Build Your Own Version of 2013's "Small Home of the Year"

With experience as both craftsman/builder and architect, Nir Pearlson has brought new energy to compact and sustainable home design. He recently won Fine Homebuilding magazine’s 2013 Small Home of the Year Award for an 800 square foot, two-bedroom, one-bath garden cottage. Fine Homebuilding recognized the design “for its shared spaces and connections to the outdoors that make it seem larger than its physical boundaries…”

The layout is mostly one open space containing a kitchen and living–dining area that connects to a large wrap-around deck, as shown here (all photos in this post by Michael Dean, courtesy of Nir Pearlson). Pearlson explains that he designed the house as a series of roughly 12' square modules — they overlap to comprise the main living area. Key elements (like a window seat with storage drawers shown below at left) define individual “rooms” without separating one from another, effectively making the main space feel larger than it is. The built-in platform and overhead beam frame the window seat as a separate area without isolating it  from the larger space.

The kitchen peninsula (a warm-toned granite) performs a similar function, as does the central wood stove on its slate pad. A naturally dyed plaster wall finish, red oak floor, and Douglas fir and hemlock trim add visual warmth. Pearlson designed the house to be as energy-wise as possible, with rigid foam insulation in the walls and roof, which has separate photovoltaic arrays— a larger one for generating electricity and a smaller one for heating water. You can see plans for this house here.

Another of Pearlson's designs, this 800 square foot, two-story home functions as a backyard cottage. It has two bedrooms on the lower level, while the kitchen and living space are on the floor above and open to a charming porch. While the cottage shown here tucks into the toe of a slope, this design could be easily adapted for other site conditions.