Is it Scale vs Status? Or Scale = Status ?
Do we really gain anything by living in an oversized house? Does a house of 215 m2 with Home Theatre/ 4.5 bathrooms/ Triple Car Garage = Happiness ?
Here we propose to you a house of 155 m2. That’s two thirds the size of the average. It accommodates a family of four with spill over for cousins, grandparents, school mates and what’s more it has an orchard. On a site of 448m2 we have provided 451m2 of landscaped area. It’s not a small house. It’s a good one.
If we build smaller houses, set back from the northern boundary, designed for winter sun access and summer sun prohibition, with nooks that spill into family spaces and light that comes evenly from above then this might not equal Happiness either. But it’s a better bet that it might.
You will leave high energy bills, acres of vacuuming and toxic VOC’s behind. You will instead spend time checking the levels in the water tank, planting out the lettuce seedlings, reading a book in the sun and having a bath in the privacy of your own garden. A large house is a burden. We’re not only suggesting you build a house like this for the betterment of the planet and your fellow humans. We think you’ll be happier.