#contributed article

By Sofia Sepulveda

“The current model and the current strategy of the Democratic Party is an absolute failure,” Bernie Sanders said during his speech at the People’s Summit in July, 2017. He is correct.

This is am accurate depiction of the party we have today, is in many ways what gave us Trump. The uncertainty of many working poor and middle class Americans (White, Hispanic and Black) and the…

Contributed Article to Apple Daily Deluxe 23 Jun 2017 New article about the Steinway & Sons Spirio grand piano is live at Apple Daily Deluxe. Click HERE and have a read.  Remember to leave me comment below.  Enjoy! SaveSave SaveSave

My husband, my daughter and I share a small cabin with three dogs and four cats. Our home was built in 2004 as a vacation rental. When we purchased it in 2011, it had 585 ft2 (54.3 m2), very little storage space and needed some TLC. We are passionate about living in a small home, but we’re not minimalists. We love to cook, create artwork, play games, take pictures and be outdoors. All of these hobbies involve supplies or accessories. So, for us, the challenge of living in a small home came down to finding a way to store our things neatly in our living space.

When we moved in, the cabin had a 5’ x 6’ laundry room. The door to the laundry room swung inwards and there was a window in the room, so the space didn’t reach its maximum storage potential. We chose to turn half the laundry room into a mini walk-in closet that my daughter and I share. The closet door swings out into the little hall that leads to the bathroom and bedroom.

Enclosing part of the front porch gave us an extra 50 ft2 (4.6 m2) of interior space. We used the new space as a mud-room / office / kitchen addition. The remaining adjacent half of the former laundry room became a recessed space for the refrigerator and a 3’ deep, pantry-style cabinet.

The original bathtub had a large crack and the pedestal sink was broken. When the exterior wall was removed to enclose part of the front porch, we brought in a new, smaller tub. That gave us enough space to have a stacked washer and dryer in the bathroom. Luckily, there was also enough room to replace the pedestal sink with a set of cabinets. We chose stock kitchen cabinets, rather than smaller bathroom cabinets, because they offered more storage space. We installed a top-mount sink so that the drawers in the cabinets were fully functional, although one drawer did have to be modified to allow for the plumbing. We used cork for the counter.

We used several of the same cabinets in the main living space, but added to them to create open spaces and drawers. Wall-mounted adjustable shelving creates open storage for dishes, cooking accessories and art supplies. Several baskets store smaller items. Removing the laundry room door gave us wall space in the dining area that allowed us to install a bench, which provides more storage and also hides duct work. We’ve woodburned our homemade light fixtures, mantle, mirrors, frames, and boards above the doors and windows to add character.

The cabin only has one official bedroom, but it also has a loft space. We thought about enclosing part of the back porch to make a second bedroom, but our daughter wanted to sleep in the loft. We’ve installed a window, flooring, lighting and shelving for her. She loves it and tells us so often.

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small cottages

Photographs by/courtesy of the owner.

Text copyright 2015 SmallHouseBliss. All Rights Reserved.

A long time ago, Mr. Lee Suwannachin was working on a chicken farm half an hour from Chiangmai (the largest city in Northern Thailand) and bought a plot of land with a dilapidated house in a small village nearby. The site was on a steep slope with a creek flowing through the middle. For local residents it was of no value because it was too difficult to grow anything. Then there was a flood on the river between the chicken farm and the site, creating a huge lake and cutting off direct road access. As a result, Mr. Lee went to his property less and less. One day, after a long absence, he found the old house destroyed by scavengers and several fallen trees.

Having decided that he needed to do something before it completely disappeared, he began construction of the first treehouse. More precisely, he first built just the lower terrace, then made some stairs, and another terrace, and then without having planned it through it became a house high in the crown of the tree. That was how “Tamarind House” came to be. Then he decided to make a second house at a lower height but bigger than the first, followed by one at medium height with a smaller area but stretched out, then a multi-room treehouse, and then …. Mr. Lee built the treehouses for himself, as a hobby, but his family rebelled and decided it was time to turn the project into a “resort”, to justify the passion for building. Thus “Rabeang Pasak Chiangmai Treehouse Resort” opened to visitors in 2012.

Mr. Lee runs the business with his daughter Pinn, who lived in America many years ago but returned to help her father. No one else in the village speaks English, so only Mr. Lee and his daughter are able to greet foreign visitors. Hiring English-speaking staff from the city would be too expensive — no one would want go to a village where there is no Internet and hardly any cell phone service.

Most of the visitors are foreigners. Thais do not understand this aesthetic, preferring accommodations with air conditioning and TV. All the treehouses are unique, with different designs and materials. Each appears to have grown from its tree. Some materials are bought, some found in the forest, some are used boards from the old dismantled house, and one treehouse is made of bamboo. Mr. Lee has a small shed for storing tools but the main workspace is the field next to the shed, where tropical trees are cut into boards and timbers.

All interior details are handmade or chosen with care — plumbing, fixtures, linens, decorative items. Lovingly installed planks on the floors — wide and narrow, light and dark. Furniture from thick boards, pieces of coconut, bamboo, and driftwood. At the same time there are small book shelves, umbrellas hanging neatly at the entrance, architectural square sink and faucet with no unnecessary flourishes. You could just as easily be in Europe as in the jungle.

Mr. Lee has already built nine treehouses with the help of several carpenters from the village. The kitchen and housekeeping staff are also local residents. You can stay in all the treehouses and each has its own toilet and shower. Mr. Lee has a simple system for valuing the treehouses. They are priced just by the number of guests who can stay inside — there are treehouses for two or three people and two that can accommodate families of five. The cost is about the same as elsewhere in Thailand — 1,800 baht ($56) for a double, 3,000 baht ($95) for three and 3,500 baht ($110) for five. Even with hardly any advertising, the resort is fully-booked well in advance. They do not actively develop the business as it already keeps them busy as it is.

In the evening all the guests gather for a delicious dinner on the large terrace. Travelers from around the world share their experiences while cats play under the tables. There is a whole army of cats — they chase the rats, snakes and spiders, and at the same time add color.

If you will be going to visit, book through their website and say hello from the Russian architect on a motorcycle !!!

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small cottages

Photographs by Ivan Ovchinnikov.

Text copyright 2015 SmallHouseBliss. All Rights Reserved.

Hello,

This is our small house near the city of Leuven in Belgium, we call it ‘The Tipi’. We built it temporarily, until we save enough money to built our definitive house. Rent in Leuven is very high and this way we don’t have to pay anything as long as we live in it. (You can’t do this randomly, you have to ask permission at City Hall and follow lots of regulations, but our plan was approved.)

reconstruction

We bought it from people who did the same, but it needed some fixing up. In about two months time and with the help of some friends and family we dismantled it entirely, built it up again and fixed it up with pretty much all recycled materials. After we are done with it, we hope someone else does the same.

We were a little scared that it would be too small and that we wouldn’t get all of our stuff in. I sew, Vincent plays guitar and we adopted a three-month old puppy just before we moved in in February. But it works! The two of us and dachshund Hank love living in our small wooden castle. It’s cozy, easy to clean and we have everything we need. I love my walk-in closet, Vincent loves sitting in the couch and being able to reach the fridge for a drink. It was also a good occasion to get rid of stuff we didn’t really need but had been moving along with us for several years.

In our city we are slowly getting known as ‘the couple who lives in the tipi’. Vincent has lived here all his life but I am new, so people always have something to talk about to me. I like that. We also love the reactions we get. Because we started building it in December, people initially thought we were building Santa’s Village. Till today we see cars drive by slowly when they pass and pretty much every day there are people who stop to ask us about the Tipi. So you can say it’s a very ‘social’ way of living.

alternating tread stairs

If there’s something we don’t like, it must be that it can get very warm in our little house, especially on the top floor where we sleep. We got a mobile air conditioner from a neighbor (as a housewarming present), but we don’t like putting it on when we are home because it’s a bit noisy and we easily get a cold from it. Luckily the summers in Belgium are short and not that extreme, so it’s only for a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile we are planning to start building our permanent house, but we don’t have any stress about it. We love living in our Tipi, so we don’t need to hurry. We can take our time to plan, compare and choose materials and ways of building. That’s a great extra. The city allows us to live like this for 5 years. We would recommend this to everyone.

Inne

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small cottages

Photographs by Inne Van Engeland and by Dorien Buys for Louvintage.

Text copyright 2014 SmallHouseBliss. All Rights Reserved.

The Purge: Anarchy Movie Review (Contributed)

The Redemption from Last Summer’s Fail

When I first saw the trailer for The Purge: Anarchy, the sequel to last summer’s horror-thriller The Purge, my initial thought was that it was going to be another disappointment like its predecessor but film director and writer James DeMonaco proved me wrong this go round. This movie is surely a must see! DeMonaco and producers from the films Insidious, Tran…

Nestled in central Ohio, amongst the largest Amish community in the world, is our “Rudolph Cottage.” We are Ron and Sue Corl, and have lived in our 520 sqft tiny since 2007. It’s based on Sue’s childhood dream of having the little cottage that Rudolph, Hermey, & Yukon Cornelius stayed in on their journey. Our storybook cottage design shows that the small lifestyle need not be lived in a tiny box, bereft of color and personality. In 1998, we purchased 30 acres of steep woodland. By 2000, we had no money and were living in a 200 sqft 1968 camper. That lasted 7 years! It leaked and got so cold in the winter, an ice dam would form on the door overnight. We would use a blow-dryer in the morning to get out. Sue would say – “Yeah, good times! And don’t forget about our 3 cats and big dog in there, too!” (There’s a joke in here somewhere about a “3 cat – 1 dog night!”)

Moving up to a “huge” 520 sqft cottage felt like moving into a mansion. It took over 2 years to gather all the materials including cutting some trees on the land and having them dried and cut into posts. By collecting materials first, you can design around window & door sizes instead of buying costly new materials to fit your predetermined plan. Be flexible! Our windows were brand new overstock, and I paid $5 each at auction! I designed around them for the overall look. If you can search Craig’s List and go to auctions and yard sales, you can source almost everything for pennies on the dollar, but it takes time and often you don’t have that luxury – like the luxury of living in a leaky camper!

I hand built the cottage over a 5 year period. The land is hilly, so the easiest foundation to do was simply posts. I’m a furniture designer so my approach was to build the largest cabinet I had ever built! Every piece of wood was custom cut and molded to fit, from the live-edge siding to the striped hardwood interior walls & floors. The total raw material & utility hook up costs were around $18,000, but that doesn’t include over 1300 hours of labor or the travel & fuel costs in the project. It’s insured for $110,000 replacement cost, but that’s still too low to have all this hand work duplicated.

The main living space is 16’x12’ with a loft bedroom above. The cabinets and bed are built-in to utilize every inch. We could have used a ladder up to the loft, but we knew that wouldn’t work as we grew older. I still designed the steps to save space though. They look like an experiment gone awry, but Sue painted a clue on the risers, “It’s Left up to you.” If you start with your left foot, you can walk straight up, just like regular stairs. The Blue Diamond & Fern ceiling simply had to be that way! We are both artists and decided that the cottage should be our palette. That’s another benefit of living small – if a creative idea doesn’t work out, it doesn’t take long or cost much to change it.

Coming from that teeny, tiny camper bathroom, we splurged on a 9’x9’ bathroom with a 4’x4’ tiled shower – pure luxury. The walls are all sided with 100 year old boards we pulled out of a demolition project. I wanted it to have the feel of an old back porch that had been turned into a bathroom long ago, complete with a 1940’s sink. Yes, that’s my custom designed composting toilet!

We have learned how to do the “kitchen dance” in our 7’X8’ foyer/kitchen. It’s a balance for Sue to cook every night, but the fridge and pantry cupboard are in the living room, so I can pop through for a beer whilst she is getting a can of beans. On the sink cabinet I used an old Porcelain Coke sign that was almost rusted through. We call the Coke girl Judy for no reason whatsoever!

We are working on a book, “The Little Book of Living Small”, and starting a new online venture, Shiny Tiny Mansion. Our tag line is “Small Lifestyle Amplified”. We will have a small living reality blog, how-to videos, floor plans, multi-function furniture & accessories, and if the desire is there, custom small home plans and workshops. Email me directly at [email protected] or go to the site and sign up, and we will notify you when we are fully up and running.

Thanks for looking!!! – Ron Corl

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small cottages

Photographs by Randy Fath, courtesy of Ron Corl.

Text copyright 2014 SmallHouseBliss. All Rights Reserved.

A reader shares the modern home he built by starting with a standard prefab module, then adding on and upgrading it.

Today reader Scott Palamar shares with us his modern house built against the dramatic backdrop of the Sierra Nevada mountains. He took a novel approach, starting with a standard manufactured module and then incrementally adding on and upgrading the…