We were somewhat nomadic renters for much of my childhood and this gave me the experience of living in a variety of spaces with my parents, sister and brother (and later two more brothers). One apartment was a single room, kitchen and bathroom that couldn’t have totaled more than 500 sq. ft. Fortunately we were only there for a couple months. For 5 people there is such a thing as too small.

The house I spent the most time in and remember best was an old farm house that, even in my memory, seemed huge at 2500 sq. ft. (some of which was seasonal space), and yet, with my big family and the various people that lived with us from time to time, I nearly always shared a bedroom. This never seemed odd or uncomfortable to me. The air in the bedrooms was also pretty much unconditioned so in the summer we were outside or in the relatively cool downstairs, and in the winter we were in the living room with the kerosene heater.

There’s some of my story. I feel fortunate for growing up like I did. I was lucky enough to have a close loving family and siblings who I didn’t mind sharing space with . . . most of the time. Is it perfect for everyone? No, but I think there are enough of us to justify building some smaller bedrooms and homes.

Also, I do not really remember a time when I would be all alone. As a family, we did tons of things together and there were always trips, or shows, or stuff to do outside in the yard or elsewhere. I spent large part of my time in the summers at my grand parents in the country, we also tried to travel and go to various outdoor events like concerts, opera, and what not. So, while house was surely important, it was not necessarily the center of my life all the time. Most importantly, I never really felt that I was missing something by not having a separate room. Also, even though all rooms were some 200sf in size, they did not really feel small. The same goes for our house. In fact, these 1000sf seemed very large for all that we did!

My room was probably 7′-8′ wide by 9′-10′ long, seemingly small by todays standards. But back then it seemed more than adequate. I had bunk beds, a toy box, a dresser, a shelf, and small built in closet. My bedroom was always full, yet it never felt cramped.

I would also be hesitant to call our housing low income but again it’s a bit out of context for our current discussion. Would love to hear more of your thoughts though. Send me an email at nic@postgreen.com.

And to everyone else . . . I am ordering Pattern Language today and The Poetics of Space (thanks Rob) appeals to me on title alone.