Tuesday, July 17, 2012

home improvement | small house benefits

The first home I bought was a mere 683 square-foot cottage and my second home wasn?t much bigger, coming in at just under 800 square-feet. I loved those tiny houses for their coziness and simplicity. A few years ago, as my husband and I started designing the home we would build, we wanted to hold onto some of those small home values. Our friends couldn?t believe that we would build a ?small? 1,400 square-foot home when we had the space and ability to go much bigger but for us, the advantages of building smaller outweighed the ?keeping up with the Joneses? mentality. Plus, at 1,400 square-feet, we were nearly doubling the space that we were accustomed to.

Smaller square-footage to clean and maintain? a smaller house means less housecleaning every single week and less maintenance to do around the house. When you do take on DIY projects, they aren?t nearly as daunting because they are on a smaller scale. The time you save can be better spent enjoying your hobbies, playing with your children, volunteering or simply relaxing.

Lower costs ? a smaller house has less space that needs to be heated and cooled and there is less interior and exterior square footage to maintain, upgrade or replace (think paint, flooring, roof, etc). This translates directly into savings because your utility bills, home improvement and maintenance costs will be lower. Additionally, you?ll save money on property taxes since you have less square footage.

Quality over quantity ? when building or taking on home remodeling projects in your small house, you can typically afford to spend on items like hardwood floors, quality cabinetry and high-end countertops since you don?t need to buy them in large quantities. You can splurge on superior upgrades because you have to buy less.

Simple living made easy ? living in a small home typically means you have less space to store all that extra stuff that we all tend to accumulate. Your small house will force you to make choices and decide what you really need to keep and what you can do without.

Close quarters ? smaller space living means that the family spends more time together in common areas rather than being spread out across the ?wings? of an enormous mansion. Spending quality family time together rather than being isolated is a definite advantage to small home living.

Stay put for the long-term ? as you get older and your kids leave the nest, there is no need to downsize since you?ll already be in a reasonably sized home.

Green Tip: those lower heating, cooling and maintenance costs that I mentioned above also translate into having a smaller carbon footprint and a more ecologically responsible home.

Related blog article ? Big Ideas For a Small Kitchen

Source: http://www.my-home-improvement.com/2012/07/16/reasons-to-buy-or-build-a-small-house/

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