Thursday, April 22, 2010

Small Housebuilding in the New York Times

Not too long ago, news outlets were churning out stories on the "Ever-Expaning American Dream House" as fast as builders could build the mega mansions. Needless to say, the national mood has changed.

We've written in the past about the growing trend to build smaller. People are building and living really small. Would you consider reducing your home's footprint to 250-square-feet? (To put that number in perspective, in 2008, the National Association of Home Builders estimated the average square footage of an American home at roughly 2,500 square feet.) Yesterday's New York Times included a story about someone who did just that. Michelle de la Vega converted the garage behind her home to permanent living quarters and then rented out the house.

It may be a dramatic change in lifestyle to reduce the space you live in that radically. But it is certainly wise to think about how you can live smaller, especially if you're building. We have a collection of books in our store that detail how to design, build new, or renovate on a smaller scale. If you need more inspiration, take a look at some of the small buildings we've built here at Shelter.


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