Hi Everyone!
Happy Friday loves. So yesterday we experienced major major wet weather. We’ve actually needed it since CA has been in a drought for the past several years, so I’m thankful for that. What I DIDNT need was to go to my garage and find everything sitting in several inches of water! Ummmm yeah. The cottage bungalow has drainage issues guys. I’m talkin major. All the water from our backyard and driveway somehow drains into the garage. It rained all day and all night so it should be loads of fun taking stock of the damage over the weekend…just in time for the next storm system to roll in. We don’t actually park our cars in the garage because we use it to store everything we had from the downsize. I tell ya, when it rains it pours. I love this little old house, but this….well, #aintnobodygottimeforthat.
Since I’m not in a super happy place with my little abode at the moment, I thought Id share with you a small home that’s giving me happy vibes. Pamela reached out to me with her small home story and I’m thrilled to share it with you today. Lets take a gander at how she lives and loves in her small space:
1. Where/what city do you live in?
I live in a community called Wild Horse Ranch in the mountains of New Mexico.
2. Who do you share your home with?
My husband of 20 years.
3. Do you rent or own?
We own our home.
4. How many square feet is your home?
640 square feet.
5. What do you love most about small space living?
I am somewhat of a minimalist and like cozy spaces so small space living feeds into my desire for intimacy and tidiness. I can’t have too much stuff because I don’t have the space for it and every thing has to be in its place or things get out of hand really fast. I also love that it makes me incorporate art and function. For example, I recently commissioned a piece of pottery that is also a colander. It sits beautifully on my kitchen counter, sometimes housing fruit, until I need it to rinse pasta or veggies.
6. What challenges have you faced?
Over the last 14 years we have dealt with many challenges. We hired a contractor to build the shell of this home. Everything else we have done ourselves from framing the walls, plumbing, electrical wiring and designing and making handmade interior doors and cabinets. We had no electricity for the first two years and no running water until last year. My kitchen consisted of a camp stove, mini fridge, and a small counter made of scrap 2×4’s for four years and we literally slept on the floor on an air mattress for a couple of years. At first I was caught up in the euphoria of our vision to build a home debt-free, but eventually, my patience wore thin and I wanted all the conveniences. It was not actually as bad as it sounds because we had another home in Florida where we spent most of our time, but in a way, transitioning back and forth heightened the contrast between the two homes.
7. Any unique storage solutions?
A corner of the main bathroom area has a floor to ceiling stack of corner shelves for towels. I like water closets so we also incorporated one into our bathroom although it increased the foot print of the house slightly. Inside the water closet, we built a toilet bench that not only houses the toilet, but also toilet accoutrements, leaving under the sink space free for personal care items.
8. What’s your favorite room of the house?
Although technically not a room, my favorite space is the front porch during temperate weather. We eat our meals out there at the bistro table and sit in the swing to read, converse and watch the sunset. Otherwise, I would have to select the living area since that is where we spend most of our time when indoors.
9. Do you wish you had more space?
Definitely. When we drew the plans for this house, I was in the middle of my career and parenting two middle-schoolers. I basically left all the decisions to my husband (who did his best to stay within our budget) because I didn’t have the disposable energy to devote to the project. Fast-forward 13 years later: children have left home and I am semi-retired. I now have energy to devote to my home and wish I had put at least some thought into the design of it. For example, we only have one bedroom. We desperately need a guest room for visitors. In addition, the monsoon season is out of this world here and the mud left behind makes a mud room not a desirable addition, but a necessary one. If I had the foresight then, our budget would have been expanded to include a second bedroom and a mudroom. As it stands, our work in progress will eventually include guest quarters, a mud room and an enclosed back porch.
10. Best piece of small living space advice.
Learn from my experience and be a forward thinker. Try to anticipate your future needs, especially if you plan to age in place, or as I think you say Shavonda, intend for your small house to be your “forever home”.
Holy smokes guys! The dedication and patience it must have taken to endure 14 years of handcrafting a home is absolutely phenomenal. Pamela and her husband deserve ALLL the applauses my friends. I love all the details in their home and their use of natural elements throughout. I also really love that they paid special attention to their environment when building. You can absolutely see the influence of their Southwestern surroundings in their home and I love that they made choices conducive to living in that area. Their homes seem so peaceful and totally where Id want to go to unplugged and reconnect. Thank you so much for allowing me to share your wonderful home Pamela. I just love it! Good luck with your expansion plans love.
Everyday I’m amazed at how far-reaching the joys of small space living are. I love that so many people are embracing living small and aren’t letting square footage limit their potential for happiness in their homes.
Happy weekend loves.
xo-Shavonda
PS-If you have a small space story you’d like to share with us please shoot me an email at shavonda(at)ahomefullofcolor (dot) com. Id love to hear all about it. 🙂
Pamala says
So sorry about flooding. Hope the rain stops and that you haven’t sustained too much damage!
shavonda says
Thanks Pamela:)
Claudia says
Shavonda, so sorry to hear of your flooding issues. One of those surprises you definitely didn’t see coming or need.
I love Pamela’s tiny southwestern home. Especially love the ceiling treatment and the walls and I agree with her the front porch looks very inviting.
shavonda says
Thank you Claudia! Arent her ceilings great! Loved this house tour.
Kara Ford says
I too, am thrilled to see so many realizing that a small home can still equal a beautiful home. Sometimes even more so. My husband and I moved from a near 2,000 sq ft brand new house to a 1,288 “shoe box” built in 1992, and it feels more like a home than our first house ever did. Here’s to hoping for no more surprise issues and that you’ll soon be back in love with your own beautiful cottage bungalow. XO
shavonda says
Hi Kara! Thank you so much for your comment! Yaay for fellow downsizers! Hopefully we can get the water issues resolved sooner than later. Have a great weekend.