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A Farm of My Own:  Looking for simple house plans...  |
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simpledreamer
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
Marybeth
Louisiana
USA
26 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 06 2004 : 08:54:09 AM
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We're thinking about selling our house and downsizing. I've been looking for small house plans and evidently, most people's idea of small isn't the same as mine. We're looking at selling our 2100 sq. ft. house and building a house between 800-1000 sq. feet. I want a simple house plan without all the bells and whistles. I want to be able to clean my house in less than an hour. We want a cottage look and we have to have either two bedrooms with a small study or three bedrooms. Do yall have any ideas where to look? I've found a few but when I enter "small house plans" into a search...most of what I find comes up to 1,500 square feet or more. That's not small! Anyway, I'd love to hear yall's ideas and any house building suggestions.
Dreaming of a simple life,
Marybeth |
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simpledreamer
Farmgirl in Training
26 Posts
Marybeth
Louisiana
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2004 : 11:29:29 AM
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Thanks, I'll check it out!
Dreaming of a simple life,
Marybeth |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2004 : 1:59:40 PM
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Dear Simpledreamer (love that name),
In the meantime, as you search for that small abode, you can do what I am trying to do. I dream of a cabin-type home, small and pared down to the necessities. My own home is one I love, however, and we have been here 18 years. So I am making it simple, instead. I am getting rid of furniture and knick knacks and extra dishes, and all that stuff we have that we do not really need.
It is taking time, but I am finding it is easy to keep a larger house clean if it is not full of stuff. The floors clean quickly, and it is so nice not to have so many belongings to take care of and keep track of.
I have kept books, music, and the things we use all the time. Anything else is in jeopardy! A large space is nice and easy when it is open and free of clutter. I try to get rid of several things a week that we do not need. Goodwill has become my friend, as well as consignment shops, the churches, and the trash, when absolutely necessary.
It is not easy, because I am still weaning myself of the urge to gather more! That is where the trick comes in! I am not a packrat, by any means, but it is still a challenge.
The simple life can be yours anywhere.
jpbluesky(Jeannie)
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Jul 06 2004 : 4:56:11 PM
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Dear Simpledreamer, a few thoughts on your ideas. First, before you start building or even get plans for such a small house, please try to actually find an existing one. Reasons: 800-1000 sq.ft. is VERY small. Before I married I bought a house in the city here, the size being about 900 sq.ft. It was an existing home which had, luckily been remodeled. I won't go into the reasons, but at the time it was necessary that I have my own house. The house was "cute", had a working fireplace, no basement, but a "floor" furnace, which was in a crawl space reachable thru the outside only. Two bedrooms - which I didn't measure before buying (heck it had furniture in it when I looked so I thought it'd be OK). One doorway was so small I couldn't get some of my furniture in the room; I only needed 1 bedroom so I didn't care, but even with a LOT of downsizing, I was very short of workable space. There were only 2 closets, neither of which was wide enough for coat hangers to hang properly. Needless to say, if I had stayed there I would have added a bedroom to the upstairs crawl space. So be SURE to find a small home this size before building anything. That sq. footage is REALLY small!!!
ce's farm |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2004 : 12:19:47 PM
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Hi Marybeth,
Just have to add my 2 cents. Check out the book "The hand Sculptured House" by Ianto Evans, Michael G Smith and Linda Smiley. You will be amazed at what you can build on a shoestring budget and how warm and inviting these structures are to be inside. I have participated in 2 workshops sponsored by a friend of mine who has a little farm and horse boarding facility. She is building one of these buildings on her property for a kitchen that can be used by her summer interns as well as a place to do all of her canning and baking for the farmers market. It is wonderful. Small spaces can be perfect if planned well in advance. This also offers a way to have some really comfortable and warm built in furniture to eliminate a lot of house work. They are energy efficient and comfortably cool inside even during the sweltering hot and humid days of summer as well as they hold the heat in winter. I got my first copy at the library and then had to have my own copy. I get this type of book from a place that sells slightly damaged new and dealer returns of any of the books carried by chelsie green books. The e-mail address for price and availability is
greenlivingbooks@greenlivingjournal.com or you can call 877-265-9453.
They are very friendly and will find you the best possible price. There are a lot of books on sustainable agriculture, alternative power and other issues as well.
Eileen
songbird |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2004 : 1:42:28 PM
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Clare,
We are planning to build a cobb bath house up here next summer. I think it is in my blood. The first Cobb buildings I saw and were in Wales in 1969. Some of these houses are over 100 years old and still beautiful! I was amazed that the same fire that warmed their living room was piped through to the bathroom towel racks and also warmed the cobb benches built into the kitchen.
Eileen
songbird |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Sep 22 2004 : 4:30:59 PM
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I subscribe to Counrty Living Magazine, and they have plans in every issue, many of which are 800-1000 sq ft.
farmgirl@heart
Longaberger Lover and all things antique |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 30 2004 : 5:37:25 PM
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Thought you might like to see the beginning of a Cob building being built on a local farm as a kitchen for the interns. There have been three workshops during this summer and one more to come this fall to get the roof on the building.
You can view the album at:
http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/com.hp.HPGuestLogin?username=eileenspics&password=48966205
I will send more of the finished walls with windows later
This is after the second workshop. The first one we built a cob oven and baked bread in it the third day. It was so fun and the bread is so good. The oven sits outside the kitchen door to the left of the door and we also built benches on either side of an entry way into the courtyard of the kitchen.
songbird |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Oct 01 2004 : 4:32:29 PM
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Wow! That is amazing! I bet the bread was awesome.
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Oct 02 2004 : 4:57:39 PM
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Kim,
The really amazing thing about these cob ovens is that once you have heated them up you can bake three times in a day before it cools down enough to need reheating. You build a fire in the center and get it good and hot then let it burn down to ashes. When it is nothing but ashes and no flames are left you scoop out the ashes, Swab the fire brick with a wet rag on a stick and place the raised loaves right on the hot fire brick. The first loaves bake in about 15 minutes, the second loaves take about 20 minutes and the third baking takes about 30 minutes. You can also place cookies on a cookie sheet in the third baking. It is also great for things like pizza and flat breads. It is wonderful! I will be building one of these on my property next spring.
Eileen
songbird |
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A Farm of My Own: Looking for simple house plans... |
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Looking for simple house plans...
