I chuckled as I read the opening paragraphs of this article describing John Brown's "slow home movement" (i.e. designing and building houses which emphasize livability and sustainability within a smaller footprint".

My initial reaction, "Well that's the same thing we do!", followed by, "Dang, I wish I had come up with that marketing twist." So I will borrow-ha.

Brown positions the slow home movement as more than just the design-build part, he also brands a slower lifestyle with quality time in the home with friends and family over showing off ones accumulation of stuff. All good and you won't hear any objections from me, a devout home body.

However, I can't help but point out the "slow home" as described is nothing more than a universally designed house. So whether you call it a poh-tay-toh or poh-tah-toh, we're talking apples and apples, a smaller house with green efficiencies and universal features which make the home livable for a lifetime.

Frustrating to those of us in this niche whenever we describe to people what we do is getting back either a blank stare (universal design) or closed ears ("aging-in-place"). Universal Design (UD) is perceived as obtuse and anything describing inability or "aging" is negative. So proponents of UD have tried other phrasing such as "barrier-free living", "lifespan design", "easy living home" to various degrees of recognition and acceptance. The problem is, once you begin talking about "accessibility", people automatically think of ramps and grab bars and worry their home will morph into a hospital room, and who wants that? (Nobody, I don't.)

Post real estate bubble surveys find owners in most parts of the country are well over showing off McMansions and prefer to down-size, de-clutter and save money/time. Also gaining popularity, multi-generational as well as non-familial households (particularly among Millennials) and a preference for "smart homes", which is again, technically UD.

So I'm all for the "slow house movement" (it's what we do and I like the vibe) if that's what we must call it in order for people to "get it." What do you think about that label, make sense? (Email me your opinion by replying to this newsletter.)  

Tomorrow morning at 9 am I'll be teaching a short class about home accessibility at the Charlottesville Senior Center as part of a workshop, Preserving Home Ownership hosted by the Charlottesville Area Association of Realtors (CAAR). Other presenters will describe reverse mortgages, loan workout resolutions, bankruptcy and credit issues. The central theme is being able to stay in your house.

The workshop is from 9 am to 11 am, free and open to all, but CAAR requests registration at the link above or by calling 434.817.2227 so enough materials can be prepared for each attendee.