Our lives have become increasingly informal and now our homes are following suit. According to the first quarter AIA 2006 Home Design Trends Survey, more than two-thirds of architects report that the amount of informal space in the home is increasing.

   Learning objectives:

• Explore ways to create houses that address the new informality, affecting how homeowners think about home, where they want to live, and how they live at home
• Compare the green-leaning new informality movement and ecologically aware Barefoot Home ideas—such as openness and indoor/outdoor living—with sustainable design and the trend toward smaller, more efficient houses
• Identify products, materials, architectural elements, and design characteristics that contribute informality, openness, and “barefoot” texture to indoor/outdoor houses that are durable, low maintenance, and sustainable