I was thinking about what my ultimate urban dream home would look like, and this is it.
Imagine, if you will, a "standard" urban lot where you live now. In the area I live in, this means a lot holding a 2500 square foot house (including basement) with about three meters separating the house from the neighbour's house if the home owner is lucky. Most have a decent sized front yard, and a medium sized back yard.
The problem is with this layout is that the front yard is mostly used for "look at me look at me" landscaping and is often under utilised. Because of this mostly wasted space, the back yard is smaller than it could be, which limits its use. I don't like big front yards. Impress me they do not.
So here is my dream.
Take that lot.
Place a 1000 square foot house on it. Smaller is bigger if done right. We collectively collect too much junk. Small spaces encourage having only what is needed and nothing else.
Here, we would need a basement to follow building codes, so that 1200 feet should include the basement. This means that a very small house is being built. Position the house at the very front of the lot, with a minimum of space for a flower garden. Windows there can be small, neat, and shutterable - with old school shutters. There is no need for a garage. The cars, if they even exist in this scenario, can suck it up and be outdoors. and be parked beside each other beside the house. Discussions with the city regarding variances may be needed since bylaws often limit how close to the road a house can be built. Closer is better in this case.
Excavate the rear of the house if needed to provide a walk out basement. A sunken patio would do it. One with grapes growing over it and a nice sheltered table outside. This works better of course if the urban lot has a slope on it, but can be done without it. Done right, it looks amazing (I have seen it done right). This gives a space to get the bicycle collection inside without tracking through the living space. Doors should be double wide French doors which open right out onto the patio. The back yard would be a major part of the living space during the warmer months. I envision reading and eating areas that are both practical and cosy. Both my wife and I would live outdoors but for sleeping most of the time given any kind of choice in the matter.
Just inside the house in the basement is the "mud" room. It would take up the whole basement but for the laundry/furnace area. Here the bikes, tools, potting equipment, grow lights for seedlings, and all that lot live. Put in the plumbing for water and a tiny coffee bar (serious here).
Upstairs is a small office, living room, kitchen, and bedroom. Nothing else is really needed. We don't entertain in our house now, and I have no desire to do so in the future. Our friends are of the best quality, and are not legion.
Now think back to that lot. Remember that it is set up for a 2500 square foot house. With a tiny house on it, the gap between the house and the neighbours is bigger. With the house near/at the front of the lot, the backyard is bigger.
This means a lot to my wife. The space would be hers.
She would love to be an urban farmer. A visit to her Pinterest boards and Facebook pages makes this abundantly clear.
Imagine a yard with field stone paths, raised beds, soaker hose irrigation, a proper open compost heap, no lawn, vegetables mixed with herbs mixed with flowers. Lay it out right, and there would be perpetual blooms all through the growing season. Lay it out right, and the shorter plants would be close to the house, with the plant height becoming progressively taller as the edge of the property is reached. Hem the yard in with wooden fences as tall as code allows - not to block out the neighbours so much but to block what would look like a chaotic mess from the views of more conventional neighbours.
I would want a pond. A pond right off of the outdoor eating area. I do not like decks. The outdoor eating area would be a patio. A patio with a pond with running water, fish, and frogs. A pond deep enough that fish will survive winter. And lots of blooming water plants. And a cat. There needs to be a cat dozing in the sun. Not an option. They are fun to pet and their purring is good for the soul.
A yard like this would make our most common vacation activities much more enjoyable. We do not travel. We do staycations more often than not. Paradise is where you make it, and home should be it or it is really not home.
The above is my dream. It is also my wife's dream. It is a dream built around what she wants and what I want. Ideally, she would like to be in the country, with a small hobby farm. Away from the noise and cramped conditions of the city. I understand that. Ideally, I would be in the heart of an urban core. I don't mind people being around as long as I can escape into my mind on the bicycle and use active transport to get around as much as possible. She understands that.
A small place in the city, where she can grow food and landscape into a little piece of paradise where I can ride to work and play may be just the kind of dream that will come true someday.
