I received The Small House Book via Amazon this weekend, and I read it straight through in a sitting. The pictures alone were worth ordering the book for, especially the real photos of little houses across the U.S. and the story of how Jay Shafer came to 'live smaller'.
Now don't get me wrong, this girl will never compost, live without indoor plumbing and AC, or give up her closet of clothes and shoes. But I am inspired.
You already know that my latest obsession is my 'dream house', called Whidbey Cottage. Designed by Jay Shafer, I already envision this cottage (with a split loft and an added screened porch off the great room) as MINE. I've even furnished it in my head... with the loft above the main bedroom becoming my office/closet, a room I've imagined so long as something for a luxury home. But when it comes to these tiny homes, it's all about USABLE space. And Whidbey, while not truly a 'tiny' house, is 500 square feet of loveliness.
The house I currently live in, which I hope to sell next year, is 1700 square feet. It has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a wet bar, two-car garage, dining room AND breakfast nook for eating, and more. And if you cut it in half, I still wouldn't use all of the space. It's overwhelming to me, and I have wanted for months to relocate to an apartment. In fact, I neglect half of my house and find it burdensome and impractical. It is too much for me. Why do people need this 'extra' space?
One of the most significant moments in reading, for me, was looking at the photo of a large house with garages that used to be my idea of what I wanted my home to look like. Very McMansion, very Pottery Barn, very pricey and ostentatious. It was my old dream, something from a life I left behind... something I don't want anymore.
I'm in love with knotty pine walls, built-in shelves, and dual-purpose furniture like trundle beds. Practical storage and simple style is so much more efficient, more cozy, more ME. And these houses, while pricy per square foot, are so much more ECONOMICAL, houses that people could actually afford. I can't wait to make my next career move in the spring and relocate somewhere that building this house could become a reality. And The Small House Book will be my rallying point to come back to, to remind me that it's all possible.
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