Storybook Cottage By The Sea

human imagination is powerful and limitless but to take a vision and make it a reality is something else entirely to that end today I'm about to show you a home that I think will leave you absolutely breathless [Music] hello Bruce Bruce pleasure to meet you nice to meet you as well oh my goodness this cottage it actually looks like it has just jumped from the pages of a storybook doesn't it it does it does my friends refer to it as a Hansel and Gretel cottage so I sort of feel like I'm living in a fairy tale I used to live in the country even place called Rock Creek and everybody lived in small cottages and that was back in the 60s in the early 70s so that was really where my first introduction to living small came and I thought well let's build something that reminds me of those early days and I was online one day and saw a photograph of a whimsical treehouse it was it was built and I thought boy if we could get a structure similar to that in this location here it would be exceptional so I contacted the builders Daniel huscroft and Tim Lindberg of Lindberg homes and asked him if they could build a cottage of similar character and I asked him if they would be interested in coming and haven't looking at a location to see if they felt it was appropriate for for their cottage they came and had a look and the project proceeded from there the construction of this home just looks so unique how did you actually go about building it and what kind of materials were used in the construction all the materials came locally from the island here the Timbers were milled at friend of Daniel and Tim's and so they milled all the Timbers the shakes for the roof the stones for the patio here we're all from the island and tried to sources as locally as much as possible and what about the walls how has this been accomplished is that just a normal timber frame underneath that or is that an earthen building it's a timber frame underneath and if you look closely at the sides you can see it goes out towards the top so there's a timber frame but you know once the timber frame was done the the shape was derived from framing on top of the timber frame to create the the shape that we have now the whole style of this building is just so whimsical and there's definitely something about building a structure like that in an environment like this as well it perfectly marries to the place where it is isn't it it's completely appropriate to the location I think so how large is this cottage actually vote for 5,500 square feet but then it has the loft upstairs so altogether it's about 600 square feet and how do you find living in the space that size well I've been living in it for about a year and a half now almost two years and I'm really seeing the advantages of living small there are so many unique elements that have gone into the building of this cottage I'm noticing immediately these incredibly well done shingles how did you even accomplish the curves on the roof using these materials we bought the cedar blocks on the northern part of the island brought them down here and we built our own fro the tool that used for splitting the shakes off the block and we made a curved fro so we could peel these shakes off in the curved shape so they came off the block curved like that but the ones on the top of the roof we had to steam they're they're curved in a different direction so it was a long involved process we had to boil a 45 gallon drum of water took many hours to get the water boiling and then put a plywood structure on top that to hold the steam in and then throw the shakes in that and let them cook for you know many hours five six hours before they were pliable enough to bend and then push them between two Timbers down with your foot to get into a curve and then just let them sit there for a couple of hours before they dry out enough so you could pull them out and state they would stay in shape so it was a lot of work but I think the the finished product was well worth the efforts and the doors and windows they're all obviously customed to the project as well yes the front door was built by the fellow that did the windows and the hardware for the door was done by a local metal artist by the name of Jake James and he did the hardware and he did the mushroom cap on the vent at the back well I am very excited to see what you've actually done with the inside of the house can we go have a little oh the come on in this is a lot more contemporary in here isn't it it is it's uh it doesn't seem to match the outside but you know it's very functional and it's practical and that's really what I was looking for so we're standing in the kitchen right now and this is obviously a very functionally designed kitchen it actually looks like it would be a joy to cook in here it is other than the fact that there's no oven I mean because it was meant for short-term visits but you know I I'm getting along fine without no you know I couldn't be happier with the with the size or the practicality okay although it doesn't look practical from the outside a very very practical inside and it still has those very warm cottage elements like this spectacular fireplace which is built from stone this place it's very warm in from that fireplace in the wintertime it's just a wonderful design everything about it just worked out so nicely and it looks like you've got a really wonderful spot day just to sits and do some writing or some work and oh my gosh looking at that view outside just must be heaven every day it is it's fantastic place to live eating at that table and and enjoying the view is wonderful and perhaps the only drawback is that living on the water there's air constantly boats going by and so you sort of feel like you're living in a bit of a fishbowl here people okay but you know it's just part of living in an unusual building and if you don't want to be looked at don't build a house like this no one yeah I've learned my lesson and then behind us here we have the bathroom yes once again not whimsical but practical has everything you require in the bathroom shower and sink and everything and actually the the beam upon that forms the window up there was a branch off an Arbutus tree that was sourced from the forest right here and it forms the shape of the round shape of the roof up there which is quite interesting I think having those elements in the house really adds to the organic nature of the design because actually for example having that window shape and the whole section of that roof being completely dictated by that bit of wood that you found in the forest that just adds so much character to the house doesn't it the house is loaded with character and and it's just details like that that make it more interesting and you know it's a an organic touch to it and we still have the whole upstairs area to go yes the loft it's it's very comfortable up there you see the stairs were organically shaped nothing was done to code but they work did you build storage or anything into these days yeah the everything the electric panel and the hot-water tank and everything goes under there so I mean there's there's no space if this is bolting so everything has to be located so that it's not taking up any room and can we go further up yes please look oh yeah what a great-looking space up here there's more room that you would actually imagine there is but yeah the queen-size bad I mean it's totally comfortable here it's everything that you need so for two people it's just great it's really nice as well how firstly you've got a good amount of space in here and the way that it opens up to the house below is really nice as well yes it's a great view from from up here looking down into the fireplace it's fantastic it really is we should go back downstairs okay let's do that so you've been here now for a year and a half living in the space full-time what has that experience been like for you it's been a wonderful experience it's been transformative really I you know I have never actually been a structure this size before but I'm really appreciating yeah living small and of course the location is fantastic as well so you know there's nothing to not like about it really you know everybody that sees it well first of all they smile because it makes you feel good just to look at the building is so almost like looking at a cartoon and it's just a wonderful feeling it's just a warm inviting place to live this must have been a very complicated very labor-intensive built dare I say that it must have also been a pretty expensive project to complete it was certainly more expensive than a traditional build that's for sure and can I ask what the cost of this project actually was in the end close to $175,000 my labor the way to do it there was no value to that of course no cost and they basically did it at cost as well and that cost that's not only creating a wonderful functional comfortable home that's also creating what is essentially a masterpiece isn't it this is a truly innovative design that's made out of all of these fairy tale elements and actually brought it all to life in this building so in that respect I think that's remarkable as I say people when they first see it they smile and it's a project that is gaining more notoriety all the time because it's accessible to everybody I mean if it was in the forest nobody would be able to see it but here a lot of people get to see it and which is nice and and I think it's satisfying for Tim and Daniel as well because you know this is their baby and and people are enjoying it wildly when I first saw this cottage it definitely put a really big smile on my face so thank you very much for sharing this place of neighbors my pleasure I am in love with this cottage it's so exciting to see such creativity brought to life in a building and to see it actually being lived in as such a functional home is truly brilliant I really hope that you've enjoyed this to her as much as I have and you know what I think wherever you are in the world it's just really nice to know that there are places like this actually out there being lived in [Music] you

Channel: Living Big In A Tiny House

Views: 5,227,310

Rating: 4.9372692 out of 5

Keywords: Cottage, Storybook Cottage, Fairytale Cottage, Hansel and Gretel, Tiny House, Tiny House Movement, Small Cottage, Small Home, Cabin, Cabin Porn, Little House By The Sea, Fairytale Architecture, Storybook, Fairytale House, Living Big in a Tiny House, Lindcroft, Little House, Downsizing, Storybook Architecture, Fantasy Home, Bryce Langston, Alternative Dwelling

Id: avn7brkxmmo

Length: 10min 23sec (623 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 07 2017