For the love of a Cottage

While browsing Houzz the other day, I came across several articles about cottages. They made me laugh at how true they were! There certainly are pros and cons to living in a small house! I hope you enjoy.

Traditional Exterior by New Orleans Architects & Building Designers Brian Gille Architects, Ltd.

In her 8 Benefits of Cottage Living, Becky Dietrich talks about how cottages can save money, encourage togetherness and simplify your life. "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."
So very true! And even if a person is in the other room, they are usually only a shouting distance away!

Farmhouse Exterior by Peachtree City Architects & Building Designers Our Town Plans

"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."

Traditional Exterior by Woburn Building Supplies RHEINZINK

She then goes on to explore the 8 Challenges of Cottage Living. of living with cottage sized kitchens, bathrooms and closets.
"And then there is the challenge of fitting furniture. Finding pieces that you love can present a tricky trinity of challenges. They have to fit your budget, fit through that charming-but-nonstandard front door, and fit in the rooms of the cottage you have fallen in love with."

Tropical Exterior by Beaufort Architects & Building Designers Allison Ramsey Architects

In here article Cottages: The Comfort Food of Architecture, she shares "While the term “cottage” has been used to describe everything from a contemporary faux chateau to the massive seaside sanctums of the uberrich, Merriam-Webster, quite pedantically, calls it “a usually small frame one-family house.” It is, however, so much more than that."

I loved this quote from Jane Austen "I am excessively fond of a cottage; there is always so much comfort, so much elegance about them. And I protest, if I had any money to spare, I should buy a little land and build one myself, within a short distance of London, where I might … collect a few friends about me and be happy. I advise everybody who is going to build, to build a cottage.”