strateigies home staging Real Estate
My folks downsized when we all flew the nest. I cringed, thinking they were going WAY overboard. Sure enough, after two years they were in danger of divorce, never being able to avoid being on top of one another. Going from 3,000 sq ft to less than 1200 was not good. They rebuilt - and now are at about 2400 and happy.
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I really like your article, and you make a good point. I think we all need less space than we think we need, and less is certainly easy to clean and maintain. But sometimes we have hobbies that require a room too, and hobbies are necessary for sanity!
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That is certainly true. I need room for my hobby of stained glass. But I am really tired of cleaning this house!
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Oh, the trick is to be organized, if you have small spaces. I've seen a news report about this girl who lives in a bedroom in New York city... this bedroom includes her kitchen. Her bed is a loft bed, and she works under her bed and she has a small counter. But she seemed to do well!
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I've always lived with little stuff to help with moving around (which I have been doing quite a bit in the past 7-8 years). Now that I'm moving somewhere more permanently, I don't really know what to do...
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Nice ideas about the ease and necessity of downsizing. I will be curious to know whether in a few years you are on top of each other again! LOL
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In this economy I'm not selling anyway. Just wishful thinking on my part!
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Some great info here
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This is great food for thought! I agree that having less space to work with discourages disorganization. But 330 sq ft? At some point, you have to consider how much space you NEED - just to live comfortably, for heaven's sake!
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A smaller space is cheaper over time - every time you have to repaint or recarpet it costs less than a big place does, and you can do a lot of the work yourself!
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Both kinds of spaces have different challenges. Making a big space feel more intimate is as difficult as making a small space look spacious! But there are ways to deal with both as your post shows, and I'm glad I found it!
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That is absolutely true. Big spaces may even be more difficult to give that warm feeling.
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I'm going to subscribe to this blog because it's very interesting
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Thank you for your kind words. I will try to continue to have interesting blog posts! Some times it's not easy to get them done.
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What will you do with all the space though, if you stay in the same home? Won't it look empty in some rooms? In any case, I'm moving into my first studio apartment soon and I am really anxious about not having enough space. Any tips?
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I know when we moved to a smaller home I had trouble finding space. Closet organizers are one place to start. I love the way this man utilized a small family apartment for his needs.
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Fabulous article ,The things which are added here this is truely useful for most of the people. All the information is good explained ,This post help me to sortout my some problem.This is great,Thanks for sharing.
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It is absolutely amazing what you can do with small spaces with the technologies we possess. Thanks for reading my blog.
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This place will be great for me.
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I never thought of downsizing as hectic task...it is always a fun experience for me.. though I am an interior decorator, may be this is the reason why I don't hate it as everyone else does.
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That has to be exactly why. I dread having to downsize and getting rid of stuff. Every time we move we get rid of stuff and then we just start accumulating it all over again.
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You have presented nice ideas about the ease and necessity of downsizing.I think we all need less space than we think we need, and less is certainly easy to clean and maintain. But sometimes we have hobbies that require a room too, and hobbies are necessary for sanity!
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I agree. I have several hobbies and need space for them all.
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Excellent article!
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