Rightsize my lifestyle!
It was so appropriate that AARP sponsored a Age Friendly Panel discussion this month in Portland OR, and the room was packed. Being Woman’s History month – it was amazing to learn about AARP’s founder. Metro, Portland’s regional government, predicts that while the regions population will grow by 35% the number of people aged 65+ […]
These tiny homes go up quickly in a day, but even better they are built on “derelict sites”- empty lots. The Dutch firm Heijmans needs to visit Detroit, where there are many vacant lots. If you ever wondered if you would feel catastrophic in 200 square feet, spend the night at the Tiny Caravan Hotel […]
You know my passion for small spaces and recycling so when I found this site Montainer they are a one stop shopping site for taking a shipping container and creating your home, office, ADU, yoga studio or an extra sleeping room. They have a team of architects, engineers, builders and designers that put the package […]
I am legal! I am a legal to have a short term rental in the city of PDX! The city has allowed ADU’s =Accessory Dwelling Units to be rented out on a short term basis. Go here to see the paperwork involved. I market my studio on the Airnbn website. When I travel I also […]
PDX Small Homes Go Big -is about how the City of Portland Bureau of Planners and Sustainability and Department of Environmental Quality have put together this great video explaining ADU’s- or is it Laneway housing or Mother-in-Law studio or Secondary Dwelling or Accessory Dwelling – OR – What do you call it? – watch the […]
Across the pond – I discovered Bettina Deda who lives in Sydney Australia and helps space challenged downsizers achieve stylish interiors without breaking a budget. Her new book Downsizing in Style has a 5 Step Process to make it easy to transform your new home. As in Portland Oregon – she saw a major […]
Portland always seems so ahead of the curve when it comes to hip fashion, hoppy beer, food carts and now housing for those eternally young graying baby boomers. Portland is in the top 5o regions where 40 plus boomers want to retire. Currently there are over 190,000 people aged 65 and older living in the […]
Welcome back to the Sellwood Studio Tour- the last post was about building an ADU- now lets go inside – How to design in a smaller space- the essential functions, sleeping, bathing eating and hangin out all all going to happen in 380 sq ft. First goal- jettison the stuff you really do not […]
My 95 year old mother in-law lives in a Granny Flat, she came west from cold Ohio to live behind her sons home in warm San Luis Obispo 15 years ago. Evelyn climbs the exterior staircase to her one bedroom 400 sq ft apartment above a garage. I was inspired to build my own studio […]
When I tore down my garage to build an ADU/granny flat, the debate was “Do I really use this garage?” What do we use garages for? Is it really to keep a car out of the elements? More often it looks like this- But I did have garden tools and bikes to store. Most of […]