Sharing the Interior:

Economy is often neglected in the literature on housing, and the design of house interiors. Exploring emerging forms of interior environments, this paper examines the relationship between sharing practices and models of economic domestic interiors. It maintains that sharing can be seen as a sustainable desirable and economic practice because it reduces total housing cost (and total construction), provides opportunities for exchange through collective use of space, and increases overall quality of life by enhancing chances for social interaction. The paper then provides examples of shared housing drawn from the authors’ current research and practice with respect to conjoined hous- ing in New Zealand and Australia, and concludes by suggesting interior design strategies to better accommodate changing household structures and facilitate desirable sharing practices while achieving economies.