How do we get people away from “McMansions” and moving more toward better-designed living spaces?
Sarah: The key issue is sensibility, finding what works best for you. Rather than feeling that if you can’t buy everything you’ve lost, go for user friendliness. There’s a populist attitude right now that lots of people don’t want to involve an architect at all. They look at house plans and approve the one they like best. But they’re ignoring that third dimension, the one that makes a house sing. There’s so much more that can be added by shaping that space. CH: What has been the reaction to the Not So Big House ideals so far? Sarah: Certainly we have a huge following of architects who are delighted I’m out there. And we have our Web site, where we list 200 to 300 architects who wish to be listed as designers of “not so big” homes. And the American Institute of Architects (AIA) is really excited. We know that if architects would design good buildings instead of trying to make a statement, we’d have more clients. But most people don’t know about these architects because they don’t get a
