Jay Shafer

Jay Shafer is leading a movement that is reshaping the way we think about house and home.

His “quality over quantity” approach to house design has stirred international dialogue regarding the ever-increasing size of North American homes and the impact those housing trends have on the environment.

In his The Small House Book, which he self-published in 2007, Shafer explains why smaller dwellings make good sense and how quality design can be achieved with less space. He has continued to share his philosophy through such venues as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Fine Homebuilding magazine, The Wall Street Journal and at the University of Iowa’s School of Art, where he served as Adjunct Assistant Professor for more than a decade.

Professor Shafer currently lives in a 100-square-foot home of his own creation.