Why Small Home Tours?
Recently, I launched my very first Smaller’ish home tour. What I consider smaller may differ from others perspective but essentially around 1,600 sq. feet or less. I envisioned creating a pocket community of smaller home lovers to come to for inspiration. Days can be long when all you can find is amazing, large carefully decorated and styled homes with giant windows, doors, spacious entry’s, sweeping stairs, high ceilings and vast open rooms. This is not the reality for a lot of people, and it is hard to find inspiration when your searches end up showing you nothing close to what you are looking for or what you actually live in. My point is not to bash or say that large homes are not great. I never want to come across that way. Given the opportunity to go bigger in a home I’d probably take it. It’s what a lot of people seem to want and works for some and that’s okay! Day after day I tirelessly would navigate Pinterest and online trying to find an example of a room similar to the one of my home and just could not seem to find a good match. I would look for ideas how to decorate my smaller home and clever ways to manage the space only to get pulled in by the fact that I was finding homes I do not have and feeling frustrated. Over time I have learned to navigate and find what I’m looking for a lot better and getting some results in my searches but for awhile there I was feeling defeated. It’s also nice that as time goes on, I’ve came across others sharing their love for working with in their smaller spaces and just because it is smaller does not mean it cannot look good.
So, WHY ? Why did I feel the giant pull to do this … I would love to explain.
Growing up as a kid I lived in a very small and oddly laid out home. To be very transparent what I am about to explain is not for pity nor is it a cry from some kind of trauma of small house living. I’m simply being open and honest with my reasons behind these feelings I have today.
Up until the 9th grade I lived in a small home in town that was built by my grandfather for my single mother and two brothers when she was younger. She was a young mom and needed a safe place to be and raise her boys. My grandfather built a small home behind his side of a duplex (his brother and his family lived on the other side) for my mom and brothers. It had a small kitchen, with a room off that serving as my mothers with a bathroom (the only bathroom) in the house. A decent size living room with knotty pine walls with a lovely faux fireplace mantle. Off of that was another big room with two small steps up that was for my older brothers.
Years down the road when my mother met my father and he moved in and I came along. Some changes had to be made to accommodate me. Splitting the large room my brothers shared in half creating two rooms. It was always warm, always clean and my mother kept it decorated so nice. Years later down the line they added on this wonderful sunroom with a large window creating a bit of zone for entering the home and another place to sit. But when you are a kid and you go to other people’s homes and as you get to your teen years you cannot help but compare or think and wish you had more, or long for something that someone else has. It was never a major problem for me personally it did not affect my relationships or having friends. I don’t want people to think it’s traumatic for me. It is not. It has in fact humbled me and continues to make me thankful for things later in life. The only yard in that home was a small patio with pavers essentially a place to dine and grill. Someone in NYC I’m sure would kill for that. These are not things until you grow older though that you realize… it wasn’t so bad. It has in fact shaped and molded me to appreciate all things in life in general.
I longed for grass and to be among the trees and less clustering of homes as did my family. So, When I was in high school we moved and stayed within the school district to a bigger but still small home on 1 acre. We had a front porch, a deck a giant yard, more rooms it was nice. My parents still live there today and it was the best idea they ever had.
You are probably starting to see a pattern here by now, I grew up in two smaller homes…
Marriage finally comes along and it’s time to find a home. (House hunting) is extremely hard by the way for a young couple to find something affordable and with all the things you’ve ever envisioned of having. Sometimes our immature minds lead us to believe we can have it all. Reality hits when your budget doesn’t allow for that but you make due with what you find and turn it into your own and enjoy the process along the way. This was just meant to be our “starter home.”
Well, here I am 38 years of age still married to my best friend, two kids, a dog some bunnies and almost 14 years into living in this small red brick ranch we purchased in August of 2011. We are a whole lot of small projects in, plus a basement that has been finished, a basement bathroom remodel, full on gut and redo of our kitchen. Ripped off a old sunroom and turned it into a covered patio. Trees cut down… trees planted, large bushes removed, new ones planted, perennials and flowers rooted, and berry bushes added. A lot has happened here and I love what we have created, we still have more to do and that is okay, there will always be more things to do and work on.
What I’m trying to say is it is okay to live small. It’s okay to be in a place that’s not grand. It’s okay to show the everyday of your life. It’s okay if it’s not what other’s have.
I spend a lot less time cleaning this place. I get to blog and write entries like this…I may be living in a smaller home, but I promise that I am living a happy and large fulfilling life here… 14 years later… at our small “starter home”.
Turns out too, we are in the process of building a weekend retreat in the wilds of Pennsylvania on the side of mountain that is going to be about 1,128 sq feet. :) Whoa, see the pattern here? Yeah, me too.