What “Enough” Can Teach Us

I just got back from Spain.

We go every year, to visit family, but each time we arrive it takes me a few days to recalibrate—to remember how to park in spaces that seem geometrically impossible, to navigate entryways that would never survive a U.S. plan check, and to stand at sales counters where I’m suddenly much closer to the person helping me than I’m used to.

At first, everything feels a little… tight.

Then something interesting happens. After a few days I stop noticing. The parking spaces don’t seem impossibly small anymore. The stores don’t feel cramped. The counters don’t feel inadequate. Nothing about the buildings has changed, but my expectations have.

It makes me question whether we’ve adopted a different default in American commercial design—one that assumes more space is almost always better.

Those Parking Spaces

European parking spaces aren’t small because someone made a mistake. They’re sized for the cars that use them. There’s enough room to park, enough room to open the door, and enough room to move on with your day. In the U.S. we often add another foot here, another buffer there, another layer of clearance just to be safe. None of those decisions are unreasonable on their own. But over hundreds of small decisions, “a little more” eventually becomes the baseline.

A Quick Note

There are good reasons Americal commercial spaces are often larger. Accessibility is one of them. The ADA has made public spaces dramatically more inclusive by establishing minimum clearances, aisle widths, and other standards that ensure people with disabilities can navigate them comfortably. (Note: Spain does have their own accessibility framework—Royal Decree 173/2010—but enforcement has historically been less consistent than in the U.S.)

The question is what happens beyond those minimums. When we make a corridor wider or a vestibule deeper, are we solving a real problem? Or are we simply following a convention that has become so familiar we no longer question it?

The Counter

One of the biggest differences I notice every year is the sales counter. In many American stores, the counter is substantial. It houses equipment, provides storage, and creates a clear separation between customer and employee.

In Spain, they’re noticeably slimmer. And that changes the conversation—literally. When you go to make a purchase, you’re standing close enough to the team member to converse without raising your voice. Questions feel easier to ask. Recommendations feel more natural, more personal. The interaction feels less like a transaction across a barrier and more like two people talking.

For brands built around expertise or hospitality, that’s worth paying attention to.

Human Scale

I notice a parallel effect in the overall proportions of retail spaces.

Many Spanish shops have ceilings around ten or twelve feet high. They feel generous without feeling oversized. Newer American retail often reaches sixteen feet or more. Sometimes that’s exactly the right move. A flagship store or big-box retailer benefits from a sense of scale.

But not every concept does.

A coffee shop, a bakery, a boutique, or a neighborhood restaurant may feel warmer, more memorable, and more comfortable in a space that relates to the people inside it rather than the street outside. Bigger isn’t automatically better.

Designing for “Enough”

This isn’t an argument for making everything smaller. American generosity with space has real advantages. It provides flexibility, supports operations, and often creates a more forgiving environment for customers and staff alike.

The lesson I take from Spain isn’t that we should design to the minimum. It’s that we should design to “enough.”

Enough space for the experience you’re trying to create. Enough room for people to move comfortably. Enough scale to support the brand without overwhelming it.

The word “enough” forces you to discover what’s really needed. Maybe it’s more space. Maybe it’s less.

After all, square footage is expensive. Make it earn its place.

Planning a retail or restaurant project? We’d love to help you make every square foot work harder for your brand.

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