Comments on: Square Feet http://www.heronswoodvoice.com/2008/08/square-feet/ Heronswood Voice – A web log written by George Ball Mon, 16 Jan 2012 17:50:49 -0800 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Mary http://www.heronswoodvoice.com/2008/08/square-feet/#comment-1225 Mary Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:06:27 +0000 http://www.heronswoodvoice.com/?p=147#comment-1225 My teenage son and I live in a 900 sq.ft. house on ~5000 sq.ft. lot. It is too big! While I've longed for more real estate to garden, the reality is 1300 sq.ft. garden is plenty for me as far as maintenance goes. As for the house, while I appreciate the low utility bills and enjoy walking from one space/room to another - the fact is it holds too much "stuff" and takes too long to clean. A "tiny house" appeals to me but there is a breaking point where too tiny = clutter. I think I'd really like perhaps the same square footage (900) but with cabinets and storage to hide everything away and built-ins Craftsman-style to unify the interior. Key to smaller indoor spaces are outdoor "rooms," porches, patios and the like. I grew up in a house with a basement and would love to have a root cellar for wine, winter squash, etc. but would sacrifice that for a gray water cistern - water is becoming scarce and expensive in So Cal. My teenage son and I live in a 900 sq.ft. house on ~5000 sq.ft. lot. It is too big! While I’ve longed for more real estate to garden, the reality is 1300 sq.ft. garden is plenty for me as far as maintenance goes. As for the house, while I appreciate the low utility bills and enjoy walking from one space/room to another – the fact is it holds too much “stuff” and takes too long to clean. A “tiny house” appeals to me but there is a breaking point where too tiny = clutter. I think I’d really like perhaps the same square footage (900) but with cabinets and storage to hide everything away and built-ins Craftsman-style to unify the interior. Key to smaller indoor spaces are outdoor “rooms,” porches, patios and the like. I grew up in a house with a basement and would love to have a root cellar for wine, winter squash, etc. but would sacrifice that for a gray water cistern – water is becoming scarce and expensive in So Cal.

]]> By: trey pitsenberger http://www.heronswoodvoice.com/2008/08/square-feet/#comment-367 trey pitsenberger Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:19:41 +0000 http://www.heronswoodvoice.com/?p=147#comment-367 My youngest child has just left the house and my wife and I find our 1800 sq.ft. home quite adequate. The vegetable garden is being increased in size since we now have the time to slow cook our meals and really enjoy the whole process of growing our own vegetables and fruit. It's not about survival but a closer connection to our food source, as well as pushing the limit when it comes to great taste. Here in California the housing will change as we experience more dry summers like this one. Homes here should all have underground cisterns where 50,000 gal or more of the winters rain can be stored for gardening in the dry summer. Our landscapes should reflect our environment and be more water conserving so the precious water can be used for the fruit garden as well as domestic use. The possibilities for creating homes that are scaled for human interaction and maximum efficiency is really quite exciting. My youngest child has just left the house and my wife and I find our 1800 sq.ft. home quite adequate. The vegetable garden is being increased in size since we now have the time to slow cook our meals and really enjoy the whole process of growing our own vegetables and fruit. It’s not about survival but a closer connection to our food source, as well as pushing the limit when it comes to great taste.

Here in California the housing will change as we experience more dry summers like this one. Homes here should all have underground cisterns where 50,000 gal or more of the winters rain can be stored for gardening in the dry summer. Our landscapes should reflect our environment and be more water conserving so the precious water can be used for the fruit garden as well as domestic use.

The possibilities for creating homes that are scaled for human interaction and maximum efficiency is really quite exciting.

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