Cottages Needed - Tiny House Blog

Cottages Needed

First, I’m back and successfully moved my daughter. Second, thanks everyone for your responses to the post about Tiny House Meets. I will be going through them and sorting out the ideas and will get back to you soon on what steps I plan to make to help in this issue.

Along these lines of community, Sandy Foster of the Victorian Catskills Cottage featured recently in the New York Times is currently writing a book about her studio and is looking for others who have built similar small cottages, preferably made from salvaged materials and decorated in a romantic style (shabby chic, French, farmhouse).

Sandy’s studio is an old hunting cabin that she renovated. It measures 9 by 14 feet and cost her $3,000. If you’d like to share your tiny house story with Sandy, you can contact Sandy through her blog. So please join in and help her if you can.

Photo Credits: Trevor Tondro for The New York Times

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Angela S. - August 19, 2010 Reply

Oh, if only I was an attractive white person who had an article published about me in the New York Times! Then I, too, could get a book deal!

Oh well, people will buy anything, I guess.

    Aria - August 19, 2010 Reply

    Angela,
    I might have missed it, but I don’t see anywhere where it says she got a book ‘deal’, only that she is writing a book. I wrote two books (though never pursued publishing; by the way I’m not white), and you too can write a book, imagine that! So if you honestly believe that skin color and personal appearance hinders you or others from writing anything, I truly wonder how you could explain why schools and colleges are not packed with only white attractive people, or why there are millions of books published by non-white people.
    You may find her attractive, others may not, I’m not saying she is or she isn’t, the point I am making is personal appearance is an opinion, and has nothing to do with her ability to write a book, be published or not, live in a cottage, or grow potatoes.
    If you actually took the time to read the article, you would noticed the reason she had an article written about her: she did not grow up rich, she was on the edge homelessness sometimes, learned to make-do and worked sometimes two jobs in order to do so, and was able to accomplish, mostly on her own, remodeling and furnishing a mini cottage with hardly any money. Which by the way, this whole blog is about tiny homes and cottages, so no surprise this article was featured.
    You are right about one thing, yes ‘people will buy anything’, unfortunately some people will buy into your convoluted judgmental attitude.

    XsTatiC - August 19, 2010 Reply

    Wow… one of the most ignorant comments I’ve read on the internets in a very long time.

    Perhaps what you meant is that if you set your mind to it, had ambition and… you know… actually tried writing something intelligent, you could get a book deal.

    As Aria mentioned, Sandy is writing a book… no mention that she has a book deal.

    alice - August 19, 2010 Reply

    Ouch! No pouting allowed, get enough of that from the grandkid. Anyway, wish I had something nice enough to include in the book. I’ve seen quite a few books about amazing cottages and cabins so there’s definitely a market for inspiration and ideas. If the house is ‘too white’ for you why not build your own style ideas into a project and let everybody see what you can do? This is the perfect place for it, never mind the New York Times.

    Todd Foster - August 23, 2010 Reply

    Hi Angela,
    I think the point is that Sandy came from humble beginnings. Her life is not so uncommon. The story is meant to delight you. Also, the idea that if this young woman can make a dream come true, perhaps so can most of us.
    Please look forward to life and expect great things.
    There are so many non white illustrators, writers, and other figures worth looking up to. If indeed that is your need. Try google. Type in a profession you dream of and the words women of color. You should get a great start. Find one and determine how to do what it takes to get to their level! Believe in your own ability.

    Got a story to tell, find an editor that likes it. Any success story will tell you they are they because they persisted.
    Live well, Live happy
    Todd Foster

    Sandy Foster - August 23, 2010 Reply

    Dear Angela,

    My heart is filled with compassion for you. It seems to me you’ve been through difficulties too great to weather and you’re so bitter and twisted you’re reduced to venting your impotent rage on the anonymous pages of Facebook.

    You may be surprised to learn I’m of mixed race heritage, I was homeless as teen, I spent my twenties and thirties working two jobs and renovating houses, and at 42 this is my first break. I don’t even have a book deal yet, just an agent, so I’m still dreaming and keeping my day job.

    I’d like to send you a copy of my book when it comes out; please reply with a mailing address if you feel like it. It traces my journey, and will include that time when I was every bit as enraged as you and blamed my failures solely on external circumstances and warped perceptions.

    Someday, I hope you realize when you harbor bitterness, happiness docks elsewhere.

    Keep hope alive,

    Sandy Foster

Bob H. - August 19, 2010 Reply

Very nicely done cottage. I liked it, before I knew she was white. I guess it did not matter what color she was.

di - August 19, 2010 Reply

That extra gable creates a lot of space and light in the loft…

Tina - August 19, 2010 Reply

A friend sent me a link to this sweet little house.
I’m in the middle of building a tiny almost free house that will be my art studio. When I saw Sandy’s little loft bed I fell in love…. now how can I get a bed in mine…..
Many inspiring tiny houses out there.

Deb - August 20, 2010 Reply

The most important thing for my area (Cape Cod)would be to have a way of finding others who are interested in tiny houses. I raised the issue on a local website and got a few (positive) responses but when the space for the site wasn’t free anymore, the originator of the website let it go. Probably the second most important thing to know would be about zoning/building issues (the fun stuff)…maybe a list of basics re what to know and where to find it. Thanks! DLB

Parrot whisperer - August 20, 2010 Reply

Deb,I agree that giving people a way to assemble is important. I think we need to settle on a satisfactory way to allow people to form groups of one sort or another, then put it out there; it needs to be very visible.

I like the idea of a single easy (though if it is harder you just end up with more dedicated people joining the groups) thing, which anyone can do, and which leads anyone who does it to have joined their local tinyhouse group. The resulting group should have the capacity to send emails directly to group members, or people come, they might “join”, but then they leave again and are out of contact, so they might as well have not joined.

But. It doesn’t have to be facebook, and not everyone has to use the same method – as long as people form groups, that reduces the number of nodes in the network. The groups can then connect to each other, and you have a well connected network. So anything that meets the “joined and connected” criteria should work, I think.

One example is to check facebook for a group in your area.

Anastasia - April 6, 2014 Reply

I love her porch. For me, a porch that is big enough to sit in a rocking chair, with a friend by your side, while the rain pours, down, or the mist floats up, is the best and one of the most important parts of owning a house.

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