Smaller Floor Plans Demand Creativity With Space, Design

Smaller homes are increasingly in demand by home buyers. Here’s how to designs spaces that sell.

As lifestyle choices, demographics, and economic realities shift home buyer preferences, more and more buyers are turning their backs on the McMansion and demanding small floor plans for homes. But no matter the reason, smaller does not—and cannot—mean sacrificing style, amenities, and, ironically enough, space.

“Everybody’s got to find a way to build smaller homes, because that’s where the market is and where it’s going to be for some time,” Boyce Thompson, editorial director for Builder magazine, told attendees at a workshop during the International Builders’ Show. While Thompson couldn’t rule out that McMansions may someday make a comeback, the reasons for their current passé status are hard to ignore: too much unused space, a shift to smaller families, lending constraints, baby boomers trading down instead of up, and echo boomers in need of space-efficient entry-level housing.

"Simply put, American homeowners no longer want so much “house.”

In addition, attitudes have changed. A Builder magazine survey of new-home shoppers found that two out of three fear job loss; at the same time, spending quality time with family has become more important and more homeowners are opting to stay in. “People aren’t looking to the house as an investment anymore,” Thompson said. “They’re looking at it to create the lifestyle they want to live.”

Indeed, meeting new footprint constraints shouldn’t mean sacrificing the comfort, warmth, or livability of the home (such dropping ceiling heights below 8 feet, a tactic tried by some a few years ago), explained architects William Devereaux of Devereaux and Associates in McLean, Va., and David Kosco of Newport Beach, Calif.-based Bassenian Lagoni Architects.

First and foremost is to know what your buyers truly need and what they aren’t willing to sacrifice. “Instead of a one-size-fits-all arrangement, you need to go into your market and see what works,” Devereaux said. In some of his East Coast markets, for example, buyers are more than willing to forgo formal living and dining rooms.

Here are a number of other tips for maximizing space without sacrificing design:

• Think about fewer walls and less compartmentalization: Focus on great rooms and eliminate the formal living room and dining room spaces.
• Create flex rooms that are multifunctional. These can be utilized in a variety of ways—such as a formal space or as a den—depending on styling and furniture. Kosco includes “respite” space in his designs—one room outside of the great room that allows for alone time.
• Don’t waste space for circulation.
• Don’t sacrifice warmth-inducing touches, such as built-ins and fireplaces.
• Expanses of glass and natural lighting can create the illusion of space. Think both horizontally as well as vertically. In one plan in California, for example, Kosco specified floor-to-ceiling windows, with transoms on top of traditional 6-foot-8-inch units. Multiple-panel patio doors and interior French doors also can contribute daylighting.
• Kosco also utilizes visually interesting ceiling treatments—such as a barrel vault ceiling in the kitchen or bath and wood beams in bedrooms—to broaden the visual space and create interest.
• Embrace storage opportunities. Utilize wasted space, such as under the stairs, for storage. Kosco also stretches kitchen cabinets to the ceiling, with smaller units at the top for rarely used items.
• Don’t neglect outdoor areas, from the porch to the patio. “You have to look at those spaces as a way to expand [the living area],” Devereaux said.
• Rather than a passé U-shaped kitchen, remove cabinets from one side and add a center island, which is a higher-value item in buyers’ eyes.
• Use color: White walls don’t inspire and make small spaces feel dull.
• At the entry, don’t just pour visitors into the living room, Kosco said; give them some sort of arrival.
• Think about “memory links”—those touches that stick in a shopper’s mind, such as a special detail like a window seat.
• Above all, don’t be boring or cookie cutter. The footprint of the home may be smaller, but there is always room for amenities and luxurious touches. “We have to keep some design in our housing or we’re not going to have anything to sell,” said Devereaux.

Article by Katy Tomasulo: deputy editor for EcoHome.