Free The Small House Book by Jay Shafer Page A

whenever it is possible.
    These little private realms should be arranged around a shared larger area.
    One form that has been proven to work quite well as a shared space is the
    farmhouse kitchen mentioned earlier. In this case, the kitchen is also the din-
    ing room and the family/living room. It is designed to contain the dining table
    and cooking facilities, and enough space to serve a variety of functions.
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    In the common area of a shared household (be it inside or out), traffic zones
    and activity zones need to be kept apart. Unlike the space in a one-person
    residence or a private room, people will be passing through the common
    area regularly, so projects need to be kept out of traffic’s way. Provide activity
    nodes at the area’s periphery to keep the center wide open.
    Keep it light. Light colors tend to make a space feel more open, while dark
    ones will make the same space feel crowded.
    Make it flexible. If your desk can double as a dining table, so much the
    better. Mobile bookcases and cabinets can be used as room dividers, then
    moved out of the way for activities that require more space. A Murphy bed
    can transform an office into a guest room in seconds. Folding tables and
    chairs allow for further flexibility.
    Extend sight lines to make small rooms feel more generous.
    Views from one part of the house into another or to the outdoors will make
    that part feel more expansive.
    Keep clutter out of sight and, thus, out of mind. This goes a long
    way to improve how we experience a space. Be sure to include areas where
    clutter, or even everyday items, can be stored away and hidden from view. An
    uncluttered house will result in an uncluttered mind and unfettered creativity.
    Take advantage of the outdoors whenever possible. Outdoor
    rooms add functional space without the added cost of water-tight, insulated
    construction.
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    If necessary, sacrifice space for the illusion of space. Our per-
    ceptions of spaciousness often have more to do with perception itself than
    actual volume. Occasionally, it will become necessary to sacrifice actual
    space to achieve a design that feels more open. By lowering the ceiling in
    one area, for example, the volume in a neighboring area will generally ap-
    pear to increase.
    Remember the invisible parts. With the basic shapes and sizes more
    or less established and in place, more attention can now be paid to arranging
    any furnishings or integral elements. Do not forget to include room for pipes
    and heating ducts if any are needed. Keep the plumbing as localized as pos-
    sible. If the water heater is at one end of the house and the shower is at the
    other, you will have to wait a long while for hot water when you go to bathe.
    Keep refining. As the floor plan becomes clearer, feel free to add some
    details and to eliminate any unused or unusable parts. To read as a strong
    composition, every square inch of your house should be contributing to the
    whole structure and its function. Feet, inches and quarter-inches can be
    shaved off as the design begins to reveal its own needs. Before things get
    too finite on the inside, make scale drawings of the front, back and sides of
    the structure to determine what changes may need to be made there.
    Align everything that can be aligned. Consider the hierarchy of the
    place. Lower ceilings and enlarge some doorways, if necessary. So long as
    necessity is allowed to make the decisions, all of this should come pretty
    naturally. Remove yourself from the process and let nature take over. The
    resulting home will be beautifully simple.
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    Basic Dimensions and Potential Restrictions
    Every inch counts in a small house, so knowing exactly how many inches are
    required for each element is important. Dimensions for the integral parts of a
    house are listed here. The wall, floor and roof thicknesses listed are for the
    most standard type of construction—that which uses 2x lumber and half-inch
    plywood as the primary building materials.