I am often asked, “How can I make the house I’m building more environmentally friendly?” My first answer, which admittedly is not very popular, is, “Trim your house plan by at least 50 square metres.”Australians live in the biggest houses in the world. Yes, even bigger than Americans. To provide some perspective, the average new Australian home is 248 square metres. In Britain in 2009, the average new home was 76 square metres. Denmark has the largest new homes in Europe, and at 137sqm, they’re still just over half the size of ours.
It makes me wonder why the merchandisers at IKEA even bother with the “Live in 20sqm!” displays. Many Australians consider 20sqm an acceptable size for, say, the laundry.
Our big houses are part of the reason Australians have among the least environmentally sustainable lifestyles in the world, according to the Australian Conservation Foundation‘s Sustainable Cities Index. It’s not just that our houses are big, fewer people live in them and they’re on smaller blocks. More house, less yard, fewer occupants.
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And check out more stories from local fellow blogger Kirsten
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