In our modern times most people would be hard pressed to explain why they really need to have a living room as well as a family room much less six bedrooms and five bathrooms in their house. One of the accompanying trends that we've seen over the same years that houses have been increasing in size is a shrinking of the 'average' family size in North America. So, this means that we're building bigger and bigger spaces to live in with smaller and smaller families.

I've been very interested in the trend that's slowly becoming more prevalent in North America lately. At the end of the Victorian era there was the drive to return to more useable spaces, emphasizing the form of function and the genuine materials that houses were made from instead of faux finishing. This trend meant for many people the movement away from homes that existed for other people to homes that existed to be lived in. This was known as the Arts and Crafts movement.

Our modern down-sizing trend is strikingly similar to the Arts and Crafts movement in many ways. Both movements were concerned about building livable spaces with quality materials. Many of the small home designs being designed and built currently have an emphasis on quality over the 'quantity' involved in the massive "McMansions". The smaller homes have a much smaller carbon footprint, making them a wise choice for the environment as well. Hopefully we will continue to see this trend grow. M Shane