Comments on: Smaller is Better

By: Alice

Alice — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 12:56:10 +0000

I used to look at many of new houses, and not-so-new houses, in England and think how cute they were – just like dolls’ houses, but I couldn’t imagine bringing up four children in them.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 02:28:04 +0000

My family is very small. We only have one child so having a small house is very do able. I would still live here if we had two,but if we had three, I’m all for big! LOL

By: Alice

Alice — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 01:37:04 +0000

Catherine – It’s interesting that when we built our house 30 years ago that reflective insulation film was very common, but seems to be a thing of the past here now.

I must say, I would love to have a bigger garden although I don’t think I could look after it properly now. There is a big difference between your garden and many of those that I think the writer of the original article was referring to. Your block of land is actively gardened, it doesn’t just have a few trees, shrubs and square of lawn just for the sake of having it. Your garden is fully productive with vegies, fruit, shrubs and flowers to encourage birds and bees, and you are also instilling a love of plants and gardening in your children; something that may be fairly uncommon in future years.

By: catherine

catherine — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:14:34 +0000

Hmm you raise an interesting point – well several of them acutally. For years we lived in a very small home on a typical Australian 1/4 acre block. Then we bought two acres and built a reasonably large home. I must admit the new house does give us more room to breath – with five of us there needs to be some space around us and the large garden allows us to be much more self sufficient in vegies, fruit and eggs. Do I need a large house – well no when it comes to cleaning, but yes when it comes to space. We tried to make it as energy efficient as we could and utalise every corner of both house and land. I have to admit though there is no way I coud go back to living on a 1/4 acre again. I like having room to move outside – where every conversation isn’t heard by the neighbours and if you open your bedroom window you don’t look into the neighbours. Lots of the new developments around Swan Hill are huge houses on very small blocks with no garden – although many of the conditions of purchase are that you plant a large tree in the front garden, and one in the back. Why I don’t know, there is no room for a large tree. The privacy issue they have resolved by putting a reflective material on the windows to prevent anyone looking in, but you can see out. Like Alice, new homes here don’t have eaves. Me – I’m all for verandahs – as large as possible.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 22:02:37 +0000

I totally agree with both of you. Susan Susanka’s books are excellent and I own two of them. I have never understood why anyone would want a huge house. I have always owned small houses because they just make sense to me. I am a comfort hound who likes a cosy home. The cost to heat and maintain a large home seems like such a waste to me. I think many homes are poorly designed. I would also rather have a well built smaller home with beautiful finishing,than a larger one done cheaply. Which seems to be the case in my area.

By: Alice

Alice — Mon, 31 Oct 2005 21:13:03 +0000

The writer certainly has some good points to make. In my city, the biggest money earner for the government is ’selling’ land. Actually, we live in a Territory, not a State, and the land will always be owned by the Government. We can’t buy the land outright – we buy a 99 year lease. The city was established less than 100 years ago but some blocks are nearing the end of that 99 years and no-one seems to know how they will be dealt with after that. But at the moment land is being ’sold’ in smaller and smaller blocks so that people are building big houses which take up almost the entire block. There’s no room to plant a decent tree, or for kids to play, and the micro-climate is heating up as a result and so are people’s tempers as they try to live independent lives so close to their neighbours. I know people used to live close together years ago but society has changed and we’ve lost that sense of community and become much more selfish and insular.

The costs of heating and cooling these homes is an ever-increasing drain on diminishing resources, even though the occupants are absent for most of the time as they try to earn enough money to pay for these large homes. (I guess there’s no time to work in a garden anyway and no time to have children!)

At a time when we’re all being urged to become more environmentally conscious, I (and many others) am appalled at the sight of practically every new house being built without eaves. Now, that may be all very well in Europe, but in Australia, where the majority of days are sunny (even in winter) and hot in the summer, we need protection from that direct heat. Of course, the current solution is to install air-conditioners (greenhouse gasses, etc. fossil fuels, etc. etc. etc. ….!)

I’m sure you realise that I could go on, and on and …