This blog post is dedicated to Eric and Susan Thacher, for whose love and support (and for this blog idea!) I am so grateful.

As we gather with our loved ones today, it’s hard not to feel the lingering undercurrent of our economic woes:  the housing market crashed; we had to bail out the auto industry; we’re still feeling the sting of the AIG scandal—and we’re not out of the woods yet.

But it turns out that all of this could be a collective sign of the biggest blessing we as a society could ask for.  I had the unexpected privilege of speaking with Sarah Susanka, architect and author of The Not So Big House and The Not So Big Life about what we have to be thankful for today.  Through her work as an architect, and her powerful writing, Sarah has helped open our eyes to a better way to not only design our homes, but to live our lives.

Sarah definitely feels there is a connection between what is happening to our country’s economy and the way we are living our lives. She likens the situation to a balloon that can no longer sustain the air inside of it.  “There’s no sense of balance,” she explains. “People are hoarding more than they need because they can—and society can’t sustain that.”  From Christmas gifts to houses, people have tried to purchase happiness. Now, she says, we are experiencing a huge re-balancing, with new processes and a new focus on more sustainable living, and on where and how we want to invest. “There’s a reflection of the knowledge that there’s something missing.”

So what does this mean for homeowners?  Quite simply, we’re discovering as a society that bigger does not always mean better.  But when you talk to people about paring down, or downsizing, the temptation is to feel a sense of lack or loss rather than richness or gain.  Sarah explains that this is a matter of quality versus quantity. “There’s a quality of ‘moreness’ that does not come from more quantity, but more of a different thing. It’s not about ‘You should want less.’ There’s more to be had, just in a different avenue than where you’re looking.”

For those who feel so strangled by financial woes that renovating even one space in the home seems an impossible dream, Sarah offers hope.  “Almost any small change will relieve that sense of constriction,” she says, adding that the simple step of rearranging the furniture can transform a space. “When you start by modifying what’s already there, you begin to have a new experience in the home.”  Next, she advises homeowners to find the point of focus, or “face” in each room.  While a fireplace is the most obvious example, the focal point of a space can also be a window, a piece of art, or even an entire wall. “It doesn’t have to be expensive, and by just adding something simple that you love [to each room], you can make the whole house feel alive.”

Any change to our homes, however, really begins with a change from within ourselves. “I often say that our homes are a reflection of ourselves,” says Sarah. Many people, (myself included), have tried to surround themselves with all of the accoutrements for the life they want to live.  But Sarah says that we must become engaged in the things we want to do, and the rest stems from that.  “People try to build the perfect house—but they know they’re not living the lives they really want.” Sarah continues to be committed to educating others on having a higher quality of life, with a book on sustainable living on the horizon, and the development of  a concept she calls “The Not So Big Community,” which could manifest itself as a new book, or quite literally, a newly built community of homes and other structures.

Not surprisingly, Sarah will be celebrating a meaningful Thanksgiving on a smaller scale today, with her husband and a close friend.  “What I’m actually most thankful for is that so many of our everyday activities have been put on hold.  We’ve been forced to slow down, to look at what we’re doing. We’re experiencing a culture-wide timeout, and it’s not always comfortable, but when we get to the other side, we’ll be living much more balanced lives, and I think we’ll feel much happier.”

And on that note, let us all give thanks.

To see a list of Sarah’s books and to find a building or design professional in your area who shares her philosophies for living and design, check out her Home Professionals Directory at www.susanka.com.

Last 5 posts by KellyThacher

• O Tannenbaum . . . - December 23rd, 2009
• Lighting a Candle - December 22nd, 2009
• All For Show - December 21st, 2009
• Faking it with Flowers - December 20th, 2009
• Color Clinic - December 19th, 2009

Author: Kelly Thacher

Kelly has been a writer since she was in grade school where she received early recognition for her Young Author's project. Magazines like Home Entertainment, Luxury Consumer Electronics, Vertical Living, Luxury Home and the Robb Report were happy to have Kelly's editing talents on various projects. A series of career twists and turns has offered her invaluable experience in journalism, magazine and book publishing, and fiction writing.

Kelly Thacher has written 30 articles for us.