8 Challenges of Cottage Living

In a past ideabook I discussed the benefits of cottage living. Now it’s time to flip the coin, so to speak, and discuss the challenges that cottage dwellers encounter. Are these realities blessings or curses? Are they liberating or limiting?

For the purposes of this series, I am defining a cottage as a small single-family dwelling, no bigger than about 1,200 square feet. I differentiate a cottage from other small homes quite simply by its adorableness.


So let’s take the bull by the horns and start with that thorniest of challenges: kids.

We tend to think that small homes are occupied by single folk with nothing more than a bottle of wine and a loaf of bread, or empty nesters with grandchildren who live in another state. Au contraire, mon ami. Many cottage dwellers have one or more children of varying ages and sizes who share their living space.

In her blog on living small, Jennifer Langston asks that most critical of questions: “What happens when the chaos and wonder (and stuff!) that kids introduce explode all over your artfully arranged small house?”


After all, “baby plastic” (which is my husband Mike’s totally disdainful dismissal of all necessary child stuff) is a reality when you have little ones. And it’s not just toys and bins of blocks. It’s diapers, lotions, snow suits, boots and mufflers.


That said, kids just magnify what can be either the primary blessing or fundamental curse of cottage living: Cottages are, by nature, relational. (I know, I also called this a benefit of cottage living. It all depends on your point of view.)

Cottages simply do not offer multiple rooms on multiple levels where one can escape for solitude, or where one can send a recalcitrant child.


Fitting a family of four (or more) into around 1,000 square feet requires some thoughtful organization and a whole lot of cooperation from family members. Shay Solomon, a green builder and author of Little House on a Small Planet, says that the biggest challenge for most families living in small spaces is not finding room for the kids, but finding room for everybody’s clothes, books and stuff. This is complicated by the fact that most cottage closets are hardly spacious.


Then there are cottage-size bathrooms …


… and kitchens …


… and laundry rooms. I can speak with a fair amount of expertise about these challenges, since Mike and I live in a wonderful — albeit desperately dated — 600-square-foot bungalow. The kitchen is a nightmare for my husband, who loves to cook all over the kitchen, and the bathroom is the size of a postage stamp, with an old pedestal sink (old as in 1960s, not old as in charming vintage) and not a stitch of storage. Only our laundry room is spacious — and that’s because it’s across the lane and coin operated.


And then there is the challenge of fitting furniture. Finding pieces that you love can present a tricky trinity of challenges. They have to fit your budget, fit through that charming-but-nonstandard front door, and fit in the rooms of the cottage you have fallen in love with.


In your basic cottage, entertaining can require using a shoe horn to fit everyone around the table. Elbow room can be at a premium, but there’s plenty of intimacy …


… unless you happen to have a backyard and good weather, in which case a crowd can more easily be accommodated.


So what do you think? Is cottage living worth it, no matter the challenges?

It certainly takes constant assessment. What do you really need? What do you really want? How much is just right for you and your family?

Let me know your opinions! In the meantime, consider this quote from a famous (and my favorite) 19th-century preacher, Charles Spurgeon: “You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.”

More: Cottages: The Comfort Food of Architecture

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