Living Small - Inspiration

As you know, I'm a big fan of small spaces.

I love the idea of having mobility, being nomadic, and making due with what you have. And as you know, I love Tumbleweed Homes. So it should be no surprise that I've been inspired and amazed by what Collin & Joanna from Our Wee House have done: Built their own 130 square foot movable 'Fencl' house... and it's lovely!

Check it out:

Our Wee House

It's beautiful on the inside, too.

Our Wee House

Through the rubble of our own renovation, I sometimes stop and have a moment of panic. We bought a house! And compared to the national average, it's small.. Outside measurements have put the square footage at less than 660 square feet.

In 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average square footage of a home was 2,392 square feet. We'll be living in a house that is 70% smaller than the national average. But I look at what Collin and Joanna have done and I can't help but be inspired. They can do it! And so can we.

In our yard..

In OUR yard, we have Quinalt strawberries blooming.

Yes... I said "our yard."

And forgive me for freaking out, because this is the first time I've used that phrase in our nearly 7 year long relationship. And I've been yardless for nearly 10 years.

Our. Yard.

We closed on our house today. Our down payment has been made. The ink on our loan documents is dry.

All that is left to do is wait. We should have our keys Tuesday.

And then we shall BBQ. In Our Yard.

The Big 3-0.

As usual, the impending date of my birthday causes panic and mild depression. It usually hits just after my mother's birthday. This year is no different.

And, as usual, I have to constantly and persistently discuss my life achievements with my husband, constantly buffering my aging identity with a sense of accomplishment. If-I-were-to-die-tomorrow type discussions are such great mood setters. What can I say, I'm the kind of girl who knows exactly where her ashes should be stored (see, room for two in this one- who says I'm not a romantic?). And I know exactly where I should be buried, because that's how I role.

But instead of going down the road of the dying, this year I'm trying to be a bit more positive. What could be more positive than a trip to Hawai'i? If I'm going to be three decades old, I might as well wake up on the sunny side of life.

So, here's our tentative birthday bash plan: Seven days in Maui. The husband has never been to Hawai'i. And I have only been there once on a layover from Japan. We could both use some sun, and I know our camera lenses would love to get some sand in them.

We've already picked our hotel: Let me present to you Outrigger's Aina Nalu.

So instead of this...

Image from Trappist Caskets

I'm going to try thinking of this:

Photo From Here

Here's to hoping that the new decade will bring a greater sense of positivity.

Is it really only Monday?

We dropped off a large packet of loan documents yesterday, and I couldn't help but sigh a giant sigh of relief. I'm trying not to be high strung about this whole adventure, but there's simply SO much paperwork and fine print and I feel like if I'm not scouring every single line of text I'm going to miss out on something that will make us lose this property. When we dropped off the paperwork I expected a day or two to be completely lazy.

Wrong.

So we got the approval to kick on the utilities, and now it's suddenly a flurry of activity again. Electricity is through Snohomish PUD, gas is through PSE, and water is through the city of Mountlake Terrace. Somehow we're supposed to get everything turned on, and have an inspector, 203k consultant, and contractor(s) to check out the property in the 48 hours that we're allowed to have the utilities on. Then we have to rewinter the property (even though it's officially Spring..).

So I could use a little luck- I'm a little overwhelmed suddenly, and I'm looking back at the relatively peaceful week I had last week and kicking myself for not foreseeing these next few steps.

I'm probably jinxing it.. but..

...we actually put an offer down on a house.

Planning for a Home

While I'm beginning to fall in love with our little condo (it has only been four years...) the hubs and I can't help but look towards the future. We have been a little hesitant to jump on a lot of the potentially great deals on the market, particularly because we know first hand that unless something is EXACTLY what we're looking for, it's wiser just to wait it out. And also because our condo is now worth about $20k less than what we owe, so escaping these tiny walls can prove to be a bit of a challenge.

In the meantime, I'm having a blast daydreaming about what our home will look like. The last few years we have had a lot of time to discuss and consider what our ideal place would be like, and this is Our List:

• Location - Ideally Redmond or the Eastside (Redmond, Kirkland, or Woodinville, perhaps Bellevue), but potentially North Seattle (I love Lake Forest Park, Edmonds is nice too).
• Land - .25 acres to 1.0 acre of land - at least enough room for a small garden with a southern exposure.
• Size - House should be no greater than 1500 sq/f - we don't entertain often (if at all), and I don't relish spending a lot of time cleaning.
• Details - Two stories, basement, detached garage with room for woodworking.

Sadly, not a whole lot of homes match our list. They are either way too big or with a teeny tiny plot of land. And basements are really hard to find.

But what if we built our own home? It'd require a good chunk of cash, much more than buying a home outright.. but if we're stuck waiting around anyway, wouldn't it be nice to move over to something that is perfect for us?

This is where Tumbleweed Houses come in. They specialize in small homes (and extremely teeny tiny houses too - we're talking ~100sq/f). All of the plans are built to be efficient and cost effective. And the last year and a half I keep coming back to one plan - the B-53.

This model is a whopping 777sq/ft, with two bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Too small? Maybe. But with a fully finished basement you would add another 384 sq/f, for a total of 1161 sq/f of living space.

How much would this cost? Well, with the helpful folks at building-cost.net, the tally comes up to... (drum roll please..) $166,983!

This does not include the cost of land, or bringing utilities to the site, or any government-mandated site development fees. But it is fun to consider- and honestly I'm tempted to find out what percentage of cash is needed to get started on such a project- we're guessing at least 50%. Want to know how the costs breakdown? Click here!