Life and Spirituality

T hose who have lived in a village or town filled with green spaces but have later had to move to a city for work, as very many humans have to do, continue to miss the green and open of countryside. A viable option for some is, if they have the savings for it, to purchase even a small farm of a few acres or a small building plot of a few hundred yards in a picturesque mountain village and build their own tiny dream cottage on it to visit in holidays or even move to for longer stays in retirement if conditions permit. One on sale may already be available but renovations cost a lot and one may never figure out where the kitchen drain leads to or how to fix the leak in the roof. Earth is not paradise but bits of it lie scattered across the Earth. If one looks around one can locate one such in most any country, at a location that is not difficult to access. It may be pointed out that investing in land is likely the best option in these uncertain economic times. After having

W hen a couple is young or aged with children grown up and gone, then a small compact home or cottage is far more convenient than a large home. This blog has several designs for small compact cottages, here is one more. The same design can be adapted for a family home too by constructing a couple of rooms on the first floor. Then one may lock away the upper floor for occasional use only or give on rent when children grow up and go on to set up their own homes. Note: design is suitable for row houses or cottages too because of no side windows Top most image from http://www.wallpapersxl.com/wallpaper/2560x1440/austrian-village-heiligenblut-austria-kingdom-758242.html

I f you live in a crowded city but love nature you probably dream of a cottage in the country side or a small quaint village surrounded by green forests or fields. The time to build one is when one is still young enough. One could visit that for holidays and perhaps later even retire in it. There are several designs for it in this blog earlier. Here is one that has essentially one large room plus a smaller entrance lobby.  The kitchen and bathroom have been made large so as to make life lovely and pleasant even in a one room cottage. The entrance lobby will however seat four comfortably when the couple next door drop in for tea or a chat and they do not have to be invited in the large bed cum living room. Alternatively the kitchen table is also a nice table for a chat and cup of tea or meal with a neighbor.  the cottage is comfortable enough to live permanently in if one wished to when children have grown up and a single person or a couple is left to complete the journey of

A Photo from the author's garden I n the last post plans for some cottages were described. This post is an addendum to it and includes one more plan. It has been made invoking the older design concept of using a hallway or passage that leads to room. Such a passage although requiring some additional construction space makes the management and arrangement of furniture in rooms much easier because much communication than takes place through the passage rather than rooms. The present plan also includes a staircase. Design and construction of staircases is one of the most complicated parts of home designs. It is because of this that many homes that are not carefully designed end up with either uncomfortable staircases or ones that waste much space. In the present design construction and design is both simplified by placing the staircase in a separate extension towards the back of the building. The same staircase can be set on the side of the building too using the central

I n the past spiritual hermits, or a group of hermits with disciples and students lived in isolated dwellings in forests or mountains in Himalayas or the plains below. The dwelling for students and disciples were shared rooms while for the principal hermit it was just a single large room that combined bed, living, study and store along with a veranda in front that was used for sitting, study, meditation or receiving guests in partially open space. The kitchen and bathrooms of such units were in separate structures. However with modern equipment used in kitchen and bathrooms, all can be combined in a single cottage that would lead to a plan as shown in the figure. The arrangement leads to a smaller additional room that may be used as a study or bed for an attendant or guest. The small room can have a window on the side too if there is a good open view on that side. Plan for a cottage with primarily one large room It must be noted that while a single large room leads

Also: A Residential Complex for senior citizens T his blog has posts on design of compact cottages suitable for countryside living. Here is another design of a compact two room cottage. As a engineer my attempt is to design cottages that are simple and sturdy to construct from an engineering point of view. The present design consists of three nine inch brick walls set apart by eleven feet only to provide an economical and sturdy roof supported on these walls. A Kitchen towards the back and a bathroom towards the front is carved out by partitioning walls along with closet spaces. Since side windows are not necessary in this design, such cottages can be constructed in a row as well of two or more cottages for a group of persons. Design for a Cottage More on First Floor Either as a row house or an independent cottage the present design is eminently suitable for creating more residences on the first floor if desired. The first floor rooms

A Cottage T he house that I presently live in was designed by me while in the Middle East some twenty five years ago. At that time I was not sure if I would build it, but since then I did and I am delighted with the design. It is a large home. However, over the past two decades the city has grown around it and over the past few years, I considered building a smaller cottage, for a farm, forest or the hills, just a small bed room and living room with a patio for the sun. However, I am quite satisfied with the home I live in and have given up the romantic idea of escaping into the wilderness. Perhaps if I was younger I would have but not now. Any building, even if it is a small cottage requires a lot of energy to build and the best time to do it is when one is in the thirties, forties or at the latest in the early fifties. At the present time it is just more convenient to rent or live in a hotel during forays into the hills or wilderness. Nevertheless, I shall post the design her