I have Subway to thank for making me believe that bigger is better. With every trip to the counter, I have the best of intentions to go with the efficient and cost-effective six-inch sub. But those sneaky little sandwich artists bait me into the extra six inches every time. How have we come to believe that those few extra inches bring some monumental value with little cost differential?

Recently walking product with a client, I observed another artist that has mastered the extra six inches game. Window artists have convinced builders across the nation that using wood window sizing in vinyl windows is prestigious. In many cases, no convincing needed to be made, we just kept our traditional sizes when we moved from wood to vinyl. The cost of the extra six inches in the window is not in relation to the added value of the glass. These windows create a non-standard vinyl window size, and generally add a hefty premium to the cost of the window. In addition, non-standard is a dead give-a-way for LONG LEAD TIME.

A few extra inches in a room design can also carry costs far exceeding value and are often overlooked.