by Ann Reynolds
As an architect, my best ideas emerge from restriction, and my best clients have always been those with limited resources. What I hadn’t planned on though, was becoming my own worst client.
In this last recession, I lost everything, including my job. I was forced to sell my properties fully furnished, just to close the deal. The heartbreaker was losing the 1700 square foot warehouse loft I’d renovated into a stunning art gallery. Before I laid the carpet, I in-line skated the full seventy-foot length a couple times just for fun.
This sale too, would only close if everything on the walls were part of the deal. I lost most of my art collection, and valuable pieces I bought in India, Nepal, and Thailand. I fit my bike, my saddle, and my clothes into a Minivan and moved from the Bay Area to another state, hoping to buy a property with cash.
But one disaster after another cost me more money. When a water main exploded under the floor of my rental unit, the flood destroyed everything I’d just bought at Wallmart. I couldn’t get a loan anymore, so I moved back to California to hunt for income.
This time, I rented an even tinier place, and furnished it with “elegance” from Goodwill. At first, my tiny Sausalito houseboat studio seemed idyllic, until I started unpacking. My frustration quickly turned into huge appreciation for Kent Griswold’s site, and all the clever people featured in it. Tiny houses always seemed so romantic, so practical, so “green.” What was my problem?
As I confronted the most challenging space planning of my career, the reality of my losses hit me like a tsunami. So I focused on the stability of the horizon and the future, like I did when two of us crossed the Pacific from California to Hawaii in a thirty-foot boat.
The day finally came when I could navigate my studio and actually find something. I found something else too. I could be happy with a whole lot less and live on another boat that was going nowhere.
Yours is a beautiful story.
It resonates with me very much, as I too have lost everything in tsunami waves of repeated disaster, now reside in a postage stamp sized palace of thrift store treasures.
Your house boat has so much character.
The fiery crucible that boils you down to bones, makes the richest cup of stock.
I love how you’ve handled both your circumstance, and the constraints of your space. Living tiny and finding room for the the things that are both useful and loved, make Rubik’s Cube master’s of us all, if we are to succeed.
Emo Rubik would be proud, you clearly rose to the challenge with grace.
Congratulations on holding it together after losing so much. You have strength and courage. Regarding your small home; How do you get into your loft? I don’t see a ladder.
How do you get to the loft? What does bath and kitchen look like? outside view?
Isn’t a spot in Sausalito expensive?
Congrats on your warm taste…I wouldn’t want to leave!!!
Thanks for you comments Patty. Your comment was a fine gift on this, of all days! The houseboat had a typical wood “ship’s ladder” that I found clumsy to navigate around. I store my bikes below the loft, and it’s where I do most of my work. I use a collapsing, lighter weight, Home Depot “OSHA approved” step stool that I store during the day. The last jump I do myself!
hi ann,
hats off to you for your perseverance and unwavering belief in your ability to turn it around! i notice you said you have added your website but somehow i have missed it?
we are building a tiny house where we live in ecuador and i would love to see a floor plan of your apartment? you certainly have a talent for innovation..
thanks for sharing,
sandy
Thanks for your generous reply, CDW! To be compared to Erno Rubik is humbling, and not deserved. It is, however, a great description of the impossible task I thought I faced as an architect with this space. To give your more perspective, I’ve added my website so you can see how huge a Cube it was!
Such a heartbreaking story. You must be a strong person because a weak person wouldn’t have bounced back. Very inspirational. Thanks for sharing.
I’m not sure I’ve bounced yet . . . again I just focus on the horizon. I can state however, that the comments to my story have affected me considerably. If anyone is to be credited for offering me a bouncing opportunity, it’s all of you that took the time to comment. Thank you!
Personally from the pictures I saw. I’d prefer your boat that goes nowhere, to the 1700 sq ft. loft. Too open and sparse for my taste. And can just image what the heat bills were.
Fortunately Dominick, I’ve got a lot of experience in passive solar and ventilation. My lighting installation of MR-16 display fixtures gave off a lot of radiant heat projected down to the floor. This part of California doesn’t get as cold as other parts of the US, and I spent most of my time up in the floating wood loft over the stairway with a space heater. I built it 30″ above the finished floor, so the ceiling was not far away.
Your journey is inspiring. Please keep us updated. I love reading about people boldly downsizing.
Dee, I’d like to comment my move was “bold” but it felt more like a whimper. One event that keeps me “afloat” is the short walk through the park from my boat to the local cafe for the best breakfast in Marin. I am so lucky to be here!
Your touching story is more about the importance about owning the bank instead of the bank owning us. Downing-sizing our homes is a fast way of accomplishing this goal. The loss of your art collection would have been my ultimate killer yet you still found the inner strength to let go. When this lesson is carried across the board in life, now that’s REAL growth. While we’re all guilty of enjoying our stuff, in the end of end it’s how we lived life and the relationships we forged that’s the measure of who a person really is & was. It’s been such a pleasure meeting a person who learned this sooner than later. Now if only more would listen to you. You’ve certainly helped this reader to stay focused on the things that matters most.
Yes Bob, losing my art (including my own) and most of my collection came real close. But hey, when you’re a wealthy dude in Marin County, California, shopping for a “killer deal”, it’s all about “the take-down”. Guess I’m down, but not out . .
After personally being stripped down, hosed off by God (the universe to some), coming out on the other side whole with a clearer perspective of life on this blue marble turns out to be the greatest gift of all. Appreciation, gratitude and a graciousness towards my fellow inhabitants of this world could quite possibly be ALL that is necessary to experience sustained contentment and moments of happiness. We all need to be taken to “the woodshed” to some degree or another. It makes for a better human experience. Blessings to each of you.
“hosed off by God” – that made me chuckle and how true!!!
Scott, thanks for posting your story. I’m not sure I’m ready to renovate a woodshed yet, but I just might . . sounds like fun!
Ann,I could be wrong, but I do believe that he is relating to being”taken to the woodshed”, as in the olden days, when your Father took you to the woodshed, make you cut a twitch(branch) and paddled your behind as a punishment,LOL
Thank You for your comments. I needed a reminder that, sometimes by “God Grace,” my greatest blessings and growth, have been in disguise, appearing in my bleakest hours.
To Scootth, I Replied to a comment you wrote to Ann Reynolds, but I am not sure if I sent it correctly.
For years I drove past those tiny little Sausalito houseboats, dreaming of living a smaller,simpler life. As I work my way toward Tiny House living, your article provides information and inspiration! Thank you.
Kay, the houseboats in Sausalito are experiencing “gentrification”, due to County funds allocated to upgrade the area. Higher taxes will force many to sell, and much of the character of houseboat living will follow them out . . .
I spent a beautiful 15 years living in San Francisco before I finally decided it was simply not sustainable. I lived in a great, tiny one bedroom apartment that sold four times while I lived there, driving up the price of the building each time. By the last sale, there was no way the owner could make any money unless he renovated the units into condos, evicting us in the process. The Bay Area is a beautiful place, but it does not want or try to keep working class or even middle class people. It saddens me that the historic waterfront of Sausalito is also falling prey to market forces, but I am glad for you that you were able to secure a fantastic little bit of it for however long you can enjoy it!
You know what? I like your houseboat photos better than that 1700 square foot space. The houseboat exudes warms and creativity to me! I love it and your story. I am sorry that you suffered so much loss but now you have found even more.
“The greatest wealth, is to live content with little”. Plato
I am downsizing myself, stuff is just that, stuff. Less stuff, less clutter, more creativity flows freely. 😉 Enjoy life!
Sue, I admit most of my angst has been related to my “identity”, based on how we were trained to think about ourselves. If you view my website, you’ll see how far I consider myself to have “fallen”, but that’s all based on the opinions of others, and not my own. As mentioned however, I can’t turn down even the smallest design challenge. Never have, never will!
Ann, What is the name of your web site that you mention in this story? I would like to check it out.
“If you view my website, you’ll see how far I consider myself to have “fallen”, but that’s all based on the opinions of others, and not my own. ”
You are inspiring.
Thank you,
Anne
Anne, I don’t like to promote my website or my work, unless I wish to add perspective to my current story. This should do it, thanks for your compliment!
Healthy transition. What’s the problem?
exactly . .
Love your 238sf ideas! I’ve been watching this site for almost a year now and have to say, it was a jolt to see pictures of your former 1700sf after admiring your cozy current abode. My first reaction to the 1700sq was that it looked like a public meeting room of a community bank or medical facility. I hope your are as happy about your smaller space as I was that you shared the pictures. Thank you for them and best of luck forevermore. Carol
Carol, one commenter loved the loft, whereas you think it’s sterile. The problem with photos is the absence of experience however. The associate of my realtor that represented me in the sale commented about the loft, “It’s so healing”. I still don’t know why she said that!
I can see why you loved the loft. It’s beautiful. Bravo to you for taking life’s punches and coming out a winner with your new tiny home.
Thank you! My soul went into it . .
A wonderful story, and wonderful responses.
Thank you for inspiring a lot more people than myself!
Much of the problem is unfortunately a lack of cleverness and efficiency that many designers have. Their brains have been trained to view themselves as “gods”, rather than adhering to Mies Van Der Rohe’s famous quote “god is in the details”. Because I worked for an architect in New Mexico who was a protegee of Mies, I learned to train my brain differently. What was great about the architect I worked for, was the walls in his studio were bare, with the exception of one clock on the wall with no numbers. I learned a lot from that!
Downsizing is not easy…but it’s doubly difficult when it happens TO you by force of circumstance, rather than by choice. However, your talent for creating beautiful spaces remained, and your new home shows that you retained both good taste and a keen eye for finding the ‘good stuff’ that abounds in our second hand economy! Thank you for sharing your story with us…it just goes to show that the human spirit remains strong, even in difficult times.
Thanks for noticing! In my world travels, many locals commented on how much abundance we in the US assume is our right to have plenty of. This isn’t my first remodel from Wallmart or Goodwill. When I was a senior design associate for an international architectural firm, I was asked by the head of design to renovate their corporate condo. A place called “Target” had just opened, which he pronounced “Tar-jay”. The budget was nothing, and Corporate loved it. . . .
On the bright side your art collection wasn’t lost like it would have been had a flood, hurricane or tornado taken it. It has found a new home and new admirers.
It no longer owns you.
That’s a good point THT, however the individual that bought the two warehouses, one of which was this loft, didn’t care about my art and cultural collectibles. This person was doing the complete opposite of what all of us here are doing. It’s called greed, and has nothing to do with art appreciation. That’s what hurt the most . .
Ann, I think a lot of us can relate to some of what you have been through. In the end, it’s stuff, though, and while you are still breathing, you are still blessed. I wish you well and hope renewed success is out there looking for you. 🙂
Irene
Thank you Irene . . you made my day!
Ann, I’m so sorry to hear what you’ve been through.
It seems though that this will not be the end of your story – maybe you have to compress before expanding again, like breathing.
So you lost Papa Bear, and you’re trying to get used to Baby Bear, and maybe Mama Bear is your style and will arrive later.
You are the homeowner and the architect; just curious? – the floor lamp in the galley would drive me crazy. 😉
Carla, no, I don’t own the houseboat. As mentioned, banks don’t love me anymore, and I’ve been living off the proceeds of liquidating my real estate in multiple states for six years since losing my job. So far, I’ve not found another job, or even clients. My story is like a lot of people out there, so I do have company! You comment about the galley lamp is hilarious! I hate it too, but the galley has no real lighting. On the creative side however, the lamp you see next to the Eero Saarinen dining table (great find at Goodwill!) is a CD tower, which cost me $2.98 at the same Goodwill store. The shade I tripped over at Ross, and strung an extension cord up to the top and tucked into one side. I sure hope that’s not the one you don’t like 🙂
” I’ve been living off the proceeds of liquidating my real estate in multiple states for six years since losing my job. So far, I’ve not found another job, or even clients. My story is like a lot of people out there ”
No. Your story is NOT like a lot of other people out there.
Pray tell, how much is the rent or lease on a Sausalito floating property or houseboat?
It is not cheap as in scraping by.
It reads to me as if there was no money ever saved and foreign travels and art and adventure and a California lifestyle sucked it all up. So now you van relate to the blue collar crowd ?
Reads to me like you landed on your feet as good as before without the art and other frivolties.
Six years without work in the area would have most moving to find some type of work.
blog blog blog….
DeWhit, my “world travels” were a year hitch-hiking Europe on nothing. I slept in pastures, and almost froze to death in one of them. The plane ticket was paid for by bartending. When I got to Rome, I quit, knowing $300 was my airfair back to the US. The second trip was another hitch-hike from San Diego to Hawaii as crew. I worked my *off in a health food store to fly back to the US. The third one year trip to the Mid and Far East was on $3000 I saved from ten years of employment. Nights were spent in “crocodile lodges” and third class trains, where I was robbed of everything. I never had any money in the bank until I got a lucky break in Denver with a large firm. Then Denver crashed, the office closed, and my boss took me with him to San Francisco to continue working for him. A year later, the office shut down, and we were all put on the street in 15 minutes with boxes and severance packages. I opened my own office with a “partner”, got my first client, only to have my partner take off with the money. I moved to Marin County, lived in a beach house, with an hour to the commuter lot. $8000 in the bank was the most money I’d ever seen in my life, and it scared the hell outta me, so I bought the Motley Fool Investment Guide, read it on the bus, opened a Schwab account and began day trading. My plan was to be the Biggest Loser at losing, but I failed. In six months, I’d made $80,000 and enough down payment for the cheapest house in Marin. I got another loan and bought a fixer-upper in Sonoma. No bathroom or kitchen for 6 months. I found a “killer deal” in Park City Utah by shopping online. I started a guest business in it, ran it remotely, had a day job, and bought two run-down warehouses I renovated on nights and weekends. When the 2008 recession hit, I lost my job and was forced to sell. I moved to Park City, hoping to float the guest business and find more clients, but after a year and a half, the HOA dues hit almost $600 a month, and I couldn’t find work. I was lucky to sell in a foreclosure market and moved to Tucson, where I thought I could find clients, work, or a cheap real estate bargain. When I couldn’t get a loan, I spent a year and a half agonizing about paying all the cash I had left, but I still couldn’t find work. So I went back to California because the economy was better and so was opportunity. This tiny space on the houseboat was the cheapest I could find, and a fast commute to San Francisco where the jobs are. It’s not much more than my rent in Tucson. So three states and six years later, I’m still working my * off to survive. Please wish me what luck you may have to spare . .
Yes. I must have misunderstood your posting as it compares to items of your published background.
I missed the other posts here of persons on these small housing threads that own their own racehorses and fly off to Boca Raton to help another ‘starving artist ” publicize their art.
The mention of wanting to be on the losing side of day trading, but making a nice windfall must really be the stuff of bad dreams. please.
You were dealt a handful of trump cards in your earlier day, but come across here as secretly wanting all along to have a simpler life.
At least this entry was also custom made to the reading audience.
I really admire your resilience and have also suffered great material loss in my life, but have realized after nearly dying from a post-surgical infection, that at the end of the day, it is just stuff.You can’t take it with you….Your new home is so much cozier, and it looks like a cool neighborhood.The most difficult loss for me, would be the art.I have recently taken up painting, and although I give away most of my work, it isn’t always easy…
Carolyn, I am very sympathetic you your health issue, and I’ve heard many people comment that their health is always more important than their stuff. Losing one’s health lingers, stuff does not.
Carolyn, a friend just sent me a link to a TEDx talk. The speaker experienced a similar challenge, and it motivated her to live a Tiny House Life:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A47JaOMDH4c
I love the hosed off by God (Universe) comment. I have also been hosed down and lost my art collection. I am now living a deeper and older dream in a small place on 5wooded acres. A change in career is working for now. Your space is glorious and in an upscale area. Good luck to you.
Thanks Rebecca, I appreciate your best wishes!
Interesting story, next time I’m in Marin I’d love to have breakfast at your “best breakfast place” and I’ll buy – the Sausalito houseboats sound like the same thing that happened to those in Key West.
Joe3, here’s a link for you:
http://www.baysidecafe-sausalito.com/
I got hit by a car in Feb. I live in a little 1 bedroom apt & cant even use the bedroom – I could lay down in bed but getting up is an issue.
So my apt is a kitchen/living room, a bathroom & small laundry room. What more do I need? I don’t own a TV. I have a great radio station & too many computers. :)))
Dewy, so many are in there with you right now. I might suggest you follow Invisible People, a website started by Mark Horvath. His cause has generated a huge following, and he’s campaigning for housing to those that don’t want the “standard venue”. Here’s a link for you: http://invisiblepeople.tv/blog/about/
Hang in there, and create your own environment, in whatever way gives you pleasure . . .
I like your boat that is going nowhere Ann! Sometimes, what first appears as a huge setback in life turns out to be a blessing in disguise.
This is one of my favorite blogs that I follow! I’m becoming more of a minimalist with each passing day. Now, if I can only get my husband and kids on board!
Heather, if I’m lucky in any way, it’s that I don’t have “family” in tow to argue with my design choices! Does that mean I’m ahead, or behind?
Hi Ann,
Kudos to you for this remarkable recovery and for sharing your story. I am in a situation that requires downsizing to adjust to a household of additional family members. Much of what I see on downsized places works well with a clean, modernist aesthetic or a minimalist rustic one. My family has strong preferences for traditional furnishings and architecture. All those over stuffed settees, moldings, and pediments, etc. require a lot of extra space. Have you (or anyone else on here who may be reading this) come across any resources for small, economical living within a traditional style? I am just beginning my search on this subject and haven’t found anything like that yet. The proportions that seem required for referencing historical style are not showing up in these tiny spaces. Any hints, links, resources along those lines would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance, ~S. Abbott.
Abbot, without viewing your particular tastes, I would recommend what many have created with “prefab” assembled housing. These users have an appreciation for what I think you’re looking for.
Hey there, I love the design for your small living space. I’m a college student looking to make a tiny house and this is a very inspiring design. Thank you so much for sharing!
Duncan, what I would highly recommend is you avoid the historic tragedy known as “obstructed view”. Whatever location you choose, do what you can with your local planning department, design review board, etc. to insure your selected location and the enjoyment of your view, whether sunrise or sunset, is not destroyed by your neighbors. Shortly after I posted my contribution to Tiny House, my neighbor completely obstructed the beautiful Marin sunset you see in my photos, with a cheap piece of unpainted lattice from the local hardware store, tied with string . . .