You can assess the appropriateness of your home’s proportions by asking yourself the following questions. If you answer yes to five or more, your house is suffering from a case of “Too Bigness.”
? Are any living areas in the house taller than they are wide?
? Do any spaces feel comfortable only when the house is full of people?
? When you are in the kitchen, do you have to shout to be heard in the adjacent family room?
? Is your house so large that you can coexist with other household members without running into them?
? Are any spaces particularly echoey?
? Are any spaces rarely used? Is there no need to repurpose these spaces because there’s already plenty of room in the house?
? Does the house look huge from any exterior angle?
? Do you sometimes feel as though you are rattling around in the house–that there’s too much space and not enough of a sense of place in any of it?
? Do you sometimes wander around the house looking for a comfortable place to sit and read or have a cup of coffee?
? Do you have any rooms that are more than 16 feet tall?
? Do guests stepping into your foyer or living room for the first time look upward and say, “Wow”? (This is not always an indication of approval, just awe.)
