8 Benefits of Cottage Living
Scale back to dial up your quality of life, save money and more
In 1950 the average American home measured just 983 square feet. By
2004 that average had grown to 2,340 square feet. But is bigger really
better?
There seems to be a growing interest in smaller homes (fueled, in part, by the success of Sarah Susanka’s The Not So Big House books). Sure, you have less space. But you gain in other ways. Lets look at some of the advantages.
There seems to be a growing interest in smaller homes (fueled, in part, by the success of Sarah Susanka’s The Not So Big House books). Sure, you have less space. But you gain in other ways. Lets look at some of the advantages.
First, cottages simply cost less. And we are talking about more than their purchase price. A smaller home will cost less to heat, cool, furnish and decorate.
Note: Although
we are talking about the adorable structures commonly referred to as
cottages, these benefits apply to any small home — in my definition, a
single-family residence around 1,200 square feet.
All of which allows for splurges.
Because a cottage’s small size requires fewer materials, you may be
able to indulge your heart’s desire and upgrade from what your larger
home might have allowed. Perhaps you could invest in a tile roof like
this one …
… or get the kitchen countertop
you’ve always yearned for, and better appliances than you otherwise
might have been able to afford.
Improved quality of life,
however, is about way more than the money you save. All those home
maintenance tasks, like cleaning and scrubbing and mowing and weeding,
take far less time to accomplish in a smaller home, leaving you more
time to do the things you really love. Like spending time with your friends and family! Small homes encourage togetherness.
By necessity, they create intimate spaces. And if the space is cozy and
well thought out, “humans gravitate toward them,” says eminent Pacific
Northwest architect and cottage specialist Ross Chapin.
Whereas large homes have multiple rooms where families can scatter and
hide, the cottage demands that everyone remain in pretty close
proximity. Even if everyone’s nose is buried in a cell phone, they are
still together, and there is something basically wonderful about that.
Lower your environmental impact. In
2010 the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, in collaboration
with the Oregon Home Builders Association and Earth Advantage Institute,
concluded that constructing smaller homes is among the best ways to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and waste generation from the
residential construction sector. The report concluded that of 30
different material reduction and reuse practices evaluated, reducing
home size was the most beneficial — not just because of reduced
electricity and fuel consumption, but also because of the material
production avoided.
Wow! Who knew that choosing to live in a cottage-size home made you so environmentally righteous?
Cottages make you feel good. Apart
from all the financial, social and ecological benefits, cottages simply
emanate warmth, comfort and welcome. Maybe it’s because they tend to be
unique rather than cookie cutter, and compact rather than vast.
Whatever the reason, the cottage-size home offers enough benefits to make it a move worth considering.
No comments:
Post a Comment