I'm going to try, on a frequent, although inconsistent, basis to post about the glories of cottage living. A hundred years ago, the bungalow was the new thing in America. There are glorious examples of the bungalow all over America. My little cottage, built in 1951, was surely at the tail end of the bungalow boom. Yet, at 1200 feet, not countng the basement and the screen porch, my little cottage is perfect for me and Miss Thing. In an age of McMansions, which, in my neighborhood, replace every cottage that goes for sale, we could do well to rethink some of the benefits of a bungalow.
I'm an older, single woman. I don't need a big place and I'm not going to have a family. (I have a family. It's wonderful. They have their own place.) When I got serious about buying a home, everyone I know advised me to buy a condo. But I wanted a bit of yard. Not a huge yard, but a small space where I could plant some seeds, sit outside in the mornings and evenings, have a lasting, regular relationship with a few old trees. Someplace to grow herbs. To stand barefoot. And, in Northern Virginia, at least, they don't make places like that anymore. They make three- or four-story townhouses (for old people to climb up and down staris in), but they have no yards. And, they make condos, with balconies, but no yards. And, they make McMansions (with no yards because they build the goddamn ugly things up to the very property lines). So, in the end, after a lot of angst, I bought my cottage.
There's a small living room, a nook that serves as dining room, a pretty-decent-sized kitchen, a bathroom, a guest room, a ritual room, and my bedroom. And, a larger front yard than I'd like and a back yard that, for all its other present faults, is just about the perfect size. And old, old oak trees. A vertiable oak grove. Squirrel heaven. And a fox. And chipmunks. Cardinals and jays and crows and sparrows and noisy doves. A woodpecker. Rabbits (the motherfuckers).
My heating, electric, and cleaning bills are small. Miss Thing and I have plenty of space and a motivation to keep the clutter (and its aquisition) to a minimum. I regularly have guests and they sleep on real beds in a real guest room. I entertain several times a month. I have a room set aside for ritual, worship, meditation, my esoteric library. And I have what the author of A Secret Garden, perhaps my very favorite childhood book, called "a bit of earth."
GWPDA sent me this link to a LAT story about a cottage in Pasadena that has had me committing the sin of envy alll day long. Check out the slides. A cottage with a separate small building for a library. Where the owner has dinner parties. ~Sigh~ If it weren't for my family and my coven on this coast, and for the danger of earthquakes on the west coast, Pasadena would be my first choice for another place to live. I am not going to murder the cottage owner in her sleep for her Milton tiles or for her fireplace lions. I might want to, but I won't.
How much space do YOU really need? How much space do you pay for that stores useless stuff? What would you do with space if you could start fresh?
9 comments:
You say it has a guest room? I'll bring some wine.
My friends have a classic bungalow in Altadena, next to Pasadena the Mecca of bungalowdom and to see it is to have a fainting spell. BUT there are also wonderful modest bungalows in my hometwon of Cincinnati, as all over the US. It's the deep porch that makes them so wonderful.
--Report from the Heartland
I am in bungalow envy. I live in downtown Boston in a great neighborhood, but sometimes all I wish for is a little arts and crafts bungalow with a yard and some trees of my own. I met a real estate agent who told me that such things can be had in Jamaica Plain, a not-quite suburb. My interest was definitely piqued!
But California bungalows are in a class all by themselves. Sigh. I miss the West Coast!
Hecate, your bungalow sounds perfect.
I deeply share your liking for the bungalow.
I bought one-my first piece of real estate!- at the advanced age of 43, a few years ago.
My partner and I are not going to have further family, so it's just us and the hounds.
So- a two-bedroomed cottage witha fairly large garden for said hounds to dig in, and where we can plant bulbs and roses in the holes.
Also large trees-quite old for this part of the world (the suburb is less than 30 years old) which house weavers and starlings and olive thrushes.Heaven.
WE also get to grow herbs, but these are in pots on one of the outdoor walls, as our canine kids think they're yummy as well.
I'd like more of us to give consideration to the space we actually need, and not so much to what our image requires.
(McMansions-lol!)
Love,
Terri in Joburg
I live with the hubby and two sons, now 17 and 21, in a 1344 sq ft house. In SoCal, this is a very small house indeed, especially in my area! It's felt too small at times, but now, feels about right, and I'm glad we never moved up to the McMansions. Having a nice low mortgage has been a blessing, too.
I do dream of a lovely Craftsman bungalow, though. Mine is just a 70s ranch style house....
My home is so small (-500 sq. ft.) that it is illegal in just about every town in America. It is very small, very easy to heat, very little trouble to maintain and fully paid for. And I've got a piano.
I caught a TeeVee show this week about people who live in cottage-sized homes (didn't call them cottages - maybe too witchy!) Some of them were one room on a trailor with a tiny sleeping loft.
All were adorable.
I'll give ya another good reason for detached living: I have absolutely zero interest in following what my neighbors are arguing about this week. We have a big old battleship of a house, turn of the century era, and a tactical nuke could go off down the block and I'd never hear it.
The first house I bought was on Danville street in Arlington, VA just off Lee Hwy. Last year I visited DC and had time to walk old haunts and sure enough, the cottage is still exactly the same except for new roof and it looks like the owners put up siding. I planted the grape vine that runs the complete fence line and was so pleased to see them still producing. I loved that little house. Thanks for bringing it back to my memory.
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