There's no place like home

of course few of us will ever live in a home the  

size of this one David Pogue looks  at Living Large and living small

part of the American dream has always been  hello a big house thanks for coming I like  

your foyer thank you like the New Jersey  home of Calvin and Orsula Knowlton I'd  

love a little tour whose house measures 40  000 square feet not counting the finished  

basement back here we have the shower and  the bathtub wow and you failed to mention  

the elevator in the bathroom that goes down to  the workout room oh man it's a human car wash  

oh so this is Cal's office and there's a chapel  adjacent when things aren't going well in the  

business you can I'm there most people will  never get a chance to live in a house with  

as much space are there certain advantages to  it that might not occur to the average person  

well you don't bump into anybody very often so  we call each other on the phone within the house  

it's in the house okay is there such a thing as  a downside to having a really big house yeah that  

you don't run into people very often you know  trying to find your cell phone when you've lost

to accommodate Gatherings of their eight  children but they didn't always live in this  

much space Did you ever imagine as a kid you'd  be living in a house like this absolutely not  

never my dad struggled a lot we when I was in high  school we lost the house I mean it was like it was  

bad you know when you go through that type of  struggle it puts a real dent in you I think it  

gave me more purpose when we talk about size  it is about wealth and power and the American  

dream Setha Low is a professor of environmental  psychology at the City University of New York she  

says that not everyone needs big square footage to  be happy especially when they're just starting out  

I lived in a little tiny tiny studio apartment and  I was very comfortable why well I could control it  

I could afford it it might be perfect for someone  at One Moment In Time come on in for 20 year old  

dancer Miriam Zorc this isn't my forever home it's  just like a little I'm only gonna be here for like  

a year so it's an adventure the perfect place at  this moment in time is a 75 square foot apartment  

it's pretty great for me I'm young and I get to  live in New York and I can afford it I want to see  

the view she gave us a little tour of very little  I have like this little sofa thing that pulls out  

and then you can like do that so I've had like  guests sleep on that because it reclines all the  

way too so this is the guest room yes this is the  guest room and the living room and everything this  

is the kitchen fridge I got a little hot plate  here and then I have a sink over there so I can  

brush my teeth in here and then it is shared  bathroom situations and is there an issue with  

slobs in the bathroom it's not like beautiful but  I wouldn't say it's too bad the second floor oh  

yeah the second floor all the way up here is my  bed would you mind telling us what you're paying  

for it sure I pay 1100 a month um that's utilities  included that's less than a third of the average  

rent for a Manhattan studio apartment where's  the rest of it let me check inside the fridge

realtor Cash Jordan makes YouTube videos about  apartments including this 60 square foot space  

if you've come to New York City and you're trying  to save as much money as you can you're going to  

go look at apartments with a roommate he points  out that you're getting about the same space you'd  

have if you shared the place but it costs less  and it's all yours a two bedroom in this part  

of town might run you two thousand dollars per  roommate but thirteen hundred dollars here but  

saving money is no longer the only reason people  are considering smaller living spaces Setha Low  

believes that a sustainable beautifully designed  home is becoming a status symbol too more and  

more people are becoming quite sensitive to their  carbon footprint the trend is also to design some  

of these small spaces in really beautiful and  thoughtful ways okay so you see the couch ways  

like this but what do you want to see first the  office space or the closet there's an office space  

yes there is no oh talk about expandable Furniture  an office yes it is oh my gosh oh look at this  

isn't this amazing it's the origami Apartments  according to broker and YouTuber Talia McKinney  

this 200 square foot Studio feels much bigger  thanks to movable walls designed by a company  

called Ori living if I'm living in this apartment  and I'm working I don't need a living room exactly  

until I go to the living room and then I don't  need an office the closet can disappear too  

people who say they need this walk-in closet  and then you're not using the space yeah it's  

a waste even the bedroom folds away here we go you  have your bed so the furniture of the living room  

you don't even have to move it it stays there  and if somebody's in the way I don't notice  

that there's a bedroom descending on my oh just  like a little pat on the top a little top there  

we go very nice well done as for the knowltons  their children are grown now so there are 40 000  

square foot home is for sale listed at 25 million  dollars empty nesters empty nesters in a big nest