Creative Design

Phil has done some creative thinking the last few days. Rather than calculating the diameter of timbers for a reciprocating roof, or trying to lay out a compact dwelling design, he went back further. We had once talked of what rooms a normal house should have: a kitchen, a bathroom, at least two bedrooms, if not three or four, a living room. But he went back even more.

He calculated the size each room would be, at a minimum. A kitchen needs space for a refrigerator, sink, range, and a certain amount of cabinet/counter space. A bathroom needs a tub, sink, and loo. What square feet does a standard dining room table require, with the chairs around it? How about a standard bedroom?

He figured a "normal" dwelling would need about 900 square feet for a small but comprehensive dwelling. If the bedrooms were to be a bit larger than 10'x12', perhaps 1400 square feet at the outside.

We had a 2600sqft home in Boulder, and it had plenty of wasted space. And although 900sqft seems small, compared with 224 here in the construction trailer, it sounds palatial.

While Phil has been creative, I have been having little bursts of creative insight, which Phil tolerates when he emerges from the design cave. A stray comment in Mother Earth News made me think, "We can put a spring house over our spring!" Someday.

Storey Publishing will soon release The Organic Backyard Vineyard. Incredibly, an acre of wine grapes can produce somewhere between 1800 and 5400 bottles of wine. And if it's not terribly edible, it seems one could use it to run a vehicle. "We can put in an orchard!" Yup. Someday.

One of the little gulches on our land could be transformed into a series of descending little pools, slowing down the runoff to prevent the rapid erosion. It won't happen this year. But someday.

From mushroom cultivation to rice paddies; from fast-growing and fast-spreading bamboo to the desire for sugarcane (if not quite the proper climate): the world is full of so many things to think about, research, and try!