By Vern Holmquist
For years our new homes have gotten bigger and bigger. Bigger is better. Well, not necessarily. People across our country are living in smaller homes. Some are living in homes that are 400 sq.ft. and smaller – micro homes down as far as 200 sq. ft. – and loving it. Personally, I have found my minimum to be 400 sq. ft.
Yours truly, an architect not, has designed a 400 sq. ft. home for one or two people which includes all of the appliances found in modern houses. Not only does it have the appliances, but all necessary storage as well. What people are finding out is their lives are much more uncluttered, easier, more enjoyable without all of those things they thought they could not live without.
I feel young people starting their adult lives have no damn business saddling themselves with a quarter million dollar mortgage. They have little or no money left to enjoy life. They have become slaves to corporate America and probably can’t afford to go out on Saturday night for a beer.
The mini-houses that people are finding to their liking are quality, not cheaply built. They are just lower cost because they are small, and with solar energy there’s little to no power bills. It does not take many panels to heat 400 sq.ft.
The feature I like best about the home I have designed is out of the 400 sq. ft. there is a 200 sq.ft. living room or bedroom depending on if it is night or day. Young ladies I have shown my plan to love the Murphy bed because if they are too busy to make the bed in the morning it can be pushed into the wall until they have time to make it. What you can’t see is hard to criticize!
Well, all I’m saying is smaller is the coming trend. Small and green are the ways to go. One day I may display my model, then you can see if you can imagine building equity and getting a good start in life without a big mortgage.
