Most people who have spent any significant amount of time with me over the last few years have probably heard me talk about an architect named Sarah Susanka. Or perhaps seen copies of her Not So Big House book series lying on my coffee table or stacked on one of my bedside tables. Needless to say, I'm a big fan. :)

The basic message is simple - we don't need more space, we just need to make the space we have more livable. The books talk about how society has changed so much over the past century, and yet our living spaces are still built with the same turn-of-the-century floorplans. Susanka also argues against the current trend towards suburban McMansions, beginning the book with the statement "So many houses, so big with so little soul."

Her ideas about where we should and shouldn't find value in our homes has really struck a chord with me, especially living in an area of Northern Virginia that is particularly affected by this McMansion phenomenon. Today there is a very interesting article about Sarah Susanka and her current career path in the Washington Post. I encourage you give the article, as well as her books, a try.