Cob: Small cob housing

[Taylor Publishing-DirtCheapBuilder]

since I first came across the idea of cob, I've been mulling that over.  
I came to the conclusion that, first of all, a lot of us feel the need 
for a bigger house just to store all of our stuff / clutter.  I've 
purged our house many times over the last year, and now our 1200 sf home 
that seemed to small is very spacious.
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well put, Rachel.  My old cottage at 1150 sqft seems too big to me 
sometimes, but if one is raising a family there is a need for more 
space.  Decluttering makes a big difference.

The Last Straw newsletter did a wonderful  article a couple years ago on 
living in a small space.  Made me want to move into my 240 sqft studio 
right away!

 Most of us are "den" animals, we like a small nook to sleep in, and 
cozy seating to converse with friends...I personally love the  idea of 
the Swedish and Irish "bed nooks" that close off with little wooden 
doors, or heavy curtains, keeps heat in , and hides the sleep area from 
view in a small space.

planning for kids to grow to teens, it may be good to build a few small 
cob spaces with private , separate kid quarters.. breezeways and  green 
growing vines over  walkways between cob structures is also very attractive.

As one book says " your washer and dryer don't care if they are 
warm"...so putting all non living things : storage for tools, equipment, 
etc. away from living areas can also work.

Breaking the mindset of 2500 sq. ft+ and monster house designs as 
"successful" is already here...

people are realizing how much you have to buy into the consumer 
mentality to furnish, heat, cool, and maintain those huge wasteful 
spaces....living lightly means more time and money to do enriching things.!

as a note: some older friends, she's 80, he's 70, just bought a 
conventional 3,000 sq. ft house in CO...she is getting forgetful,  no 
longer remembers why she went into the kitchen on some days, and 
certainly can't keep that house clean...so how this is going to progress 
is a mystery.

Ms. Charmaine  Taylor/ Taylor Publishing
http://www.dirtcheapbuilder.com    http://www.papercrete.com
PO Box 375, Cutten (Eureka) CA 95534 707-441-1632     tms at northcoast.com