The house we currently live in is 884 square feet and we use about 100 additional square feet of the basement for laundry and storage (the rest of the basement is not usable). It's a small house and we would love to have a little more room, particularly as we grow our family. And, while we do a fairly good job of keeping our possessions to a minimum (our tight budget helps), we each have things that we "need" that take up space. For example...
Books. I *love* my books. And I want them to be out in the open so I can admire them when I walk by. It was a sad day when I had to pack up my theatre books and scripts (which filled over a dozen boxes) and put them in the basement to free up space in the second bedroom so we could, you know, raise our child in it. Most of my music books and scores met the same fate (though I have to reference them more often, so some migrated back into a pile in our family area). I have a collection of binders in which I compile information I often reference. My husband also loves his books and between the two of us we have an interesting and diverse library (and a lot a lot of books). We haven't accumulated many books over the past years because we both utilize the library, but once I have checked a book out three or four times, I figure it's time to buy it. In addition, we have a veritable law library (my husband's dream was to be a husband/dad/farmer/poet...so of course he went and got a law degree). Law books are big and heavy and boring, so those can be in storage (but storage has to be created for them). My husband estimates we *need* 180 square feet of wall space for books (and in the "want" category, he simply adds "more").
Crafting Supplies. I like pretty things and I like to (try to) make pretty things. I keep it under control, but I have knitting supplies and fabric and scrapbooking supplies (I don't really scrapbook, but I use the supplies for various projects). I need my supplies to be displayed in an organized way because otherwise I spend all my time sorting and admiring and planning and then I am exhausted and no longer interested in doing the actual craft. I am truly incompetent when it comes to sewing and would like to practice and get better--but by the time I have the sewing machine set up, threaded, and actually working, it's time to do something else (like feed the kid or go to bed).
Musical Instruments. I have played the flute since I was six and am a firm believer in the importance of music in a person's life and particularly in a child's education. I want to keep our piano (I don't play, but I can plunk out notes and pick out chords), several flutes, a djembe drum I made, and some additional "children's" instruments. I would like for these to be out in the open, but we may need to have some out-of-the-way storage for them (particularly since our toddler likes to manhandle my best flute whenever she can get to it).
Baby/Child Stuff. We have less baby/child stuff than anyone I know (who has kids) and it is still a lot of stuff. And we didn't buy much of it (hooray for hand-me-downs!). The things we have, we really do need: crib, changing table, dresser, books, limited amount of toys, cloth diapers, linens, co-sleeper, pack-n-play, gates, baby carriers, stroller (we actually rarely use the stroller). I really want a swing for this next baby. We have clothing that needs to be stored because who knows how many kiddos are going to join us over the next 5-7 years (we got married in our early thirties and have limited time left).
And there are other items, like my herbs (for teas, infusions, and tinctures) and my Reiki table (which does fold up) and my husband's board game collection (a shelf-full, nothing unmanageable) and our survival stash (for when the zombies attack). Part of me wishes we could live in a 400 square foot house and get rid of anything that didn't fit, but I know I wouldn't like living that way. What I have I have because it is life-giving to me and my family. (Fine, I know the TV and DVD player aren't technically necessary...except to my sanity which requires some mindless downtime now and then. For the record, our movie collection is minuscule.)
We are hoping to build something in the 1100+ square foot range. We have seen designs for earth-shelters (and the like) that are 2000+ square feet, so we know it is a reasonable goal. While we have not completely dismissed a multiple-level design, right now we are focusing on a one-level home.
Lists!
In order to get our thoughts into some sort of coherent form so we could move into actual design, we made several lists.
Household Member Needs. Each member of the household gets to write down their list of needs. For example, my list of needs include space for the items I listed above, plus a pantry, a family play area with a couch, and a comfy soaker bathtub (that's my luxurious request). My husband's list includes a workshop/tool room, storage (for everything: he wants it to have someplace out of the way to go), a greenhouse, and a laundry room with access to an outdoor line. Our list for the children includes play space, reading space, quiet/dark sleeping space, a place for playing games, a place for their clothes, changing table, places for nursing, and easy-to-clean eating areas. While we didn't go into detail, we also noted that we needed to be able to accommodate guests. Our current home is so small that hosting even two people feels quite crowded; we would like to be able to have people over occasionally and also provide sleeping arrangements for out of town guests such as my parents or sisters.
Areas. I took the household member needs and used the information to create a list of the different areas the house needed:
sleeping
eating
cooking
bathing
games
reading
crafting
music practice
entertaining
entertainment
computer use
homework
work
clothing
storage
Outdoor Areas. We will need an outdoor area (partially paved?) for playing/eating/relaxing as well as the various animal enclosures. My husband's undergraduate degree is in horticulture and he loves gardening, so there will be many gardens (vegetable, fruit, herb, and flower).
And, finally, we used all that info to compile the NEEDS/WANTS list:
- 180 square feet wall space for books (want: more)
- 2 bathroom(s) (want: 3 with integrated waste-water system/recycling)
- 3 bedrooms (want: 6)
- kitchen/dining area (want: paved outdoor space with barbecue)
- living/family room (want: arts and crafts area--storage and production)
- space for water heater/furnace (want: solar/wind power/solar water heater; geothermal heat--radiant floor?)
- wood furnace and wood storage (want: fireplace; intake from outside??)
- laundry with outdoor line
- out-of-sight vehicle storage (want: underground parking)
- 2 cubic yards clothes storage (want: 3 cubic yards)
- workshop/toolroom (want: greenhouse)
- well water source (want: grey water soakaway; electric and wind manual pump as back up)
- electric lighting (want: at least future compatibility for solar and wind power)
- storage for clothes, games, crafts, books, linens (want: survival bunker with seeds, food, blankets, water, first aid)
We created a spreadsheet so we can record the measurements of our furniture and appliances and estimate costs for things we will need to purchase for the home. We will use the measurements to figure out how much counter space, cupboard space, floor space, etc. we need.
Here is the design I sketched out that takes into account most of the needs. It's not to scale, it is just to give an idea of the flow of the house (and I haven't pulled out my feng shui books yet). There are definitely issues, such as the laundry room doesn't have access to an outside line and I'm not sure how it will vent.
Before we can decide on the materials we are going to use, we need to decide where exactly on the farm we are going to build (there are some strict regulations in place). Once we confirm the site, we can determine the orientation and appropriate materials. To be honest, the main factor in choosing the materials is cost (after structural reliability, of course). The farm land has clay/silt, sand, trees, straw, cattails (for possible thatching or insulation) and manure available. Ideally, we will be able to build for around $25,000. That's not a lot of money for a house (and yet a huge amount of money for us). We are planning on doing the majority of the work ourselves with the assistance of my husband's family; this cuts down the construction costs considerably, but we are still looking at building materials, utilities, and hiring labor for things we cannot do.
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