Exploring Space Efficiency in New Construction Homes

Blog posted On January 10, 2025

According to a new report from Realtor.com, the number of bedrooms in homes has reached a new high. This is a notable statistic since the number of people in any given household has declined over the past 40 years, meaning that American homeowners are dealing with an excess of space. The boom in housing space (bedrooms specifically) began decades ago, when “McMansions” started cropping up everywhere. CNBC reported that the Census data quoted just 7 million extra bedrooms in 1980; today, it’s reached 31.9 million! How should this impact the future of new construction homes going forward? Let’s explore space efficiency in new homes, specifically examining sensible designs over the excessive, wasteful constructions from the last few decades.

McMansions — Why Were They So Popular?

Representing the opulence of America and proudly flaunting the “bigger is better” mentality, McMansions exploded in the 1980s. These oversized homes, generally between 3,000-5,000 square feet, were status symbols. Despite the image of a luxurious housing experience, the cost of maintaining these big homes was significant; utility bills, landscape care, and other maintenance fees were all aspects of McMansions that didn’t apply in such an excessive way compared to smaller, more affordable homes. Not to mention the excess of bedrooms in these massive homes, typically featuring at least 5-6 bedrooms.

However, the sensibilities decades later have shifted. After the 2008 housing crisis, McMansions took a dive in popularity. While America has always touted excess culturally, a counter movement has been rising. Downsizing is becoming the new trend, especially concerning affordability and upkeep factors. Let’s now jump to the pros of utilizing space efficiency in smaller homes, potentially with new construction trends you’d like to pursue in your homeownership journey.

The Design Tricks of Smaller, More Efficient Homes

Move over McMansions — space efficiency is on the up and up! Both space-efficient homes and small-scale houses like cottages and tiny homes are rising in popularity because of their affordability factors. Some say small is the new big, and this has been the case recently with homebuilding. The desire for more efficient, smaller homes has ballooned. And no, we’re not really talking about tiny homes. More so, the average homeowner just wants a practical home that’s sustainable without being too small or too big. If you can do more with less and it’s essentially more affordable, then you can afford other aspects of your life instead of pooling everything into your home. As more and more Millennials step up in home buying, home sizes are finally expected to go down after all these decades.

• Upscaled Features in Small Homes – Granite countertops, kitchen islands, and wood flooring on the main levels are all being added by builders in conventionally smaller homes, once reserved by builders for larger, more lavish housing.
• Natural Lighting – In order to make small homes appear larger, natural lighting is an excellent way to maximize the space. Interspacing cabinets with windows can give the illusion of a longer room. More open spaces in general, like open kitchen shelves, makes the space feel larger.
• Increased Functionality – There’s an increased demand for storage features in as many rooms as possible. For instance, doubling your hallway as a library is one of these unifying factors as well as increasing and maximizing storage and shelves in the kitchen area.

Curious about these new construction trends and want to ditch the excessive home styles of old in lieu of smaller, efficient homebuilding? Not only do we offer construction loan options, but we have our own dedicated in-house construction team. Reach out today if you’d like to pursue space efficiency in your homeownership journey!

Source: CNBC, Bankrate, HPC, Investopedia, New Home Source