America's housing bust is forcing many families to downsize their living situations. Losing a home or squeezing into a much smaller one is a painful experience, but one silver lining may be that it's pushing us to consider just how much house we really need.

After years of obsessing about improving our house, many of us are now reflecting on what makes a home. Previously, we may have considered space purely in terms of square feet: the more, the better. Now, we're thinking in terms of how space affects relationships: What types of space foster close family ties?

Part of the problem is that recent home design trends have encouraged isolation. The McMansion boom mainstreamed such "special spaces" as a recreation/playroom, a solarium, a master bedroom suite, and big decks and patios. These luxuries became practically de rigueur in an era that promoted homes as showcases of prosperity. Meanwhile, within the home itself, parents installed televisions and computers in bedrooms. Children often have both in their room. Such design, coupled with busy children and even busier parents, has conspired against quality family interaction.

The image of the family gathered around the fireplace in the parlor or living room after the evening meal for conversation and games is perhaps a comforting image associated with old movies and television shows -- an era that most of us did not witness personally.

Do families gather in the home anymore? If so, where? To find out, graduate student Allison Miller and I asked low-middle to middle class families living in a small urban community in upstate New York to keep a diary for a month and note where family members gathered and what activity they were engaged in.

We found that family togetherness is more a function of what's going on in a room than the room itself. And we learned that even quite modest homes were sufficient to promote quality family time.

The diaries revealed that the primary spaces for parent-child and child-child interactions were the kitchen and eating areas, followed by such combination spaces as a living room/dining room/kitchen area. These interactions included sharing a meal, talking, doing homework and such household tasks as laundry, preparing a meal and cleaning up after a meal. Often one or both parents were involved in household tasks while also having a conversation with a child or helping with homework.

Yet, some of the families were surprised that most of their interaction took place in the kitchen and eating areas. Most identified a family room as an ideal space for interaction. Perhaps the family room, as distinct from the living room, which has come to be a more formal space in many single-family homes, is a romanticized space where we envision gathering around a fireplace even though the reality might be very different.

Our limited study suggests that homes with many specialized spaces will not necessarily increase family interaction. To be sure, family members need privacy and time (and a place) away from one another, so having sufficient space is important. But it doesn't take a McMansion to do this.

What seems to be essential is designing and dedicating a space for families to share a meal, which we found to be perhaps the single most important thing that families do together. Meal time is when important conversations take place, and children and parents share their lives with one another.

This recession is compelling parents to consider what is most critical for family well-being. If parents have to work longer hours just to afford a bigger house -- or a new entertainment room -- how much time will they spend in the home? What will this mean for the quality of family life? Are we working harder to create spaces that actually isolate our loved ones?

The concept of the family hearth is really not that old-fashioned after all. Families need to eat together and talk and help with homework and just enjoy one another. The design of the single-family home does not need to be elaborate to provide this type of space.

Lorraine E. Maxwell is a professor in the department of design and environmental analysis at Cornell. This article was originally published in the June 1 edition of Christian Science Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0601/p09s02-coop.htm.