In The New York Times Magazine: Eco-remodeling and the possibilities of a new “normal”

REFURBISHING NORMAL
Looking at how consumer expectations about the home have changed — and how they might change again

This week The New York Times Magazine has a special issue with a “green.” Consumed plays along by looking at “expectations of normal,” how they change, and what the eco-consequences are.

Clearly our notions of “normal” change as a result of innovations or economic circumstances or even the vagaries of fashion. Quitzau and Ropke were looking at the way people in one country think about one room, but the pattern is familiar. A century ago, having a bathroom at all was “a sign of status,” they wrote. Gradually the bathroom became normal, as did more frequent showering and so on. And around the mid-1990s, a new wave of bathroom remodeling transformed a previously function-oriented and hygienic aesthetic into one of “identity formation.”

Not surprisingly, the cumulative effect included using a lot more water and energy. Observers of the American remodeling business have seen similar trends. … Today, given that many Americans’ consumption patterns have been affected by the economic slowdown, it’s interesting to consider whether a version of normal might emerge that is more environmentally sound.

Read the whole column in the April 19, 2009, issue of The New York Times Magazine, or here. Discuss, make fun of it, or praise it to the skies on the Consumed Facebook page. For information about writing a letter to the editor, see the FAQ.

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