Friday, September 11, 2009

Size vs. Luxury

Today’s discussion is going to be about SIZE vs. LUXURY. But in order to have an effective discussion, we should probably define both of these terms first and see why they are important.

SIZE

Everyone wants a big home.

Well, I take that back – not everyone wants a big home. I certainly don’t (see my post on BIG HOUSES). It would be much more accurate for me to say that everyone wants enough space; nobody wants a cramped home. It isn’t comfortable, it isn’t inviting, and cramped houses usually lead to cranky attitudes.

So although not everyone wants a big house, the size of a home does matter.

LUXURY

Everyone wants the right amount of luxury.

Some people are overjoyed with a large walk-in closet and a nice master bath, others won’t be content until they have a home theater, a billiards room, a wine cellar, an indoor swimming pool…. You get the picture.


My point is that everyone has an idea of luxury, and although your idea of luxury might be different from mine, it’s important to feel like your home fulfills your wants and your needs.

FINDING BALANCE

Now let me share with you a little secret: You can’t have everything you want. Period.

In this life it is impossible to have everything – especially when you’re talking about a house. Even if money was no object (defenestrating your budget), it would simply be impossible to have everything.

Don’t get me wrong – you can and should have a very nice house that meets all of your needs, but perfection isn’t a realistic goal for a house. The key to true happiness is to find a good balance. Some things are more important than others and you just need to sit down and set your priorities, then do your very best to balance things according to your priorities.

If you want to get a little help with this, you might want to check out my older post about "THE 90% RULE". In the meantime, let me know what you think.