Bigger isn’t always better in home design
“Less is only more where more is no good.”
Every so often, someone comes along who just makes you question every purchasing decision you’ve ever made. Like Miami-based designer Marianne Cusato, whose home design philosophy embodies living better with less.
Working with a team of designers, Cusato created the Katrina Cottages: attractive, affordable homes between 300 and 500 square feet. That’s not a typo. I don’t know how big your place is, but my kitchen and eating area is around 300 square feet, and I still trip over my dogs.
Her team’s task was to design an alternative to the FEMA trailers that housed those left homeless after hurricane Katrina. The Katrina Cottages are well-designed and apple-pie cute to boot. They won the Smithsonian Institution’s National People’s Design Award in 2006.
Of course, Cusato’s not the first build-better-not-bigger disciple. Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House, also reveres architectural quality over quantity.
But regardless of whether your home is big or small, its design — far more than its size — determines how well you live. Bigger isn’t always better — though it can be.
Here are some ways Cusato says we can work around common design flaws in newer homes that may negatively affect how we enjoy our spaces.
– Mistake: Dominant garages. As people began to rely more on cars for daily living, garages started taking over the front of the house. Next, people retreated further inside their homes and became less connected with their neighbours and communities.
– Fix: Enhance your street connection. Consider how your home meets the street. It should pull you in. Punch up your home’s curb appeal. Focus on the front door and your porch if you have one. Make the path to your door say, “Welcome.”
– Mistake: Focus on size. To max out square footage, many builders have opted for bigger houses at the expense of high end finishes.
– Fix: Upgrade door handles and knobs that feel flimsy for ones that look and feel solid. Similarly, trade hollow core doors for solid ones.
– Mistake: Tacky add-ons. Among Cusato’s many peeves are tacked on architectural details that are just for looks. Specifically, she’d like to abolish fake shutters and three-foot porches.
– Fix: Use it or lose it. “A home should have nothing gratuitous,” says Cusato. “Either the shutters work or they go.” Even her 300-square-foot cottage has an eight-foot-deep front porch (not included in the square footage). “Keep it authentic.” Now think about that while I go take the fake shutters off my garage.
Marni Jameson, Calgary Herald
