Roten Small Home Retreat Update
by Paul and Shari Roten
I covered the Rotens "Ideabox" inspired Small Home back in December of 2012 and they recently sent me an update to share with you.
We've had a crazy few months, but wanted to share some of our news! Mother's Day was spent moving into a 29ft camper on our 10 acres within a hundred feet or so from our future home. We left our management position due to Shari's injury, so once again, it was time to start anew. And what a place to start!
We spent a couple days getting things organized in the camper and in our future home as we had no other storage building. Then the raised beds were built from 4x4s and we got our gardens planted! Food is always nice to have, especially when you're roughing it.
We've been blessed by Paul's new job just 15 miles away where he can utilize his skills and gifts. And we also now have the Camas center where we can get refreshed every day. The hot tub is pretty awesome too for the injury and other aches and pains.
On to the house! We've dealt with building codes and inspections, have had a few corrections to address, but up to this point, its been a cash jo with no debt. That's HUGE to us. However, when you live in extreme NE WA, you have to be prepared for winter. A trailer for two plus three Boxers, one with pups on the way, isn't going to cut it. We endured much stress as the bank account allowed just enough to cover a few bills each month and we've done some creative cooking thanks to Dollars and Deals!
We've had an incredible angel come into our lives. We asked for guidance, and he made a proposal AND told us "I believe in you". It was one of the most humbling and emotional moments we can think of in our lives. We are truly blessed. It is amazing how things work when you take the high road and do the right things on life.
We have a plumber, an electrician, a sheetrock installer and painter in the wings!
Just past our septic test hole inspection with FLYING colours so its on to approval of the design, then installation! That's a huge hurdle!
We have paint colours chosen, our tile stocked, and plan to hit IKEA on Saturday to pick up all our kitchen cabinets! They are our favorite!
Our 5th anniversary is November 21st, so the plan is to be in and hosting an open house by then!
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A whimsical cottage 200 square feet in the woods of Southwest Michigan. More info. here.
Michigan USA – Zinta Aistars
Lot size: 10 acres (2 hectares)
Built area: 200 sq. ft. (18.5 m2)
Year built: Unknown
Renovated: 2012/13
Standing on a hill in the woods of south-west Michigan is a whimsical cottage named COTH by its writer owner, Zinta Aistars. Although the 10 acre property has a 100+ year old farmhouse as the main dwelling, this "outbuilding" clearly caught the heart of the owner.
Cottage on the Hill (COTH)
The original builder is lost to obscurity, but COTH was obviously built with love, skill and an objective.
"With its quirky angles and mismatched windows, it's been likened to a place from a Tim Burton movie, or from Dr. Seuss. No two windows match, each is at a different height."
Since taking ownership of the farm in spring, 2012, Zinta has carefully and lovingly refurbished the cottage, ensuring the original feel and ambience were retained. Renovations included weatherizing the cottage, the addition of a small deck and an outhouse, whitewashing the lower level internally, and furnishing it in order to create a writer's retreat.
Footnote:
In an email from Zinta yesterday, she said, "I sat on the COTH deck for a while tonight with a friend, and it's so green and leafy and quiet and beautiful there …"
I think it's fair to say that many of us would have been happy to sit there with her
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A small cottage in Coastal Maine.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Engliah HENGLISH HOLIDAY COTTAGE
The Porter cottage makes the most of its unwieldy site. The cottage was sited as close to the water as legally allowed to take advantage of the views and far enough away from the graywater leach field where the soil is deep enough to allow for proper run off. The screen porch was angled to capture direct southern exposure for the solar panels.
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