If Designed Well, Little Houses Are Larger Than Life
These small cottages in Poulsbo, Wash., are designed to feel bigger.
(By Lara Swimmer For Mithun)
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How do you design a small house so that it lives large? When your living areas have big windows and you overlook a sweeping vista without another house is sight -- the solution offered in any number of books on small houses -- your rooms will definitely feel spacious.
The books show that it also helps if you have a Zen-like lifestyle and live simply, or live in your small house only on weekends. But for real people in real-life suburbia or real cities, these aren't very useful solutions.
A community of 50 cottages in Poulsbo, Wash., near Seattle, provides some interesting possibilities, however. Designed by the Mithun architectural firm in Seattle for the Dwelling Co. and completed in 2002, the cottages were built on a tight urban site with a project density of 15 units per acre. Though the houses are only eight feet apart, each one has a vista by virtue of clever land planning: Almost every house overlooks a sizable communal area in the middle of each block.
The units feature two bedrooms (one story and 870 square feet) or three bedrooms (two floors and 1,270 square feet). Each one has both a front porch close to the sidewalk and a back porch and small yard that overlook the commons.
Bob Trahan, an architect with the Mithun firm and a current Poulsbo Place resident, said the community layout promotes knowing your neighbors, though he actually lives in one of the few houses that does not overlook the greens. He shares a cul-de-sac with five other households. During the warmer months, the neighbors frequently socialize outside.
Most of the residents are empty-nesters like Trahan and his wife or first-time buyers without children. The Trahans moved there from a 2,500-square-foot townhouse on three floors because they didn't want to maintain space they never used, and they wanted an informal living area that was all on one floor. Though the main living area is relatively modest, Trahan said the back wall is "all windows," which makes the space feel larger.
Paring down their possessions to what would fit in their much smaller house was an arduous process that included four garage sales, Trahan said. They brought only what would fit, but some families have rented a storage unit for the things they couldn't bear to part with.
After they moved in, the Trahans discovered an upside to small-house living that the books on small houses never mention: Keeping it tidy is a lot less work.
