Living small is not everyone’s dream, but it is mine.

The cabin at Two Mile Ranch could be considered a contradiction in that is is both large and small. It is built in the style of a dogtrot home and bisected with a 16 x 44 foot deck. If it were a rectangle and enclosed, the footprint would be 44 x 58 or 2500 square feet. But because of its design, the roofed area is only 14 x 24 on one side and 14 x 18 on the other. If you don’t count the central breezeway as enclosed space, the deck square footage is greater than the cabin square footage. Covered and heated living space is just 588 square feet.

Several architects and designers have made it a possible lifestyle for many. Visiting sites like Small House Style gives an overview of the wide variety of approaches to living in a smaller space.

The cabin at Two MIle Ranch has three origins for it’s design: It’s based loosley on an award winning design by Stephen Atkinson, and modified using plans from John Rabbe’s Country Plans.

As of this post, the cabin is 85% completed: I need to finish siding the east side, and put shakes on the north and south gables. The siding has been exposed to the weather to give it a little patina, I want to wash it and then seal/ stain it before winter. The last major project is insulating the ceiling and appling ceiling boards. A free standing heat stove and heater go in the big and little sides respectively, and then there is the final 5%: trim around all the windows, doors, and walls.

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