how small can we live?

That's the question that is foremost on my mind right now. I'm planning on downsizing as soon as we can sell our house, and I've been reading lots of books about the efficient use of space in home design. From what I have read thus far, it seems as though we will only be limited by zoning, local codes, and whatever others say about us that we allow to bother us. Fortunately, we will be building our new home in an area that is outside of city limits and building inspections, so that should help.

We are also redefining what we think about houses, including the idea of traditional rooms (living room, dining room, kitchen, etc). Although I do still see the benefit of private versus public space, the concept of having formal rooms for each activity gets negated pretty fast when trying to cut down floor plan space. You quickly realize that many rooms can serve double-duty, either via convertible walls and built-ins or simply by re-arranging the furniture.

My parents think we are crazy. They can't imagine a family of four living in anything less than 2000 square feet. We're hoping to live in something half of that size...or less! But that has more to do with their experience than anything else. Just because someone has lived in a cramped space doesn't mean that all small spaces are bad. They just need to be well designed. I told my father how much I was estimating for basic construction and he couldn't believe it. He said that he has spent more on appliances than we are going to try and spend on our whole house. Of course, he is a custom home builder so when he thinks of appliances, he's talking about top-of-the-line stainless appliances, six-burner stoves, front load washer and dryer, and the obligatory wine refrigerator. We're actually leaning towards apartment sized appliances and weekly visits to the laundromat.