J.D. at Get Rich Slowly had a post on learning to love the not so big house. I couldn’t agree with him more. I’m both sympathetic to builders and buyers of McMansions. Who doesn’t want cathedral ceilings, 5 bedrooms, a “great room”, and a “mud room”? And builders build them because buyers buy them. It’s simple supply and demand.

There’s a natural tendency on the part of most people to want both more room, and more rooms. I live in a one bedroom apartment. I often think it would be great to have an office and spare bedroom. I would be happy to have more storage room as well. I don’t find anything wrong it in itself to want more. The problem is when the desire for more meets builders who can deliver beyond. On the business side, a classic mantra goes along the lines of, “deliver more than the customer wants.”

Often times, though, the consumers of housing are unclear of what they really want in the end. For instance, as I said, I would like an office and a spare bedroom. Does that mean I need two rooms, an office and an extra bedroom? At first blush it might seem like that. In reality what I need is an office that can be easily used as a spare bedroom. I imagine in the end, I, like many other people, are really interested in functionality rather than more space. The greatest problem with McMansions is not that they meet needs, but that they meet needs and wants inefficiently. I want a spare bedroom. I want an office. However, I realize if my apartment were designed with efficiency in mind, I wouldn’t actually even need more space than I really have.

What I really love about my current apartment is the open large living area–basically one continuous living room/dining room/kitchen. I stake off one corner for some file cabinets. I stake off another area for a desk. Both areas are relatively unobtrusive so when I do entertain people I have great space to host. I also realize that with a few smart additions the space could host a spare bedroom. The spare bedroom would be temporary in nature, portioned by either pocket doors, folding doors, or French doors that would allow the space to be normally used as standard living space. Efficient and adaptable space is both economically and environmentally more sound. Smart design beats big design.

I like to think that as people become both more environmentally conscious, and also realize from experience that bigger isn’t always better, the McMansion will be an early 21st century relic. Some towns like Wellesley, one of Boston’s posh suburbs, has tried to actively put limits on the rise of more McMansions. The town is following the lead of two other affluent Boston towns, Lincoln and Weston. I certainly applaud what hopefully will be positive results, I’m also conflicted about how I feel about legislating good/modest taste. While I believe the Government has the right to legislate safety, and local government has the right through zoning to make good use of space, I don’t believe the Government should be in the business of telling people what’s in good or bad taste. I just hope good and sensible taste prevails.