Living large in small spaces
People in America like to think big. Consider the Manifest Destiny. Or, Long Island's Gold Coast mansions. But there's something to be said for small. Henry David Thoreau chose to reside in a 10-by-15-foot cabin next to Walden Pond because he wanted to "live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life."
There are others who have learned the joys of living small.
"We wanted a change," says Carol Gammage, who made the decision five years ago with her husband, John, to downsize from a three-story residence in Garden City to a 980-square-foot home in Point Lookout. To them, small is freedom.
"We wanted to be able to close the door and fly to Florida or go on a cruise," she says.
This requires much less preparation than with their old abode. "With this kind of house, you can have your old life without all the trappings of it," she says.
Convenience is just one of the advantages people mention about living small. Other benefits include things like using less energy, along with the subsequent lower utility bills. Of course, a small home is easier to clean and maintain. There's also potentially lower taxes. Naturally, there are a few drawbacks. "I could use a little more closet space," Carol Gammage says.
Downsizing is more than just a physical choice. It's also a philosophical one. Small is being satisfied with enough. Savoring what you have. Appreciating life in sensible portions.
"How much do you really need?" muses Southampton designer and antiques store owner Donna Parker.
She and her husband, Dr. Jeffrey Sherwood, spend every warm-weather moment relishing their tiny house on Towd Point Road, which is packed with small homes.
During winter months, they move to a larger Southampton residence in the village, but plan to one day sell that home and make the transition full time to the "little magic spot" that looks over the North Sea Harbor.
How tiny is their lifestyle? How about 850 square feet tiny?
"I wasn't kidding when I said small," she says. "But everything you need in life is in there."
Size doesn't matter here, especially considering the outdoor amenities that go with their home. It looks out over the harbor at an island in the distance. Her husband comes home every day and heads out in a kayak, she says. They sit out each evening on their deck, taking in the sunset, drinking wine or chatting with neighbors.
"It's the most beautiful setting you could imagine," she says. "I've lived everywhere from Malibu to Palm Beach, and this just does it for me."
Entertaining, she has discovered, isn't constrained by the size of a home. They keep the doors to their home open most of the summer, which makes the house seem bigger. Friends appear often. The host brings out hors d'oeuvres and cocktails and the evening sails on into the sunset.
"We have the gift of life," Parker says.
Living contentedly in a small home does take some preparation. It helps that both owners completely renovated their habitats before moving in, thus taking advantage of design elements to increase space.
The Gammage home is one story with three bedrooms and 11/2 baths, a size that allows for the visit of one of their two children and one set of grandchildren at a time. Which is just right for Carol Gammage.
"I get my little Nantucket cottage but get to stay close to my family," she says.
During Parker's renovation, which, with the removal of a fireplace, provided the house with enough room for two bedrooms and two baths, she decided there had to be at least one concession.
"I gave myself a wonderful cooking kitchen," she says. "And I wedged a six-burner stove in there."
Small is the perfect lifestyle for Cherie Via, who comes home each night to squeeze herself into a 500-square-foot cottage she rents in Smithtown. The structure consists of a living room, a teeny kitchen and a separate bedroom and bath.
"I love my little cottage," she says. "It's kind of like a hotel room for me. You step in the front door and you've pretty much had a tour of the place."
One reason for her affection is that most of her life is spent running her Greenlawn art gallery with little time left for domestic duties, she says. Living in a tiny home gives her a low-maintenance place to sleep as well as a habitat for her spaniel, Trixie.
The shingled cottage is on property behind the home of the owner, a friend she met years ago while teaching, Via says. He takes care of the lawn or any cottage problems.
Her one complaint is the lack of space to put up her art collection, she says. Otherwise, her Lilliputian dwelling is perfect, she says. Her 6-foot, 5-inch boyfriend might not agree. "He's got quite a wingspan," she says. "In the living room, he can nearly reach wall to wall."
Making small seem spacious
Rockville Centre-based architect Denise Bradley, who designed the Gammage Point Lookout house, offers these tips for expanding the look and feel of a small home:
LIGHT IT UP This is the "biggest trick of the trade," Bradley says. Make sure doors and windows contain plenty of glass and locate them around the house to bring in as much light as possible. Skylights and transom windows in bathrooms increase a sense of space by bringing the exterior inside.
USE INNER SPACE Raising the height of rooms creates a sense of airiness that makes people more comfortable in a social setting. Use cathedral ceilings to make sure a room is utilized all the way to the roofline. This is an especially good technique in master bedrooms. Raising ceiling height also is effective in bathrooms.
GO WITH THE FLOW Design circulation paths so people never seem crowded. Allocate the proper width for hallways so they don't feel narrow. Also, put a window at the end of a hall to change the sense of space. Adding a few inches in front of a bathroom sink greatly enhances a person's perception of the area and therefore their comfort level.
TRY FINISHING TOUCHES Go light on color. Use smaller furniture rather than overpowering pieces. Use trim and molding to increase the perception of room size.
