The Changing Household

gem1122

We can pickle that
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 17, 2007
Messages
279
Reaction score
24
Location
US
A few items caught my attention this week. The first is a NYT article which looks at the change of family homes away from McMansions and toward more intimate, multi-use spaces. Most of this desire is economy-driven, but it seems the minimalist movement is at play to some extent as well. I think the rising interest in owning a more long-term home has something to do with more long-distance career options. If you can work from anywhere, why move around?

The second is a video based on the book "Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century". It explores the move toward bulk-shopping, prepared meals, covered refrigerators, and busy, segmented families.

I don't bring this up to argue a particular point. I've always found domestic living and changes in home design fascinating. I grew up part of a very big family living in a small home. I didn't have my own bedroom until I was 16. My mother grew up in the same home where she raised her family, so the layout was/is scattered and features low ceilings and tiny rooms. This isn't to say that kids these days, blah-blah-blah. I had a wonderful childhood in a loving household and resent nothing.

Instead, I enjoy looking at changes in how families live and interact and how home design reflects these changes. I look at the topic from an objective viewpoint.

As a writer, such things spark my curiosity and make me more aware of the possibilities that a physical space can have on a character's depth. Is their home large or small? Own or rent? Shared or private? What's the history of the house? What materials are at use? What's the light like? What color is the paint and why? It seems many stories gloss over the particulars of a living space, which I think is a missed opportunity.

I look forward to your thoughts on this, whether connected to writing or not.