Forget the McMansion and Celebrate 'Small Home Living' at Newly Launched TheJewelBoxHome.com

Nerves about the housing market mean more homeowners are staying put in smaller homes instead of spreading out in a larger house. But, not everyone views that trend negatively. A Midwest suburban wife and mom bucks the idea that bigger-is-better by celebrating small on The Jewel Box Home. The recently launched site embraces the potential and delights to be found in a little house.

(PRWEB) July 3, 2007 -- Recent drops in housing values have many homeowners feeling trapped in tiny starter homes, but the market downturn may be fueling a so-called "cottage" industry.

A Chicago mom-turned-entrepreneur is challenging the notion that families who buy or stay in smaller homes are "settling." Genevieve Ferraro launched TheJewelBoxHome.com to show people how to "settle in" instead. The Web site offers homeowners practical advice on successful small home living including, decorating small houses (http://thejewelboxhome.com/), entertaining family and friends in small spaces and discovering why smaller homes often work so much better than larger houses.

"The important feature of a home is not its size, but how it makes people feel," said Ferraro, who refers to those little house she treasures as Jewel Box Homes.

Ferraro is the creator and champion of The Jewel Box Home. After living with her husband and two sons in an 1800 square foot house for over 15 years, she has become an expert at shaping smaller homes into the perfect fit for growing families and downsizing Boomers alike. Decorating small houses requires and inspires creativity. To Ferraro, the rewards of the process were huge. The journey resulted in her upcoming book "The Jewel Box Home: Your Answer to Decorating, Entertaining and Finding Happiness in the Smaller Home." Now, the companion Web site, TheJewelBoxHome.com, also dishes advice on small home decorating, renovation and entertaining in intimate settings to homeowners who see the smaller home as more than a stepping-stone to a trophy house.

Through years of rehabbing her own home, Ferraro realized that the challenge of small home design (http://thejewelboxhome.com/) also opened up endless possibilities to incorporate charming and ingenious storage, gadgetry and furnishings that would be lost in a larger setting. Yet, she found that interior decorators were not interested in small spaces and other do-it-yourself resources did not address her living environment. Through step-by-step instructional articles and colorful monthly features TheJewelBoxHome.com guides homeowners and their families through their own small-home issues.

"There are many books and sites that talk about living large in a small space or making small spaces look big. But there aren't any that celebrate the potential and delights of the smaller house, which I affectionately call The Jewel Box Home," said Ferraro. "People are the heart of The Jewel Box Home. Beauty and function are valued over accumulating space and things."

For more information on how to realize the full potential of Jewel Box Living, please visit TheJewelBoxHome.com (http://thejewelboxhome.com/).

About The Jewel Box Home:

Genevieve Ferraro, a suburban Chicago wife and mother, learned through 17 years of small house living that there were many charms to uncover in a small space. Her advice on decorating small houses can be found in her upcoming book "The Jewel Box Home: Your Answer to Decorating, Entertaining and Finding Happiness in the Smaller Home." Ferraro's newly launched Web site of the same name offers homeowners realistic advice on small home design, do it yourself home improvements, entertaining and everyday living.

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