Little House on a Small Planet : Simple Homes, Cozy Retreats, and Energy Efficient Possibilities

by Shay Salomon and Nigel Valdez, photographer; Foreword by Frances Moore Lappé

• ISBN13: 9781592288687
• ISBN10: 1592288685
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2006-09-01
• Publisher: Lyons Press

Summary

Little House on a Small Planet is a guidebook to this movement, and an invitation to join. Author Shay Salomon offers fourteen basic principles for the design and habitation of efficient, high-density homes. These fourteen principles outline the invisible supports of a happy home, set within the context of a future, more caring society. With floor plans, photographs, advice, and anecdotes, Little House on a Small Planet asks and answers, "What fills a home when the excess is cut away, and how do we get there from here?" Shay Salomon is a handywoman, carpenter, and construction manager. She has built several tiny houses and now dreams of converting her smallish bungalow into two apartments. She lives in southern Arizona. Nigel Valdez once dreamed of owning half a dozen houses all over the world. Now he dreams of having dozens of friends all over the world, and a small tent to sleep in when he visits them. He lives in southern Arizona.

Author Biography

Shay Salomon is a handywoman, carpenter, and construction manager. She has built several tiny houses and now dreams of converting her smallish bungalow into two apartments. She lives in southern Arizona.

Nigel Valdez once dreamed of owning half a dozen houses all over the world. Now he dreams of having dozens of friends all over the world, and a small tent to sleep in when he visits them. He lives in southern Arizona.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. viii
Foreword	p. ix
Introduction	p. x
Reduce	p. 1
Determining Need and Designing New Homes
Quit Jonesing	p. 3
How did the Joneses get here?
Close your eyes
The joy of nonconformity
What if you are the Joneses?
Homo economicus or Homo socialus?
The proper schools
Mind the gap
Friends in common
Remember the monk
Choose What You Need	p. 21
Build as big as you can?
What's in your closets?
Cherish the gift
Stop the flow at your doorstep
The long-term storage commitment
The trip
Practice your dream
A home to fit your life
Build a Glove, Not a Warehouse	p. 37
Hear, taste, smell, touch
Think 3D and 4D
Detail and pattern
Alcoves
Levels
Ceiling shape and height
Floor life
Doors
Windows
Wheelchair accessibility
Wall texture, color, thickness
Kitchen
Storage
Genkan
The built-ins vs. the movables
Woodstoves
Open plan?
The whole
Shape
Setting
Slowing down
Pay Off Your Debts	p. 55
The death note
Why do houses cost so much?
Beat the bank
Making our land (a little more) free
Lowering construction costs
Building to live vs. building to sell
Do you live in a bank?
Social security
Go Outside	p. 77
Our friend, the sun
Freezing?
Turning indoor air into outdoor air
The porch
A room with a view to the sky
Sleep under the stars
Bathe in the sun
The patio plan
Outdoors, up high
Down to earth
Rethink	p. 94
Remodeling Existing Housing and Living Better Right Where You Are
Make Friends with the Past	p. 97
Why not build
Constructing marital harmony
How did 5.3 people manage to live in 1,000 square feet?
The comfort of traditional hovels
De-gentefication
Empty houses
Move a house
The hermit crab home
Salvage the past
Live at Home	p. 117
A brief history of how we left home
How important is your resume?
The discipline of multiuse
Focus and balance
Work at home, work alone
Hire a boss
Trade with a neighbor
Time for Sabbath
Give Up Your Loneliness	p. 133
The lonely American
Coming back together
Sharing with a partner
Three generations under one roof
Making it legal
Cohousing
The unexpected pleasures of apartment-complex living
Is Manhattan an eco-village?
Reclaim the Commons	p. 153
When society is not our friend
Making common space common
The silent neighborhood
Finding common ground
Go where the wild things are
Take to the streets
Tear down the fence
The busyness of multi-use commons
Relax	p. 173
The Less Tangible Outer and Inner Forces that Shape Our Experience of the Domestic Environment
Know the Codes	p. 175
Are large houses the rule?
Living below the radar
Becoming part of the radar
Variances
"Form-based"
"Inclusionary zoning"
The mandate to legalize granny's flat
Cottage housing ordinances
Banning McMansions
Love Your Children	p. 193
What do children really want?
Stay here, mommy, daddy
The family bed
A child's room of her own?
Sharing rooms
Children's shrinking range
The teen-built house
Is TV a human right?
The delicate dance of need and greed
Make a Room of Your Own	p. 215
When walls make a space larger
Shall we run away?
A corner of the garden
Retreat inside
Is beauty a human right?
The compartmentalized family life
The friendly creation of sacred space
Pamper your guests
Remember the World	p. 231
Keeping up with the Lees
The equalization of condition
Popping population
Where will all these people live?
Envy
Back home
The nature of construction
Endnotes	p. 252
Glossary	p. 259
Index	p. 261
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.