You've heard of slow food, and maybe slow cities. Now this great post on WorldChanging is introducing us to a great site called Slow Home. The slow home concept is introduced as a counter to mass produced housing, which it likens to unhealthy and unsatisfying fast food. It presents a lot of great ideas about what's wrong with American housing, and offers a different way.
The meat of the site is a rich folio of projects, products and people that exemplify slow home concepts. There are tons of pics of great houses. I'm like a kid in a candy store clicking through them. There's even a "Slow Home TV" section with lots of cool videos. There are interviews with architects and product designers, videos of their houses, and many episodes of the "Slow Home Reports."
The site is interesting and informative. It's an instant favorite for me. I've only been able to get through a small fraction of it - there's a lot of material - but I just couldn't wait to bring it to your attention. You'll want to read the WorldChanging post, and visit the site yourself, but let me leave you with one more thing from Slow Home, the best part of all - the Slow Home "10 Steps:"
1. GO INDEPENDENT Avoid homes by big developers and large production builders. They are designed for profit not people. Work with independent designers and building contractors instead.
2. GO LOCAL
Avoid home finishing products from big box retailers. The standardized solutions they provide cannot fit the unique conditions of your home. Use local retailers, craftspeople, and manufacturers to get a locally appropriate response and support your community.
3. GO GREEN
Stop the conversion of nature into sprawl. Don’t buy in a new suburb. The environmental cost can no longer be justified. Re-invest in existing communities and use sustainable materials and technologies to reduce your environmental footprint.
4. GO NEAR
Reduce your commute. Driving is a waste of time and the new roads and services required to support low density development is a big contributor to climate change. Live close to where you work and play.
5. GO SMALL
Avoid the real estate game of bigger is always better. A properly designed smaller home can feel larger AND work better than a poorly designed big one. Spend your money on quality instead of quantity.
6. GO OPEN
Stop living in houses filled with little rooms. They are dark, inefficient, and don’t fit the complexity of our daily lives. Live in a flexible and adaptive open plan living space with great light and a connection to outdoors.
7. GO SIMPLE
Don’t buy a home that has space you won’t use and things you don’t need. Good design can reduce the clutter and confusion in your life. Create a home that fits the way you really want to live.
8. GO MODERN
Avoid fake materials and the re-creation of false historical styles. They are like advertising images and have little real depth. Create a home in which character comes from the quality of space, natural light and the careful use of good, sustainable materials.
9. GO HEALTHY
Avoid living in a public health concern. Houses built with cheap materials off gas noxious chemicals. Suburbs promote obesity because driving is the only option. Use natural, healthy home materials and building techniques. Live where you can walk to shop, school and work.
10. GO FOR IT
Stop procrastinating. The most important, and difficult, step in the slow home process is the first one that you take. Get informed and then get involved with your home. Every change, no matter how small, is important.
I like those a lot. Not a bad manifesto. Slow Home is a site you won't want to miss. Check it out.
