Since adding a shop space in the house, I’ve been revisiting the idea of what needs to be in this home. The goal is for this to be a lifelong home, a forever home where you raise your children and where you later on host family reunions with your grandchildren, gathered around picnic tables in the food forest you raised their parents under. This is not a starter home, nor is it a luxury home that you resell once it appraises to your liking.
I cannot control what happens to this house once it is under someone else’s ownership. It is theirs to do as they see fit. This I guess is a fact to creating something-your creation will be used depending how it is valued. My goal is to make it truly a priceless home that the occupants will want to grow old in it and host family events with their grandchildren in it.
…to host family reunions with your grandchildren, under a food forest you raised their parents under.
That said, I’ve been adjusting the layout both to add other rooms but also to start playing with the plan. I feel at this point I have a decent program and can start actually being creative with it. I have not played much attention to how the exterior will look. I’ve been practicing, sketching on the exterior as I develop principles and aesthetics that will match permaculture principles – but I have not really played with how I would change the exterior to make the plan more artistic, and vice versa. I have been developing the plan almost purely on function, and honestly I think that was all I did for the exterior design as well.
I have to admit a lot of my sketching has been to refresh my own creativity. I have not had this much time to draw for many years. Only since I started this concept home design have I been focused enough to pursue that creative side of me that sorta kinda died from my day job.
Right now the plan has a longer, narrower living space. Better for cross ventilating with the natural breeze. Better views and much better daylight – which I must prevent from excess glare. North is good but I need to treat the south side, maybe less windows and some trellis element.
Also, there is a pantry adjacent to the kitchen. It will be designed to function as a storm shelter with walls and ceiling meant to protect from flying debris.
a pantry that will function as a storm shelter
A guest room is needed, the actual location is still in flux. Maybe this ends up being a separate structure like a guest house/tiny home. Well, maybe let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. I need to focus on this one house first.
Alt-Ark 