Original Home Magazine - Issue 1 - Live Large in a "Tiny House"

OH DECEMBER •2013•

ORIGINAL HOME • MAGAZINE Discover Your Personal Style on Any Budget

Living Large in a Tiny House!

Artistic Walls for the Non-Artist?

Style in Awkward Spaces: Over-the-Couch Cures

TO

Welcome

ORIGINAL HOME Magazine W

hat do cozy dorm rooms, sprawling Victorians, and sleek industial condos all have in common?

Space.

Whatever the shell wrapped around it may be, it’s the space inside that we call home. Square footage (or square metres) is key information for home hunters.

Down-sizing, up-sizing, or right-sizing? It’s all about how much space we need to accommodate our lifestyles.

We’ve dubbed this issue “All Things Big and Small,” a celebration of space and scale!

“Tiny House” owners explain how they pack a lot of living into homes as small as 100 square feet.

Decorators show us how to keep dwellings with a lot more elbow room warm, human-scaled homes.

Of course, square footage is just the beginning of this exploration. Rooms have more than floors! They’re threedimensional. A field of floorspace, paired with average ceiling height, still feels cozy, while soaring walls can make even the tiniest footprint feel like a grand space.

Because every home has them, every issue of Original Home also tackles That Awkward Space. In this edition, how to make that space above the couch more than a place to hang a color-coordinated but personallymeaningless print just because it’s the right size.

Original Home has one focus, to take your space, whatever its dimensions, and let it reflect you.

In each edition, we take a style - be it boho

or baroque - deconstruct it to illustrate its essential elements, and help you take the best bits for your own unique environment. Interviews with homeowners give you practical information and product sources from people who live with those specific items every day.

Not sure if the style that looks so inviting on our pages is really the one for you? We’ll give you the opportunity to “try before you buy” with boutique hotel and B&B destinations that let you live with each style, at least temporarily, before getting out the paint pots or calling your designer.

Every issue also provides the howto and contact information to tackle personalization projects big or small whether you’re a dedicated do-ityourselfer or happy to bring in a talented artisan to fill the holes in your personal toolbox.

Regardless of whether you kick back in a futuristic model home, are rediscovering midcentury modern, or thrill to the corbels and gingerbread of a Painted Lady, our goal is to help set you apart from the neighbours.

Your home is more than its measurements.

It’s you!

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H O

Ngaire Genge

We welcome your suggestions - drop us a line at OriginalHomeMagazine@gmail.com

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H O

Table of Contents • • • Tap any title to read! • • •

Fill Big Spaces with Personality: Big Artistic Walls for the Non-Artist DIYer

Editor Ngaire Genge

That Awkward Space: Above the Couch!

Acquisitions Manager Lorna Hamilton

Style Deconstruction: Big Living in Tiny Spaces

Advertising Elaine Sainsbury

Try A Style Before You Buy: Style Destination Caravan: The Tiny House Hotel

Tap to reach us! originalhomemagazine @gmail.com

Collections: I Spy With My Little Eye

Our Privacy Policy available at http://originalhome magazine.wordpress.com/

Our Cover Home this Month: Courtesy of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company Photographer Jack Journey 2008 www.tumbleweedhouses.com

Perfect Your Space: 8 Space Squeezing Tips and Products Tiny House Owner Approved!

Finding the Best for You: 12 Best Sources for Period Products The Lux Touch: Best of the Best Royal Copenhagen’s “Flora Danica” Contributors

Big Lifestyles in Tiny Spaces

by Ngaire Genge Photographs by Jack Journey

“S

mall” may not be a “style” in the architectural sense, but “tiny houses” are a growing movement with “style of life” at their centre.

Not everyone dreams of endless countertops or the ability to play soccer in

Deconstructing Style!

Is this the home style for you?

the livingroom without moving the furniture. While it is true that, for some, a tiny house is the only house they can afford within a difficult financial landscape, the majority of tiny house owners are living smaller some in less than 100 square feet! - by choice.

Clarice and Eugene Gable needed to “be gentler with the environment.”

“I just couldn’t justify the three spare rooms that we actually used just once, one Christmas out of the four years we owned the ‘big house,’” says Clarice.

“I was watching our community sprawl more every year, and I was, frankly, feeling more than a little guilty when I looked around our subdivision and realized it used to be original forest.”

Eugene was feeling more “owned” than “owner.”

“I dreaded Saturdays. By the time I mowed the 1/2-acre lot, swept the walkways and driveway, and did even minimal gardening and maintenance, the day was over.”

He shakes his head at the memory.

“I worked for the house. Not just to pay for it, but to keep it running.

Clarice was doing the same inside.

Cleaning four bathrooms, vacuuming or mopping the 3500 square feet, it was time-consuming. It quickly got to the point that we were happy not to have guests in those bedrooms - and that was absolutely the opposite of why we bought the big house in the first place!”

Our front-of-article photograph, and all photos this article: Courtesy of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company www.tumbleweedhouses.com © Jack Journey, 2008

Above image: The EPU Home to Go You’ll find an integral stainless steel multi-use desk and cozy fireplace! Also included in its scant 89sq’ - which doesn’t include the front sleeping loft! - you’ll find a wet bath and a kitchen with fridge, sink, stovetop, and oven.

Front of article image: The Harbinger Cottage A charming 2-bedroom home in just 404sq’ - not counting extra storage in second-floor loft! Kitchen includes dishwasher, full-sized range with oven, built-in microwave.

Amenities like “on demand water” make this cottage even more earth-friendly.

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Rajeesh and Mindy Parkesi just wanted to feel more connected to each other.

“I was going to bed one evening and realized I hadn’t seen Rajeesh since supper,” says Mindy. “He was in one end of the house and I was in the other and I actually had to go looking to find him!”

Rajeesh grew up as an only child in a large home, and says he didn’t really think it was all that odd to be alone at home - until he got married and discovered “I had been a lot lonelier than I realized!”

As much as he enjoyed

“In

big houses, everyone wants a ‘family kitchen,’ with people cooking and doing homework and just kicking back.

A tiny house gives you exactly that experience - family and community.

It’s wonderful.”

- Rajeesh Parkesi

Mindy can read in their lofty bedroom while Rajeesh works in their bright office alcove - separate, but together.

“You can chat from anywhere without ever having to shout,” say Raj. “But we’re never under each other’s feet either. It’s a great balance.”

his closer relationship, however, he wasn’t sure he could handle too much togetherness.

“I thought I’d feel... overwhelmed in a tiny house,” he says. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to have anyone - even Mindy - ‘in my face.’”

He was wrong.

“We still have lots of private time. We can go to the bedroom, out on the porch, out for coffee, or just be doing separate things in the same space,” he realized. “There’s no pressure to be entertaining one another - which, I think, was one of my fears. That I’d have to be “on” all the time.”

Mindy, who has six

brothers and sisters, had no fear on that account.

“Good manners cover most situations wherever you live,” she says. “The size of your home has nothing to do with that.”

Rajeesh smiles as he thinks about their time together in the tiny house.

“It’s nice to do a crossword together without shouting across a huge big room, to just watch her cook, to see the expression change on her face while she reads,” he says. “I thought we’d end up divorced in three months!

Instead, we’re closer than ever - and our friends spend more time here, not less!”

Deconstructing Style!

“M

ost young people have years of constant moves ahead - for school, chasing jobs, or to find their dream location.

A tiny house on wheels gives you a real sense of freedom while also giving you security and roots.”

- Deville Bryant

DeVille Bryant’s tiny house is on wheels, currently taking up a sliver of space a bike-ride from MIT.

“I rent a backyard “parking space” for $180 a month - and have room for my deckchairs and doghouse too!”

The dog was actually part of the reason for the small house on wheels.

“It is hard to rent a pet-friendly place - especially on a short term basis like a school year,” he notes.

“People joke about the doghouse being proportionally bigger than my place! But, even this small space it’s actually more than I really need - I don’t use the sleeping loft at all.”

Deville has lived in smaller spaces.

“Dorm rooms aren’t exactly roomy,” he notes. “Most of the time, you have to share - I’m completely private. I don’t have to line up for a shower. And I sure don’t have to wear sandals in the shower any more!”

“I know I’ll be moving around quite a bit for the next little while, what with work and education. I wanted something that was my personal space, but, I didn’t want to be buying and selling homes. You don’t make something your own if you know you’ll be selling at the end of the year. I didn’t need or want a ton of ‘stuff,’ but I wanted a real, permanent, dog-friendly home.”

He and Rufus are currently “disgustingly happy.”

Deconstructing Style!

What does a 100sq’ home look like?

“Perfect for one person - and a dog!”

- DeVille Bryant.

BATHROOM 4' X 2'

KITCHEN 4' X 4 1/2'

The WeeBee by Tumbleweed Tiny Houses comes in at 102sq’ and packs storage and amenities in a small space.

Included in this plan: • wet bathroom • kitchenette • loft space for double bed • extra flip--down bed on main floor for guests • cozy fireplace • two closets • extra storage.

LOFT 6' X 6 1/2' GREAT ROOM 6' X 61/2'

PORCH 2 1/2' x 2 1/2'

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D To R Ce Lo D

N Pr

For Ginnie Gauvin, husband Marc, and three-year-old son Paul, a tiny house was, “absolutely” about money - if not in the way you might expect.

“We wanted to travel, to go to concerts and theatres, and be able to go see Paul’s grandparents as often as possible, not just if we could scrape together some money once every couple years, maybe,” she says.

“It’s not about how expensive a home is, it was about choosing what to spend money on. We deliberately chose jobs that could be mobile, we wanted a really big - a huge! - lifestyle for our family. We took two vacations abroad last year, one for a month in Africa, another for almost six weeks in France. We’re booked for a sixweek cruise in the Pacific this winter,” she says. “We wanted to spend our money on experiences that provide us memories for a lifetime, but, we wanted a home of our own too. Now we have both.”

They also have spare cash for those other non-space-hogging “things” they love.

“Marc never really left school,” she says. “He’s always doing courses or taking classes. He’s just completed his pilot’s licence. He takes workshops with metal artists whenever they are available in our area. He is working on SCUBA certification. He couldn’t do that sort of thing if we were paying off a big mortgage on a big house. Even Paul benefits because we can go out to shows and activities that he enjoys as a family. We can finally afford tickets for all of us!”

From charming classic cottages to sleek modern industrial, tiny homes represent all styles and periods of architecture.

Their interiors (next page) are equally diverse, with finishes that include the warmth of all-wood surfaces as easily as vibrant custom colour combinations as these very individual kitchens clearly demonostrate.

Deconstructing Style!

Jacqueline Li, her husband Po, and their twoyear-old son Jack live in a 500sq’ home - and they don’t find it crowded.

Says Po, “I worked for many years in Asia, in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Houses - well apartments really, because few people live in a ‘house’ - are very small. Most spaces serve several purposes. Our whole first apartment would have fit in our last North American bedroom! Before I was married, I lived in a dormitory owned by my company with other unmarried people. My room was 6’x 4’, so, my ‘tiny house’ doesn’t feel too small to me.”

None of the tiny house owners made their move to their smaller homes lightly. Eugene Gable, in particular, was wary they were about to make a huge mistake.

“We decided to have a trial run, a trybefore-we-buy period.”

For six months, they rented a 505sq’ home they found on CraigsList.

“At first, I thought I was going nuts,” he recalls. “I kept trying to figure out where to put stuff - then I realized I didn’t need the stuff!”

After divesting themselves of things like surfboards - “which we used a few times a year and could easily rent!” - they found the elbow room they wanted inside their tiny home.

“Turns out the ‘tiny house’ cured me of my packrat instinct,” says Eugene. “We aren’t just saving money on the house, we’re also buying less because we don’t want to just fill it up again.”

Eventually, the Gables bought their own tiny house, an even smaller 420sq’ place that Eugene describes as “The perfect size for us Tiny houses may be small, but they’re typically packed with personality - especially in the choice of colours.

From vibrant cocoons, to oases of natural finishes, to eternally changeable pops of colour in accessories, tiny houses are seldom bland palletes.

Deconstructing Style!

now. We’ll see what happens when children

“Yes, we learned a lot about building codes come along.”

- and taught the planners new things too - and

Jacqueline and Po say they don’t need to we learned a lot of practical skills. That’s all expand yet, even with their son. part of setting a good example for Jack.”

“It’s fine,” says Mindy agrees, and Jacqueline. “We have adds, “And, even if you one sleeping loft, he don’t end up living in has the other, so, it’s a tiny house, there is private, but we’re still so much great design close - and, no, he that goes into each doesn’t fall out. Our one, and they are so house is actually very individual, you can kid-friendly - and use a lot of those good keeping an eye on him ideas in any home, of is no problem!” any size. Whether it’s

Po is glad they’re a dorm room or a tiny raising Jack in a smaller New York apartment space. or just a tiny bathroom

“I want to set a in a regular house, tiny good example to my houses have great ways son,” he says. “I want to use those spaces to show him that better.” we’re living a sound Ginnie Gauvin says life. Fiscally sound she finally found her - we own our home decorating style in her and have no debt. tiny home.

Quality of life means different things to different people.

Personally sound - we “You make such A big house on an ordinary lot? have time for each conscious decisions Or an affordable home on a one-of-a-kind property with million dollar views? other and for him, about what to have and we have learned around you that the to value that and not essense of your life judge our lives by what toys we have, but what comes to the fore. Looking in a tiny home is memories we’ll have together. Environmentally like peeking into personality, what’s meaningful sound - we run the house on mostly solar is right there!” power, have a tiny footprint on the planet,

Her kitchen is filled with bright dishes and and used very little new material to build the funky mugs. house.”

“We have open shelving because it’s more

That’s right, they built the house flexible,” she says. “But, it also means your themselves from mostly salvaged and dishes are out in the open, you see them all the repurposed or recycled products. time, so, of course, you’re going to put some

Deconstructing Style!

thought into what you really like.”

With so many options in period, finishes, and floorplans, is there a defining theme, a common element, for the tiny house moment?

“Absolutely,” says Ginnie. “Individualism!”

All the owners agree on that one.

“Each home is built to accommodate an entire lifestyle,” says Po. “The priorities of the homeowners are very evident. For some, it’s being able to move where the spirit

takes them - with their house or without. For others, it’s setting down their roots in a tiny footprint - maybe going those further steps to living off the grid entirely, with a home built of repurposed materials and a windmill. Some of these homes are ‘startovers’ for people who just don’t fit the ‘bigger is better’ way of thinking.”

“A tiny home reflects a passion about something,” says Mindy. “A tiny house’s style is somebody’s whole lifestyle.”

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Thank you to the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company and photographer Jack Journey for contributing the images for this article.

Our thanks also to Ross Beck for his assistance.

Click their logo to visit their website www.tumbleweedhouses.com

Deconstructing Style!