Style with Substance

big ideas for small spaces

Make yourself at home in a smaller house with thoughtful design choices that maximize every square foot.

By Vishu Magee
Photograph by Julie Dean

This article first appeared in Autumn 2009 Su Casa

One theme stands out as the housing industry comes back to life: people want to build smaller homes. Have we finally come to our senses and embraced a greener outlook? Or are we just cutting back because economics are forcing us to?

In either case, a preference for smaller homes will endure only if we can be happy with a little less. Lifestyles will have to become less consumerist, and we must explore more substantial, nonmaterial sources of fulfillment. On a practical level, we’ll be designing more efficient spaces, shoehorning our stuff into a smaller footprint, and getting rid of things we don’t really need.

However, few homeowners would be happy in a home that feels small and cramped. To be successful, architects must develop a new skill: crafting small homes that feel much, much bigger. Gone are the days when design problems could be solved by sheer size and opulence. That was way too easy! Squeezing more out of less is a taller order.

People pull this off elsewhere: Europeans have been living in sensibly sized homes for ages, and city dwellers are accustomed to tight quarters. But Americans are fundamentally different from folks on the Continent—we’ve historically had the luxury of space—and city folks periodically have to run screaming for the exits in search of breathing room. Mere downsizing may not be satisfactory: it’s going to take real thoughtfulness and a lot of smoke and mirrors to produce the new American home.

The first step requires getting all of the practical and mechanical moves right. For example, hallways and foyers are “wasted” space and can be reduced or eliminated altogether. Bedrooms and baths can all be held down in size. The powder room, a single-function and seldom-used luxury, can give way to a double-duty bathroom with one door to a bedroom and the other to a hall for guests.

Partitions and exterior walls typically claim a whopping 10 to 15 percent of a home’s footprint, so a clean design with limited meanders will reduce additional waste. Closets and built-ins can be efficiently ganged up—not an exciting task but important enough to consult a specialist.

A more challenging project lies in reinventing the contemporary home’s standard features. Foremost is the open floor plan, which weaves living room, dining room, and kitchen into a redefined great room. Hallways disappear, the foyer is reduced, and the formal dining room morphs into a more casual affair that replaces the breakfast nook when complemented by stools at the counter. You get a space that feels big but is actually smaller.
So far, so good. Now for the smoke and mirrors.

The great room provides the best place to create the illusion of size because it serves so many functions and everybody uses it, including guests. Begin by making the ceiling of the living area three feet higher than the adjacent rooms. Such a contrast will produce an expansive pop every time you enter, especially if skylights or solar clerestories accentuate the height. This is precisely the illusion we are trying to create. In general, ceiling height is the salvation of small spaces. Anything in excess of the typical eight-foot ceiling will register as bigger.

The transitions from entry, master suite, and secondary bedrooms are all “events” where the illusion of size can be developed. Where you want to direct the eye to artwork, windows, or beautiful architectural elements like a fireplace, the effect will be much greater if the object is framed by an arched passageway or a post-and-beam opening. It helps as well if the great room has more light than the surrounding spaces—this contrast amplifies the greater height. Each approach to the great room provides a different experience of expansiveness, and each experience adds to the illusion.

The same holds true looking out. Hallways can appear mysterious, exciting curiosity about what lies beyond, especially if you display a nicho or work of art at the end. Windows and glass doors make any space seem larger, but the effect is accentuated if the views vary and if attractive landscape or outdoor living features draw the eye—a fountain, garden sculpture, patio, or beautiful plantings. In short, the basic principle is to give the eye many places to go.

Peripheral spaces like the media room, outdoor living area, or study can be crafted so they feel like part of the great room. For example, double pocket doors to a media room can be closed when the room is in use but left open most of the time, effectively adding volume to the great room.

Yet there is danger here. Too many windows, doors, and transitions can exacerbate the classic pitfall of the open floor plan, which includes loss of coziness and too few interior walls for displaying artwork. This can be remedied by any of the wonderful tools offered by Southwest style—arches; bancos; stepped adobe walls; and post, beam, and corbel details can all help subtly divide spaces without actually separating them.

A number of other tools can support the illusion. Using the same flooring throughout avoids choppiness and increases the sense of flow. Artificial lighting can keep the eye moving from one pool of light to the next. And while lighter colors and wood stains generally read as bigger, there’s nothing like a deep rich red or blue wall framed by a white arch to generate contrast and sheer dynamism. Artwork provides color and frees the imagination.

Much like the economy, the reinvention of the design world presents exciting possibilities. Greening the home, wringing out waste, and extracting more out of less provides a challenge perfectly in step with the times.

Vishu Magee is a home designer from Taos who specializes in blending green-building solutions with traditional New Mexico architecture. Contact him at archetype-design.com.