The Downsizing Trend

Over the last year I've been reading more and more about people deciding to downsize their homes. This trend was previously reserved for the empty nesters who realised there was little point in keeping their very large family homes once the children had flown the nest. These days though, the trend seems to be among families and even young couples who appear to be making more of a lifestyle choice.

There have also been many celebrities making the decision to sell their enormous mansions and downsize to something more "sensible". Ellen Degeneres and Portia De Rossi recently sold their 15,000 square foot mansion and replaced it with a 4,000 square foot home in Malibu. Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott sold their home and downsized to a more modest 2,300 square foot home. Jennifer Aniston also downsized from a 10,000 to 1,760 square feet home.

Of course in each of these examples, they are hardly selling 15 bedroom mansions and moving into a studio apartment, but at the same time, many have revealed that they simply decided the houses were just too big for them. Tori Spelling was quoted as saying she wanted a more cosy home where the family are closer together and not spread out throughout a large home.

For regular people, a smaller home means less cleaning, lower heating and cooling costs, less maintenance and an opportunity to use your decorating budget to obtain a very high end finish, as large houses are renowned for absorbing enormous amounts of cash when redecorating! Of course, downsizing also gives people the opportunity to upgrade the location of their home.  Below are some images of fabulous smaller rooms. I've also included a photo of Tori & Dean's previous home, I love the bright colours in their living room.

Hooked on Houses

Tori, Dean and their two children in their old living room.

La Dolce Vita

Candice Olson

Good design is so important to make smaller living rooms work really well.

BHG

BHG 

BHG

Banquettes (which are in-built bench seats) are a great way to seat a lot of people in a small dining space.

BHG

Whenever you are downsizing to less space there will always be the issue of storage. All you really need to do is be creative and use any nook you have available to it's full advantage, as they have done above.

So whether this will be a passing trend or not, it does raise the question - does a smaller house in a better location, with higher end finishes, make downsizing worth it?