Large, family-sized, opulent homes used to dominate the real estate market, but now that the average household size is more often only one or two people, times are changing. Large numbers of our Baby Boomer population are now ready to downsize and deem living smaller as a smarter way to live. In fact, downsizing is a major trend on the rise.
With smaller homes, the focus is on the quality of space rather than quantity. More often than not, they are specifically designed to accommodate 1 to 2 people and the occasional visitor. Not only do designs need to be efficient and clever, but they need to be adaptable and provide multiple functions and shared uses for various rooms.
The benefits of living small
The benefits you can reap from designing a special order and custom designed smaller & smarter home are many. Downsizing your home is a smart decision because it is:
1. Design Efficient – A minimal design can provide you with a comfortable, personalised and more manageable home.
2. Energy Efficient – Clever passive-solar design and choice of materials help you reduce waste, energy and water use.
3. Economically Efficient – Downsizing allows you to live with reduced operating and maintenance costs over the long term.
The challenges
One thing that may deter people from downsizing are the real estate market claims that you need to build a family home consisting of no less than of 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 2 living areas. These old rules of thumb don’t always apply and there is a large slice of the affluent market now looking for a smart and well finished home to suit their needs.
The good news is, Civic Steel Homes can make it easier for you to make the move to downsizing with their demonstration home in Carseldine. You can visualise yourself in our smallest/smartest home yet and see just how much space you comfortably need. Built on just 300m2 of land, the total house area is 183m2, including the outdoor living and car spaces.
This is the type of home that integrates independence and privacy, and is becoming very popular as an alternative to crowded apartment living.
Tips for living smaller
If smaller homes stir your interest, you need to think of space being multi-purpose, adapting to different needs rather than seeing a room dedicated to every purpose. Depending on how you live you may be able to combine a few overlapping functions together – the Guest Room maybe be only short term and occasional use and can double with a Media Room or Study. Your outdoor area may link to the car spaces and extend your undercover outdoor entertaining areas – we have done this with great effect at our Carseldine house.
You will also need clever planning so you can achieve an efficient design, reducing wasted space while still giving you well-proportioned and comfortably sized rooms. An architect with substantial experience in this sort of planning will help you get the result you are looking for.
Instead of focusing on Rate Per Square Metre, think about the greater value for money you can achieve with a home specifically suited to your needs. Your custom home design can maximise space in a far more practical and efficient way. With the benefits that solar efficiency provides, you will also be reducing maintenance cost – with this factored in to the cost of the project over the next 10 to 15 years, you will realise that you have saved a vast amount of money.
Civic Steel Homes have specialised in Small Lot design and downsizing projects in Queensland for 20 years. Our award winning in-house Architect is also our Licensed Builder and works with you through the entire project. Having designed and managed all our new home projects over the last 16 years, you have experience on hand. Call one of our team on 3714 5900 to arrange to view our ‘Smaller is Smarter’ demonstration home in Brisbane.
