Bigger is not better

Oh get your mind out of the gutter... (though I guess if you know me, it could be very easy to jump to that conclusion) As far back as I can remember I have loved miniatures of things based solely on the merit that they were little. Perhaps this is a reflection of my own self value being a rather small child, and who am I kidding, I'm not that big now. But anything from miniature baskets, to miniature tea sets, to miniature board games - the list goes on. If it was tiny I wanted it. So it should be no surprise that my new grown up obsession is miniature living spaces. 


Last summer I went to the folklife festival. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the festival it is hosted by the Smithsonian Institute each year and highlights three cultural groups. Last year one of the groups they featured was campus community, and I was most drawn by *surprise* the miniature house presented by the University of Tennessee. The house was the school's entry into the DOE's Solar Decathlon. Another thing you might know about me is that I'm a huge tree hugger at heart. I'm such a big fan of sustainable, green, composting, geothermal, self sufficient buildings. 


If you've been to my apartment you'll know that it is by no means small, in fact for a city it is pretty outrageously huge at ~1,200 sq. ft. Don't get me wrong, I love my apartment, we could probably have a fourth person live in our hall closet, it's just that big (and there's a light in there if you're interested in moving in), but I know I won't live here forever, I'm just not an apartment person. Also being cooped up in my apartment sometimes makes me want to move out into the woods and take up as a hermit. Which of course I could move to Vermont and live in the woods, but I would need to build something. 

So it's my new life goal to build a mini sustainable house. Right after getting a job, and saving up the required financing for building a house. For some cool mini houses check out these websites, you might just be inspired:  http://www.littlediggs.com, 10 Best Sustainable Homes of 2010, and Design Boom's Gallery of tiny houses. I'll be sure to invite you all to see my tiny house when it's done... just one at a time.