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Re: OT: Thinking about design RicodJour 08-18-2008
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Posted by Kris Krieger on August 21, 2008, 7:50 pm



>>
>>
>>
>> >> RicodJour wrote:
>>
>> >> > Did you ever look at sailboat's for design inspiration for
>> >> > your house? They're really clever about packing in storage and
>> >> > keeping things stowed away.
>>
>> >> Boat-design as inspiration for small house design crossed my mind as
>> >> well. I wonder if architecture schools teach something of it.
>>
>> > Hell, most of them don't even reference working buildings for design.
>>
>> > I think Ken should have looked at some teardrop trailers for his
>> > house design.
>> > Poke around this page and you'll see what I mean:
>> >http://teardrop.blogicalthoughts.com/td_2nditg.html
>>
>> > A teardrop design has all sorts of benefits in Ken's situation. It
>> > is DIY friendly, it has a cool sloping roof that sheds snow and
>> > water. It's basically made for cooking/eating and lying down - Ken's
>> > favorite activities. It has a large opening rear hatch - perfect for
>> > after the Spring thaw when the Grizzly bears have left the area. It
>> > rolls so he can move it around. He could build several of them for
>> > when guests and family visit and when he is in the dog house. He
>> > could circle the wagons when the restless natives are particularly
>> > restless. It's freaking aluminum and wood and how cool is that?!
>>
>> > R
>>
>> Does anyone make those anymore?
>>
>> Can a small car pull one?
>>
>> I'd thought soemthing like that would be a great way to camp, a.k.a.
>> avoid hotel problems and sleep where you know how clean the sheets are
>> - I'm not at all up for sleeping ont he ground in a flimsy tent, but
>> after seing some of these teardrop trailers on an RV show, I thought
>> it'd be a great way to sleep up off the ground in a fairly sturdy
>> structure, *but* without having to spend a fortune on some super-techno
>> monster that you need a 3-ton truck to haul around.
>>
>> The only drawback is they're too small to have a little shower/potty
>> inside. Or are they...? I don't know anything about them, really. I
>> like the idea of being able to bring your bed and a small kitchen along
>> with you, so you don't have to stay in hotels and eat out all the time,
>> btu I'd also liek a small shower/toilet.
>>
>> What I saw that I really liked was the compact units tat are now made
>> for long-haul truckers. I wouldn't want to lve in one permanently (I
>> have too many hobbies to fit into the unit), but IMO, it'd make a great
>> little camper.
>> - Kris
>
> We love camping, did 3 weeks sleeping in a Chevy
> Cavalier with a car-top.

I thought those are sedans...?

> For rainy days we had cards
> and Monopoly to play, we also had a TV with a cute
> deployable antenna, that was our longest. We've
> gone around NA a few times.
> For ventilation we use fine screening magnetically
> attached over the open windows.

There is some very fine-mesh stuff available these days :)

> Always kept some SPAM and Ham in a can, other-
> wise we et left-over KFC, or made a sandwich, if the
> weather was hard.
> Otherwise, out goes the wittle BBQ and toss on a
> bit meat and stuff...sit out and if you plan-plan well,
> you have a state park to yourself with an excellent
> view, that's a craft, though meeting people is almost
> always a pleasure.

Yeah, it'd be nice to have the choice ;) .

> We sleep in a hard camper cuz of Lions & Tigers &
> Bears (oh my), often off road, in desolate areas.
> Ken
>

My parents had one of those old VW Van campers. Now that was a neat littel
thing. Main problem was that it was too narrow for the height, making it
top-heavy. But I held onto the idea of something compact.

My aunt has some sort of mega-beast, with all of those motorized pop-outs,
that requires a mega-truck to pull it, so now they can't aford to go
anywhere becasue of the diesel prices. THat's not even remotely what I'm
interested in.

I'm actually not a camper - I'm allergic to too many things :p to have
gotten into it. But I'm thinking about something that'd basically be a
place to sleep, while travelling to see various places, like the Grand
Canyon or other national parks, monuments, and so on. I also like the idea
of being able to prepare my own meals, given all the fat and salt and MSG
and whatever that restaurant food is likely to have. I know, it sounds
geeky, but there it is. At the same time, if you have a self-contained
unit, you're less confined to specific geographical areas.


Anyhoo, some of those links Rico provided have furtehr links to plans and
so on, so I'll have to give some thought to "living small" ;)

- Kris




Posted by RicodJour on August 22, 2008, 10:13 am


>
> Anyhoo, some of those links Rico provided have furtehr links to plans and
> so on, so I'll have to give some thought to "living small" ;)

Think of it more as "living large on a small scale".

R

Posted by Kris Krieger on August 22, 2008, 4:23 pm


59873d67a110@m45g2000hsb.googlegroups.com:

>>
>> Anyhoo, some of those links Rico provided have furtehr links to plans and
>> so on, so I'll have to give some thought to "living small" ;)
>
> Think of it more as "living large on a small scale".
>
> R
>

THe interesting thing is how little useable room on egains with increased
square footage. The rental house here was 2500 sq ft, and had a *huge*
amount of built-in storage. THis place is 3200 sq ft, about the same closet
space, less kitchen cabinet space, and little additional storage (soem
shelves in the laundry room is the extent of it). The otehr, and even
stupider, thing is that the entire area under the stairs is simply walled off
- no access, no storage. It's goofy.

If I can ever have a place custom-designed, I want to be sure it uincludes
lots of built-in storage. I'd ratherput stuff into a cabinet or closet or
whatever, and shut the door, as opposed to having to buy (and maintain!)
furnitrue just to store books and hobby materials and so on - it's kind of
stupid IMO. And nonesense like "game areas" (i.e. open space they couldn't
figure out what the heck to do with) just adds insult to injury so to speak.

I saw a program profiling several Tokyo designers,a dn what I liked was that
walls weren't merely blank areas of nothing - walls were storage. MEaning,
teh room itself didn't need to be all clogged up with furniture that has to
be kept up with, because stuff was stored. The older I get (and the more
ovten I move), the more I've come to hate furniture.

The key overall to a smaller space is storage, and organization. I've been
in huge houses that "felt" small, becasue they were set up like rabbit-
warrens; conversely, one of the most comfortable and "large" place I've lived
was a 1500 sq ft house, becasue it had almost no hallways. Main thing was
that it was 2 storeys, so it did need stairs, but the area under then was
utilized (basement door) andthe overall floorplan was compact. OF course, it
also only had a bath and a half - most Americans these days seem to "need"
five bathrooms, and a master bath large enough to host a formal ball...


So that's the trick with smaller spaces - organization, and flow. Oh, and
quality materials ;)

- Kris


Posted by RicodJour on August 22, 2008, 11:15 pm


>
> THe interesting thing is how little useable room on egains with increased
> square footage. =A0The rental house here was 2500 sq ft, and had a *huge*
> amount of built-in storage. =A0THis place is 3200 sq ft, about the same c=
loset
> space, less kitchen cabinet space, and little additional storage (soem
> shelves in the laundry room =A0is the extent of it). =A0The otehr, and ev=
en
> stupider, thing is that the entire area under the stairs is simply walled=
off
> - no access, no storage. =A0It's goofy.
>
> If I can ever have a place custom-designed, I want to be sure it uinclude=
s
> lots of built-in storage. =A0I'd ratherput stuff into a cabinet or closet=
or
> whatever, and shut the door, as opposed to having to buy (and maintain!)
> furnitrue just to store books and hobby materials and so on - it's kind o=
f
> stupid IMO. =A0And nonesense like "game areas" (i.e. open space they coul=
dn't
> figure out what the heck to do with) just adds insult to injury so to spe=
ak.
>
> I saw a program profiling several Tokyo designers,a dn what I liked was t=
hat
> walls weren't merely blank areas of nothing - walls were storage. =A0MEan=
ing,
> teh room itself didn't need to be all clogged up with furniture that has =
to
> be kept up with, because stuff was stored. =A0The older I get (and the mo=
re
> ovten I move), the more I've come to hate furniture.
>
> The key overall to a smaller space is storage, and organization. =A0I've =
been
> in huge houses that "felt" small, becasue they were set up like rabbit-
> warrens; conversely, one of the most comfortable and "large" place I've l=
ived
> was a 1500 sq ft house, becasue it had almost no hallways. =A0Main thing =
was
> that it was 2 storeys, so it did need stairs, but the area under then was
> utilized (basement door) andthe overall floorplan was compact. =A0OF cour=
se, it
> also only had a bath and a half - most Americans these days seem to "need=
"
> five bathrooms, and a master bath large enough to host a formal ball... =
=A0
>
> So that's the trick with smaller spaces - organization, and flow. =A0Oh, =
and
> quality materials ;)

Movable storage systems are interesting. You've seen them in
libraries and doctor's offices - there's no reason that similar, but
more attractive versions, couldn't be used in residential
construction.
http://www.storageessentials.com/shop/filing+and+file+storage|223/

One of the houses at the Solar Decathlon last year had a movable wall
between the bedroom area and the dining area. You rarely need both
spaces at the same time.

R

Posted by Kris Krieger on August 23, 2008, 2:40 pm


22c5a6726089@8g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

>>
[snip]
>>
>> So that's the trick with smaller spaces - organization, and flow.  Oh,
> and
>> quality materials ;)
>
> Movable storage systems are interesting. You've seen them in
> libraries and doctor's offices - there's no reason that similar, but
> more attractive versions, couldn't be used in residential
> construction.
> http://www.storageessentials.com/shop/filing+and+file+storage|223/

Interesting - I'd meant "moveable" as in, move from one
house/city/state/country to another, however, that link opens some very
interesting posibilities - if the mechanism could be fitted with
materials/finishes more geared towards living areas, there are a great many
possibilities.


>
> One of the houses at the Solar Decathlon last year had a movable wall
> between the bedroom area and the dining area. You rarely need both
> spaces at the same time.
>
> R
>

That could be interesting if the dining room is very rarely used, but ti'd
get annoying if one had to move itall every evening. Kind fo a mixed bag
but, like everything else, it depends upon one's lifestyle. Personally,
the last time I used a formal dining room as such was Decenmber of 1997 ;)

The whole idea of having a separate "formal" living room (which IMO ought
to be re-named "visitor room" or even the old "salon", because nobody
"lives", i.e. spends much time, in the "living room") are dicey in modest
homes, where the "formal" rooms end up being space that's almost never
used.


My personal preference would be to have some sort of mobile wall system
around the kitchen - I donlt likea continually-open one because grease,
noise,a nd odors jsut migrate too easily. So, I'd liket o be able to close
it off while cooking (and have a super-powerful fume hood - most don't pull
worth beans, *but* sound like a 747 at takeoff). If that could be done,
you'd only need an eating area, becasue if you had visitors, they wouldn't
have to go to the other end of the house so as to no look into the kitchen
while dining - put down flooring that loks nice but is easy to maintain
(i.e., *not* wall-to-wall carpeting), have a table/seating system that also
is fairly easy to maintain and therefor can be also used for things other
than just eating.


It just seems to me that there have got to be more adaptable solutions,
other than just having a humongous house with a lot of seldom-used spaces
that are very expensive to heat/cool.

ANyway, thanks for tthe moving-storage link, it's giving me some new ideas
;)

- kris





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