Bigger? Better?

Living in cramped quarters (but not as cramped as some), I often find myself wishing for space, for more rooms, for less stuff in the way when we want to walk / store things / find things / whatever. I daydream about a 3-bedroom (at least!) house with en-suite bathrooms, a huge yard with room for trees and not just bushes, a place where I can't even see the neighbours.

I guess I'm still dreaming about that endless-space farm I've always wanted. Where horizon-to-horizon is my land and I can wander it for hours without trespassing on another's property. I have these images of a double-story house that persist inside my head - with fireplaces and wooden floors and a stone-flagged kitchen full of sunlight. An orchard out the back, a stream at the bottom of the garden, a magnificent old tree with a swing, and a couple of wrap-around porches. One of my favourite daydreams.

My son tends to share them, thanks to my always going on about how we need more room to move, and his space being part of the lounge instead of his own room. It's for his sake that I'm looking at moving off-campus to a larger rental (wish I could afford to buy!), even though it means leaving a safe and secure community where all his friends are a few steps away, and we can forget to lock the front door without coming home to find everything gone. (Well, that's one of the reasons for a move)

But bigger isn't always better.

I've been having a look at modular housing (for interest's sake), and small living spaces. Sites like The Smallest & Coolest Apartment Contest (courtesy Jordan Cooper's blog), and TomaHouse (amAZEing stuff!), Tumbleweed Tiny House Company (I want one!) and WeeHouse. There's incredible pod-type living with a LoftCube or a simple Retreat Home.

Of course, one can hardly harbour a clutter addiction in those tiny spaces, but who needs clutter? Books, perhaps, but not clutter! :)

Perhaps bigger is not necessarily better - but that may also depend on what's outside your tiny space. I could live in a box if it meant the great outdoors allowed me room to roam, and I wasn't cramped up with other boxes in a yardless environment. I could live in a LoftCube if there were views to the horizon and I could step out to get fresh air.

I may never get that huge place I dream of, but if nothing else all this browsing has given me some very good ideas to make the most of what I already have!