These Days, Home Architects are Custom Crafting Smaller Homes
Even though some clients are after mansions, and there are a few in the 8,500 square foot category, we are also seeing some trends that require more house with less resources. Some people want to spend less but get more. Although this sounds contradictory, it means that smaller houses need to be more carefully designed. You cannot waste a square inch.
Rand Soellner Architects is including high end features in much smaller houses these days, like second sinks in kitchens and wider aisles between counters, 2-way fireplaces, multi-functional secondary bedrooms, and overlapping spaces in public areas to give the feeling of larger spaces within smaller total area. Rand Soellner used to design projects for one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s main apprentices. Mr. Wright was an artist with space and Soellner learned about how to overlap “implied rooms” with others to give the illusion that the combined space is larger than the two. It works. Most people believe that Soellner-designed homes are much larger than they really are. (more…)
Mr. Buffett indicated that he believes one of the reasons for the last couple of years of housing business slump was due to overbuilding. Berkshire, Mr. Buffett’s company, owns a real estate firm that builds prefab homes and also manufacturers products for house construction. His firm earned about $187 million pretax dollars in 2009, so he knows something about the home construction industry. Tom Russo at Gardner Russo & Gardner has Berkshire stock. Russo said that Buffett has positioned his company for the coming and in-progress housing market rebound. 
