My Very Own Small Scale Home

Our house in Vermont may not qualify as a tiny home by the standards of my regular readers, but as homes go, it's pretty small.  With a 16' x 32' footprint, that's about 500 sq. ft. per floor, or about 1,000 sq. ft. over-all. Factoring in the minimum ceiling heights for habitable space according the the residential building code, the gambrel roofed top floor is technically far less than 500 sq. ft., making this house technically about 750 square feet, plus a basement.

Ahhhh..

This is a totally off-the-grid home.  Eventually we will install solar panels on the south-facing roof to meet our very modest electrical needs.  For now, we fire-up a generator whenever we need to run the water pump.  

The water heater, stove, refrigerator, heat, and some of the lighting run on propane.
  

Exterior

The main floor has a very open plan that includes a living and dining area, a small kitchen, and a full bath.  My wife likes to joke that our "camp" is nicer than our actual house.  She's not really joking.  It is.

Readers accustomed to the tiny homes I have covered until now may reject this as contrary to my blog's "ideas for living on a sustainable scale" theme, especially when they find out it's a vacation home.  I ask them to keep the following things in mind. First, I share this with my wife, child, a bunch of rescued animals, and frequently, overnight guests.  Second, the average American home is over 2,500 square feet, this is only about 1/3 of that.  When we're not there, all appliances are shut down so it is not consuming a thing. 

Living Area Looking Toward Dining Area with Kitchen Beyond

Small Kitchen

Bathroom Showing Sun-Mar Composting Toilet

If you climb the stairs to the top level you'll find a small area that we use as a guest sleeping area, plus two bedrooms.   

Bedroom

Second Bedroom

Guest Sleeping Alcove

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