Emmons Cottage, a Restored 1886 Folk Victorian Pioneer Cottage in Ormond Beach, Florida

Emmons Cottage, a Restored 1886 Folk Victorian Pioneer Cottage in Ormond Beach, Florida

The historic Emmons Cottage is a Florida Cracker Cottage. It is near the parking for the Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens. The Art Museum is just past The Casements, the Rockefeller Estate near the beach on Granada Blvd. It is 994 square foot 2-story 

Shotgun Houses and Modern Front Loaded Homes with a Lengthwise Floor Plan

Shotgun Houses and Modern Front Loaded Homes with a Lengthwise Floor Plan

What are front-loaded homes? They are narrow houses with the front on the narrow end. Many tiny houses are front-load. Often they have a front porch. The photo at the top of this page, the birthplace of Elvis Presley, is a front-loaded house with a 

Build a Farmhouse From Free House Plans

Build a Farmhouse From Free House Plans

Jay Osborne discovered an abandoned 1900s era farmhouse in Virginia. He turned it into complete, usable plans for you to build your own farmhouse with. The house Jay found was falling down. He even scared off a buzzard living inside. (They do that. It was 

Small Homes are Just the Right Size

Small Homes are Just the Right Size

I just picked up a 2017 issue of Mother Earth News at our neighborhood book exchange. It had a cover article Small Homes are Just the Right Size. These homeowners downsized their lives to inhabit hand-built spaces that are easier and cheaper to maintain. The 

Living in a Train Caboose

Living in a Train Caboose

When I was little there was a train caboose in the parking lot of the Crandon Park Zoo in Miami. We loved it. Our parents had to drag us into the zoo. I found a photo of the caboose in the parking lot of the 

The Well-Planned Kitchen

The Well-Planned Kitchen

I just found this little booklet and I want to share. It is old, from 1921. But so much has not changed at all. Tips From 1921 That I Can Use Now Much of the information is still really practical.  These are my favorite tips. 

Inspiration: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kentuck Knob

Inspiration: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Kentuck Knob

Kentuck Knob, or the Hagan House is a National Historic Landmark. It was designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It is at 723 Kentuck Road, Chalk Hill, Pennsylvania, about four miles south of Fallingwater, probably Wright’s most famous house. My cousin just visited Kentuck 

A-Frame House on the Beach

A-Frame House on the Beach

We saw this A-Frame driving down A1A and I just had to share it. This is the view from A1A. See the sidewalk in front of the house?   There are little windows poking out of the roof on both sides. The house is right 

Inspiration: Swedish Summer House

Inspiration: Swedish Summer House

In Nordic countries there is a tradition of Summer Houses, a simple small shelter or cottage to stay in when the weather is pleasant. This is a tradition in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland and Finland. City families who could afford to had a second home 

Classic Design for a Low-Budget A-Frame

Classic Design for a Low-Budget A-Frame

Back in the late ’60s, the American Plywood Association put out a series of books with plans for small houses. Great Ideas for Second Homes: A Portfolio of 20 Distinguished New Designs in Plywood Paperback by American Plywood Association 1969 The book has been out