Thanks to the nice people at Lanefab for tipping us off to the news that the proposed amendments to the laneway housing program are available as a pdf.
I’m all for them, but since our designer has already gone through the intake process at city hall, these are unlikely to affect our project. Which is good, because we have already got our plans at such an advanced state.
I’m always inspired by someone who can live in a little space — and live well.
Mary Lee has planned her studio apartment to get maxium style in minimum space, using bright neutrals and mirrored surfaces to keep everything bright.
And this studio apartment is really a studio — she works there, too!
Check out the home tour at Apartment Therapy, find inspiration for your home. I found it in the brightness, and what Mary Lee says about keeping her belongings to a minimum, too.
Buy things that have a purpose in your life. If it is not functional or doesn’t evoke a valuable emotion, like inspiration or nostalgia, then it’s not necessary. Don’t clutter your space with stuff, supply it with purpose. Don’t think of it so much as decorating but more of curating a collection over time that best tells the story of you.
Johnny Sanphillippo had a dream — to own his own home. But, daunted by the housing prices in hometown San Francisco (and his salary as a housekeeper), he knew he had to come up with his own solution.
Read this Huffington Post article about how he managed to build a place he could call his own — without a mortgage.
Hi folks,
The new hedge location.
It’s me, DD (dear daughter, of “Main House”). I’ve been enjoying reading my mom’s posts about her purging and planning and prepping. We’ve been busy at the main house too, so I thought I’d contribute a little about what’s been happening on our property as we prepare for the new structure.
We’re actually very fortunate that the majority of our backyard is a concrete parking pad. The excavator will take care of that. On the other hand, having an excavator arrive on our back doorstep will have quite an impact. We do have some yard, and it’s populated by some great plants: boxwoods, rhododendrons, heathers, a firebush, a wisteria, a fig … we have a lot of creepers.
Mapoleon in his new spot. The first question DH asked was “won’t their branches get all tangled up?” Yes. Probably. Fine.
Our first plan was to simply transplant everything to the front yard and create an amazing garden up there. We hit a couple of roadblocks. First, the city won’t let the laneway house pull water service from the back alley – so our contractors are going to have to chop up our front lawn. They'[re going to run a bobcat up there and dig, dig, dig. Second, we are planning to re-do the front of the house in the next few years (including weeping tile) so we can’t really create permanent gardens of awesomeness. Anything not touched this round will be squished during that phase of renovations.
So for now, a compromise. First we moved Mapoleon, our miniature Japanese maple, from his spot directly in the path of the new water line. Yes, we moved him under another tree, and yes, there will be some branch negotiations. It’s really the only spot that was free.
We’re going to re-home some of the boxwoods to a new sidewalk hedge (leaving a 40″ space for the bobcat), and put the rest in pots on our deck and nooks and crannies out front. The contractors are going to lay weeping tile (drain tile) along the water line trench they dig on the West and South sides of the house. (The front and East sides will be covered by a future project). And we will have to get used to moving our plants to and fro until all the projects are complete.
Easy peasy? Not exactly. The goal with the Main House is to do as much ourselves as possible. But over the last weekend we learned we’re not landscapers. Here are some challenges we experienced:
Only one person can work at a time, because we have a toddler.
Root balls are massive. And heavy. We’re strong but. Really, they’re heavy.
Stripping sod is hard work, especially as you have to haul away the heavy sod somewhere else.
A wheelbarrow will not work if the tire is flat. (Did I mention we’re not professionals? We’re not even really amateurs.)
It rains a lot in Vancouver. So far we have timed every move to the rainiest possible moment. The bonus is the plants need moisture for successful transplantation. I guess there’s that.
We’re wet, sore, tired and we’ve barely begun. That said, it’s worth it to save our (sentimental and expensive) plants. We’d just caution other homeowners undertaking a secondary dwelling to budget for a landscaper to transplant for them … or budget a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make it happen.
Up to now, I’ve just been going on and on about the experience of building a laneway house.
But what about the experience of having one built in your back yard?
DD will be contributing about the trials and victories of living in a construction zone.
Starting…..now!
When I was a little girl, I loved when anyone in the family got new shoes — because I could get the shoe box to build a home for my tiny dolls. Cutting pictures of furniture from old catalogues I would furnish each room. Then I would stack the boxes, spread them out, connect them in different patterns. This permitted me to add my own secret passages, elevators, hidden staircases, and all the touches that meant my little doll family could have a home that was uniquely theirs.
Our dsigner mentioned that when she was going through the process of presenting the plans for our home to the city, someone commented that many of the laneway home designs that they saw seem to be fitting into a cookie-cutter template. They were happy to see something new and fresh come across their desk.
For us, the process of designing our laneway home takes me back to the old shoebox days — and not because of the size of the rooms! We knew what we wanted, and we got it. That’s why our bedroom is built into the slope at the back of the house on the lower floor — dark and quiet, just how we wanted it. That’s why we have windows on all sides of the homes, great sight lines, a charming deck — it’s exactly how we wanted it. And we were very lucky to have found a designer who shares our vision and wants to help us make it come true. I was a little intimidated at first to talk to Laurel — a little bit afraid she would try to push her esthetic onto us. But she couldn’t have been more accommodating and helpful.
If you are thinking of building a laneway home, find a builder who will make the home of your dreams, whether you want it for yourself, a family member, or a renter. Remember, a home built for revenue now might very well be your domicile in the future. Get what you really want.
And for a little inspiration, here’s a gallery of tiny homes, each with its own unique charm.
My great-grannie always said that a lady should have her name in the paper 3 times in her life — when she is born, when she married, and when she died.
But great-grannie did not know of what she spoke. Because this morning I got a huge charge looking at page 3 of the Vancouver Sun to see myself looking back!
Columnist Shelley Fralic wrote the story “Meet the Lady Who Lives Down the Lane” after meeting with DD, our builder Laurel and I last week. She had heard about the blog on The Home Discovery Show and thought her readers would be interested in our story.
Be sure to check out the story. I am quite chuffed about this sudden celebrity.
Let’s see — radio, now newspaper. Who should I get to play me in the movie of my life?
This morning I had another visit to the Home Discovery Show on CKNW–part of the Corus Radio Network coast to coast, and co-host Ian Power and I chatted about the problem of finding storage in the tight quarters of our new home.
I’ll be a regular visitor to the show during the design and construction phase of the laneway build, so I’m looking forward to continuing to join this great team. Want a listen? Go to their audio vault and listen to the show for March 3. My part is during the 9 am hour, around the 11 minute mark, though you should listen to the whole show! It’s a great resource for any home owner.
And thanks to Ian Power and Corus, our little project and this blog has come to the attention of other media.
More on that tomorrow.
Thanks to Style at Home, we can see how New York-based Canadian designer Brendan Kwinter-Schwartz re-made pilot Kerry Dempsey’s 680 square foot Manhattan loft into a sleek but comfortable home.
What’s not to love?
Especially those saucer pendant lights and the cowhide-as-area rug on hardwood. Armless slipper chairs are versatile yet take up less visual space.
But don’t plan on installing those light-as-air stairs unless you want to become BFFs with members of the board of variance. As far as I know, in Vancouver you are not allowed spaces between stairs large enough for a baby’s head to fit through (about 4″ or 10cm).
Come walk with me, Down My Dark & Stormy Journey BUSINESS INQUIRIES & CONTACT EMAIL : GODSCHILD4048@GMAIL.COM
Artist and Desert Dweller with Big City Style.
Domenic Garisto / LIFE IS NOT A REHERSAL,SO LIVE IT..if you can't be the poet, be the poem..havau22.com
Lane Way Housing for the Nervous Novice
Lane Way Housing for the Nervous Novice
building a home that's not too big and not too small
Funny thoughts from a nut like me.
Words on Music
Small house designs with big impact
Lane Way Housing for the Nervous Novice
Lane Way Housing for the Nervous Novice
The Lady Who Lives Down the Lane 