KINDERHOOK HOUSE

The good house can be very small. The entire first floor of this 800 square foot house is only fifteen feet wide and twenty-five feet long smaller than some people's dining rooms. The house contains two full bedrooms and a sleeping loft. All the spaces are certainly small but through the picturesque techniques of enfilade and transparency they appear much larger than their actual dimensions. This is why a picturesque house can be such an outstandingly good house.

Smaller houses are more cost-effective, easier on the environment, and in my opinion more spiritual. A house that's built with a little less room and a lot more attention to detail will deliver more quality for the money. Large houses with underutilized interiors needlessly consume construction materials and energy. Ultimately there is a certain righteousness about living in a small house that has done its best to make use of limited space. These are part of the repertoire of picturesque virtues.