Designing Away

I've got the floor plan figured out,  That's a 3-season porch on the left, and the main living space is divided with a half-height wall.  Here are a couple perspective shots as well, the first taken from the head of the bed, and the other from the corner of the kitchen.  (The view out the windows in the first rendering is pretty close to reality.)

Initial Sketch

I'm starting to develop my initial sketch into construction drawings. This is intended to be a smaller structure to test out all the natural building techniques I'll implement and work out any kinks. (See the 'Design' page of my dumbhome.com website for more info on those.)

In the short term, it will be a full-time residence of 450 gross square feet, with a 150 sf three-season porch. Once I'm ready to build my full-size house on the lot (with garage/workshop), this cottage can become a home office, guest house, or a rental unit. It would make a lot of sense for potential clients stay in a Dumb Home to experience a natural building so they can see how they feel about it.

I closed on my parcel!

I'm psyched!  As of October, I now own a 3/4 acre parcel of land at the end of a quiet street in a lovely neighborhood.  It's a great site for passive and active solar, with good shade from the brutal summer sun.  I especially like the protected open space to the south, and the pedestrian trail along the west property line.  Beyond the trail is a tidal creek that I've kayaked many times.  I'll be able to put my kayak on my bike trailer and pull it about 1/8 of a mile to the launch point!