The latest census shows that nearly 60% of American households are comprised of one and two people, such as single parent families, single women and empty nesters. Yet while households grow smaller, America's houses have grown larger and larger. Those pushing house sales have the public believing that if it's bigger it must be better, that every bedroom needs a bath and that single-use rooms are the norm.

Yet a growing number of people want and need a smaller, low-maintenance house. They delight in having a thoughtfully designed home, with a garden "large enough to be satisfying, but small enough not to be a burden." They recognize that large homes have the multiple burdens of maintenance, cleaning, and energy consumption, as well as typically lacking in quality.

In the new waves of sprawl are thousands of houses, but precious few real neighborhoods. Placeless culdesacs are lined with supersized houses that have 3 or 4 garage doors, behind which people sequester themselves in a private world. Without much chance to know their neighbors, is it any wonder that Americans are overly concerned with security?

Combining Forces to Build a New Model
In response to this soulless sprawl and bland houses on steriods, developer Jim Soules and I came together to demonstrate the demand for an alternative. We sensed that there was a market for smaller houses in a setting that fosters community, and set out to build a new model.

Jim has an urban planning and business background, along with years of experience in production housing development. By contrast, I've focused on custom residential (mostly modest in size), light commercial design and site planning for conference centers. Our common ground is a passion to create vibrant small houses in great neighborhoods.

Our first project on Whidbey Island in 1997 broke fresh ground. The Third Street Cottages was the first cottage housing development in the United States using an innovative code that gave density incentives for limiting the size of the houses. It quickly caught the attention of the national media, including articles in Metropolitan Home, Sunset Magazine, Fine Homebuilding, Knight-Ridder Syndicated newspapers, HGTV, and various books including Solving Sprawl (NRDC) and Creating the Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka. We had, and continue to have, a nearly constant stream of calls and email from homeowners, community activists, planners, architects and developers across the country. Our hunch proved to be accurate.

The Dilemma of an Aging Home
John Stevens' family home is typical of many in the first-ring suburb of Shoreline, north of Seattle: a single-story, post-war rambler on a 3/4 acre lot. When his parents passed away, neither he nor any of his siblings wanted to keep the house, especially when a developer offered cash on the table.

With a typical 4-lot subdivision in hand, John went to the City of Shoreline for approval. The city in turn recommended they check out our small cottage development on Whidbey. He and his wife visited the Third Street Cottages, and after talking with Jim and me, decided to back away from the developer's offer and move ahead to planning a cottage development. The only catch was at that time the City of Shoreline had no code that would allow it.

Creating an Innovative Zoning Code
Needing to comply with the Washington State GMA, the City of Shoreline was now open to developing a code that would increase density in a positive way. Over the next year while the land was held in escrow, we worked with the city officials to be the first city in the Seattle metropolitan area to implement a true Cottage Housing Development (CHD) code.

The code is truly unique - it is not a multi-family or overlay zone, but rather another form of single-family development. The code requires cottages to be less than 1,000 square feet in living area, limited in height, and oriented around a common landscaped space. Parking must be clustered and separated from the commons. And the development must go through a Conditional Use Approval process.

Finding the Financial Support
Sure, this cottage housing thing is a great idea. We had enthusiasm and energy. We had an agreeable land-seller, a cooperative city government. We even had a permit in hand after a year and a half of work. But without financial support, the boat won't float.

Bankers by rule are conservative. They can go only so far at risking their money. Why would they want to loan money for an un-tested concept of a condominium cluster of tiny houses, where the single-car garage is a hundred feet away? How do you find comps?

When we created our first cottage development on Whidbey Island, there was nothing like it in the country. Historically, this is not a new idea; there have been related developments in the 1910s and 20s. But in the current economic and social time, this is a new concept.

We did a thorough cost estimate and proforma analysis, talked our friends and family into backing us, and convinced the president of Whidbey Island Bank that it would be successful. He, in turn, found an appraiser who could see our market. It helped to have Jim's deep experience with development, and my long-time relationship in the island community.

So when we approached HomeStreet Bank about financing the Greenwood Avenue Cottages, we had a track record. They want to be an active part of revitalizing the community, and they were glad to partner with us in our vision. Without their trust, we wouldn't have a story to tell.

The Greenwood Avenue Cottages
The short story is that the Greenwood Avenue Cottages became the first project developed under the new Shoreline CHD code.

The detail of what we did is something I feel needs to be expressed. Architects and developers across the country are picking up on this concept, but often, they are missing elements and relationships that are critical to the personal and social fabric of the neighborhood.

Community and Privacy
The best neighborhoods have streets that are like rooms and porches that are like alcoves. With this as our inspiration, we gathered eight houses around a shared common garden and made porches large enough to live in.

Garages are deliberately located away from the houses so that residents walk through the commons to their front door, offering a chance to notice the flowers or chat with a neighbor.

A sense of arrival is first felt when entering the courtyard. If you're an invited guest, or you live here, you will feel welcomed and at home. If you're a stranger, you will feel that you crossed into private territory. At this boundary between the parking area and the commons we placed 5-foot cedar-slat fence. Just enough to shield view of the cars, and low enough to see over. It's not a locked gate, but it signals an important demarcation of ownership.

Indeed, the sequential delineation from public to private realms has been carefully considered. If personal space is undefined, a person may feel invaded. If the boundary around personal space is too strong, a person may retreat into isolation. Finding the right balance is key to cultivating community.

Each house has its own private yard. Marking the edge of the private yard with the shared courtyard is a border of perennial flowers and a low fence. It's a friendly way of saying, "this is my ground."

The next place in the sequence is the covered porch in front of the house. It's a place both public and private: a spot for reading a book, talking with a neighbor, or sharing a cup of tea, depending on mood. We designed the railing at just the right height to offer a sense of enclosure without feeling like a barrier. This also happens to be the perfect height for "perching," and for resting a cup or book. We made flowerboxes as a lovely spot for seasonal color; their underlying function is to be another friendly edge to the personal space, as well as a place for personal expression.

Each front door is a "Dutch" door, with top and bottom leaves on separate hinges, offering a variation beyond just open or closed. If the houses fronted directly onto the street, a door like this would feel far too exposed. In this context, it's informal and welcoming.

Carrying the public/private sequence inside the house, we've placed the more active rooms look out to the courtyard. In this way there are 'eyes on the commons', offering a level of community security. In addition, the lights and activity inside the house lend vitality to the courtyard. The most private realms are found toward the back of the house and upstairs.

So often in tight housing developments, living room windows face a nieghboring bedroom, or a kitchen faces a bathroom. Not so nice. We designed each of our houses with an 'open side' with windows facing its side yard, and a 'closed side' with high windows or skylights. In this way, the houses can be nested together, ensuring privacy between neighbors.

Dead space between houses is often a problem, too. What can you do with 5 feet? Each of the private yards we created goes right up to the face of the neighboring house. We could do this because the cottages were sold as condominiums, with each householder having exclusive limited use. In other developments that we've sold as fee-lots, we establish a landscape easement on the neighboring property.

Simple Materials, Rich Detail
How is a house made to feel like a home? We consciously designed the buildings using simple, durable materials, thoughtful detailing and familiar forms. Warmth and comfort are apparent with generous porches, pitched roofs with dormers, alcoves, and built-ins. High ceilings with large windows and skylights fill the room with light, creating a much larger perceived sense of space.

Making a Small Space Live Large
Most people don't really use a lot of space. Even in a large house, the lived-in space is moderate. But to make a small house live fully, it needs to have enough storage space. This may be closets, attics, crawl spaces, or a separate storage room.

For small households, relatively small spaces are fine. But occasionally people like to have parties, potlucks and reunions. And they need a place for projects. For this we created the Commons Building, the focal point of the community where neighbors gather for a potluck, or to fix a bike or plant spring seedlings.

At every scale, from neighborhood to fine detail, we've attempted to bring space alive. It's the people that live in the Greenwood Cottages that are the ones to say whether we've achieved our goal. I'd love for them to speak, but that's a longer story.

Collaborative Involvement on every level
The success of this project is the result of collaborative involvement on every level - a state government taking action to control sprawl, a pro-active city planning department, a forward-thinking developer, an innovative architect, an enlightened banker, a supportive community, a land-seller believing in the vision, craftsman-builders taking pride in their work, and buyers willing to live their values.

It's really the people who live there that are the real pioneers. They are the ones who are making the shift in their lives, typically from something larger. They recognize the inherent quality that this project will bring to their life and their desire to live in proximity to others moves them towards these projects.

Greenwood Avenue Cottages was quick to sell out, proving to many that there is a market for quality small homes and it is indicative of a movement toward simplicity, sustainability and community.

Architect: Ross Chapin Architects
Ross Chapin, AIA, with Eric Richmond, Matthew Swett
Developer: Jim Soules, The Cottage Company Construction
Manager: Jay Kracht, Kracht Construction
Finance: Viking Community Bank, Seattle
Ken Wallky, Vice President
Civil Engineers: Hammond, Collier & Wade-Livingstone
Tracey Belding
Landscape Design: Linda Pruitt

Epilogue: Shoreline's moritorium.

Lessons learned.
Or, Bottom feeders bring us all down.