Dream Houses

~New England Cottage~

When we purchased our first home, it was a large Cape Cod style home. Fairly traditional, but it did have a finished basement with a bath, kitchen, plenty of closet and storage space, a living room with a fireplace and it's own entrance. It was the perfect, private spot for our son when he came home from college and if he wanted to have friends in. There were a total of twelve rooms in that house. When I was working outside of the home, full time, it was a lot to maintain. My husband is pretty good around the house but it was an older home and always needing attention.

So, when we decided to buy a much smaller home, I was thrilled. We down-sized significantly holding yard sales and passing things on to those that could use whatever was up for grabs!

I had long dreamt of designing and building a school house. It would be one large main room downstairs, with bath and upstairs. There would be a large master suite and two small rooms, one a studio for me and the other a den for my husband. However those plans never came to fruition and we were thrilled to be in this smaller cape, which was manageable and bright and we do truly love it here.

~Log Cottage~

I have always been attracted to tiny buildings. Especially those that hold some interesting bits of architecture. I imagine them as cozy living spots or studios where creative juices can flow boundlessly. Last night I announced to my husband that I thought we should sell most of our earthly possessions, sell our home, simplify our wardrobes, buy a piece of land on a private road and I build a TINY house. One that would have just what we truly needed. A snazzy kitchen with a compact dishwasher, a gas stove, a small refrigerator and as much storage places as could be cleverly designed into the project. There would be a full bath with an apartment sized washer and dryer. A narrow short few steps up would be the master suite- minuscule by any standards but it would have what we needed and there would be as much storage as possible. Only those most precious decorative pieces would be out, keeping the landscape of our little home neat, tidy and, most important, easy to maintain - giving us lots of time to illustrate and tie flies.....

I really had it all beautifully pictured in my head. There would be window boxes filled with bright colored annuals and a small herb and vegetable garden close by. I continued trying to sell my idea to my husband by announcing that there would be no mortgage, low property taxes, low utility costs and very low maintenance. He could retire and we could travel to Lucca, he could fly fish as much as he wanted and we would have endless, lazy days together.

We pondered this for a while over a glass of wine and after going back and forth, pro and con...

~Sleeping Loft~

I will always be attracted to a sweet dwelling, a place where one can dream, live with only what is truly needed and holds some storybook quality. I love illustrating little spots such as these- imagining what it would be like to have a cozy nest where the days are long and the nights are sweet with the sound of the peepers~ while reading in a warm, comfortable loft.

Do you ever think of a major downsize, going off the grid and creating a more simple life?