The Concept of Enough: wee ski Chalet

by Maggie Flickinger

As David Wann opines in his article, “Redefining Enough”, our culture seems to be in a precipitous freefall toward an overaccumulation obsession paired with a paucity of true fulfillment. We often struggle with the predilection toward maximalism when designing custom homes. Admittedly, we sometimes lose the battle of persuasion and larger homes prevail. Sometimes, a sweet victory is ours (and our clients!) and the results often become our favorite projects.

The wee ski Chalet is such a project – and we’ve been thrilled to see that others agree! The home was recently awarded by AIA Colorado for sustainable design, and published in the March 2009 Colorado Homes & Lifestyles Eco-Living issue. This sweet little 1,000 square foot cabin is the antithesis of the typical Colorado ski chalet (often ranging from 10-20,000 square feet). The family realized that the purpose of their getaway was to feel a closeness of family, a coziness emphasized by their surroundings. This is emphatically not a trophy home, palatial and devoid of human scale.

In market research, we’ve found that many people share this desire: 1-2,000 square foot homes hit a sweet spot balancing privacy and energy conservation. Good design means our clients feel confident that their new home will meet all of their needs within a smaller footprint. We hope that in the future, more and more people choose this path of quality over quantity, meaning over more.