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You are not alone in this. You probably love cozy yet beautiful settings as I do. We have so many McMansions where I live and everyone thought that bigger is better. Not I. My home is 2800 sq. ft. and I think it's too big. If cottage living is your thing, you do have lots to choose from. There are scads of floor plans to pour over on the web and at your local bookstore. But, in short, I am with you on this. If correctly designed, small houses can be a pleasure to live in. Have fun!!
Interesting to think about the size home we were rasied in versus the size we live in now..I was raised in a home that was maybe 1000 square feet--and there were five of us. Way too crowded--but did have my own little bedroom which was my refuge. Now we've got over twice that space for two of us. I think we went overboard a bit and would like to downsize to around 1200-1400--if the space were laid out in a usable way.
Hate a bunch of tiny rooms but love an open concept with lots of light and built-ins, alcoves, and good storage--like the Chapin homes.
Were we to build from scratch, I'd definitely factor in all the energy-saving design we could afford--passive solar and as much solar as we could get on the roof...my favorite house of all time (well I'd love to live in Monticello, too) is Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water--the way it blends into the landscape and is built from local materials...so organic and non-intrusive.
Last edited by LittleDolphin; 07-23-2008 at 02:42 PM..
Reason: typos
I like a lot of the teeny bngalows I see in Portland (OR) real estate listings.
Its hard to find cutesy ones here in the north east. Tons of old huge huge houses I couldnt afford to heat. LOL
I think those log cabin home kits are really neat too.
I seem to recall posting to a thread about a month ago. Something about Katrina cottages ..... Anyway, I think it relates to the Tiny House subject. Park model homes are a growing business in the sunbelt states for a lot of the snowbirds. We've investigated them ourselves because the thought of having to go through the ordeal of building a house: getting bids, finding responsible contractors, having to wait and hope that nothing goes wrong with the process ... *ugh* just too worrisome
I read once that Thomas Jefferson, at Monticello, had his bed rise to the ceiling by using pulleys when it wasn't in use--smart man...
That got me wondering
I've visited Monticello several times and noticed that his "public" rooms: the grand front hall where his treasures were displayed, the family room where his children and friends gathered to talk and entertain, were large. His less formal rooms were smaller and more sparse. The docent explained that, after his stint in France as an ambassador, Jefferson came home and tore up his house, incorporating things commonly found in Europe like taller ceilings and skylights to bring in more light and make those small rooms appear larger. Soooo, I hied myself off to the Monticello sight to confirm that, and found some really spiffy views of the house interior Jefferson's Monticello - The House
I've visited Monticello several times and noticed that his "public" rooms: the grand front hall where his treasures were displayed, the family room where his children and friends gathered to talk and entertain, were large. His less formal rooms were smaller and more sparse. The docent explained that, after his stint in France as an ambassador, Jefferson came home and tore up his house, incorporating things commonly found in Europe like taller ceilings and skylights to bring in more light and make those small rooms appear larger. Soooo, I hied myself off to the Monticello sight to confirm that, and found some really spiffy views of the house interior Jefferson's Monticello - The House
Ummm... those tiny rooms in Monticello were 15 x 11' and they are dwarfed by the larger rooms. It's called a mansion for a reason. Nicely done site.
My mother has lived in a tiny house for the past 30 years. It was less than 700 sq ft, containing a very small entry room (since they moved the front to it), a 16x11 living room, small dining room, tiny converted side porch she uses as a bedroom, small kitchen and a utility room with a half basement. They added a greenhouse 16x12 which my brother and I converted to a room with a brick floor she uses as an office a few years ago. She refuses gifts and uses the space judiciously. The converted greenhouse helped a tremendous amount and the utility room helps a lot.
If she won the lottery, she would like to redo the house and add a floor and double the size of the house. She's happy with it but she is cramped. It is a little cramped when I stay with her.
Coming from Florida expansive stucco homes, now in north carolina I do feel like I live on a movie set.
Hardwood floors, wainscoting, mouldings trims, built ins, brick outside with sidings. Long wrap around porch, sloped ceilings on the second floors with walk in attics. I love it! Oh and the previous owners had planted alot, ALOT of bulbs which we were completely surprised with in spring here.
It is a cape cod style home that is adorable and all in 1200 sq ft under elm, cypress, hickory and other trees. But it is so goshdarned cute, we don't mind the smallness.
when i go to Ikea and see how they put together a space of 450 sq ft or 600 sq ft, it makes me wish i could get rid of everything and do something like that.
i would love it--really cozy
i do have a family though, so i wouldnt put them through that. my house is 1400 sq ft. so its not that big anyway.
I guess I have a tiny house but it doesn't seem that way to me. It's just under 1200 sf, built in 1915, and that square footage is with a room that was added in the 80's (12 x 14 room)...! So before that it was even smaller. So currently it is a 3 bedroom with front parlor and living / dining (depends on who you ask) and kitchen and tiny bath. Perhaps it is because there is a huge front porch that is the entire width of the house and about 8 feet deep, and a large covered back porch also, and 10ft ceilings, it doesn't seem so "tiny". The ONLY thing I wish for is another bathroom. We use the "parlor" for a bedroom, which sounds weird but works for us. It was a matter of buying what we could afford, and with the eldest 16, we figure we can take over his bedroom fairly soon anyway.
It's quite different from the house I grew up in which was a 1960's 2 story with close to 2000 square feet. That house had 2 large living areas, large kitchen, 3 bedrooms upstairs, 2 full bathrooms upstairs, a half bath downstairs, and tons of attic and built in storage space. Oh and a 2 car garage. There were four of us when my parents bought it, then 3 of us after the divorce... seems really huge compared to my house now.
We have a family of 4 in this "tiny house" and it's not an issue. The real issue is we have too much crap! The house is not the problem... we are! LOL!
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Nicely done site.
