ARA

The size of homes may be shrinking, but people still want to live large, just doing so in smaller spaces.

To some trend-watchers, the down scaling of especially the American home, comes as good news. Architects, designers and social observers say willingness to re size floor space means Americans are rethinking the way they really live and how will start to use whatever space they do have. Home, they say, has become less about impressing others and more about making ourselves happy. And since the segment downsizing are mostly baby boomers - that tidal wave of Americans born between 1946 and 1964 - who have long been accustomed to getting what they want, happiness is often defined in terms of luxuries and personal amenities.

This new definition of luxury - top-quality, mostly natural materials, careful attention to architectural details like natural wood window frames and mouldings - is one that architect and author Sarah Susanka agrees with. And what Susanka thinks matters.

In 1998, her professional hunch launched what has become the “build-better-not-bigger” movement, when she published the first in her best-selling series of “The Not So Big House” books.

Her mantra is indeed, think smaller, and she also believes that “luxury comes from the materials we surround ourselves with. Beauty comes from natural materials. You can see where they come from - in the grain, the veining. The more natural the materials, like real hardwoods and granite, the more content you are. There’s a quality you can’t name, but you can feel it.”

Gale Steves, author, editor and design industry consultant sums up a similar concept in her book about “Right-Sizing Your Home.” According to Steves, “Right-sizing is about making the best use of the spaces you have for the way you live. I’m asking people to review what they have, how they use it, and how they actually use the room, and in that process you’ll actually clear out some clutter, get rid of things or store things you’re not currently using.”

Steves kept the tone of her book “very reassuring, friendly and a little humorous” to let people know that it’s OK to make changes in their homes and play with the space they have.

She suggests rearranging furniture, renaming rooms and making better use of storage space, anything to use space in a more economical way.

One Right-Sizing tip Steves recently practiced was the simple act of moving her mother’s china out of her cluttered kitchen and into a storage space.

“I’m a good example of someone who goes along and doesn’t really think about their possessions, and all of a sudden you find them trapping you,” Steves said.

These are some of the other ways to best enjoy the shrinking and changing American home.

Create a room within a room

Install hardwood flooring throughout to unify the spaces and make them look larger, then use area rugs to define separate areas. Lay hardwood on the diagonal to set off special architectural features. Create a “rug” under a dining table with an inset frame of contrasting hardwood. Or outline an entire room with two courses of contrasting hardwood.

Sectional seating

Use a sectional sofa to delineate an intimate seating area within an open floor plan. And - of special interest to the many boomers who are eschewing retirement - find a standing wood-panel screen to create privacy or isolate a work space, say, in a bedroom office area.

Furniture should be multitasking especially with a variety of pieces featuring what she characterizes as “hidden assets” or special functions and storage areas for safe keeping valuables.

Sustainable Living

And don’t forget to make it sustainable. Living green is a high priority for the anti-McMansion generation. As Susanka sees it, we should think of the 21st-century house as “a well-tailored suit: you use less material, but it fits you perfectly.”

So while the size of the “average” U.S. home may be shrinking, remember that it’s more about space that works and that satisfies the psyche in the process that defines the ultimate in luxury. Think custom kitchens with pro-quality appliances, posh home-spa baths, stone countertops and the beauty and warmth that only come with hardwood flooring, cabinetry and millwork.