Home at human scale

The three rooms that matter in any home

Years ago, I entered the largest house I’d ever seen (the Biltmore not withstanding). The foyer alone had two elevators - one of which had a couch. In a two story house, I’m still unsure about the necessity of a seating option for that elevator ride.

In May, we are talking about homes and travel. First, we looked at travel and why we do it. Last week, we discussed a few ideas about how we can transition from work to home better.

This week, I want to share one my favorite data points about the home itself.

About 15 years ago, UCLA tracked foot traffic in a group of American homes and guess what they found.

Generally, people spend time in the kitchen, the small den, and the bedroom. Below is an image from one of the houses they studied. In general, they found that families only use about 40% of their square footage regularly.

http://thealfanogroup.blogspot.com/2017/04/study-finds-that-average-family-use.html

We may no longer be cave dwellers or nomadic across the savannah, but the places we spend time look a lot like places where there is fire, food, and coziness.

So what does this mean?

First, a home can feel homely whether or not it has your ideal amount of square footage. Whether your house is large or small, you only have to get a few spaces right to really impact your daily quality of life.

Second, it should help you think about where you spend your renovation dollars. Finding ways to improve these common spaces where people naturally congregate will dramatically improve the functionality of your home.