My dream home

I've come across this image pretty often on different blogs lately, and I just love it. It's my dream home: lots of white, and wood (that TABLE!), and big windows. And bookshelves covering every wall.

It looks so cozy. And perfect for entertaining. The only thing I would change is make that little nook up there a reading corner, not an actual bedroom (would prefer a separate room for that!).

Ahhh... maybe one day. For now I'm very happy with where we're living.

Guest bedroom

I'm excited about our "new" guest bedroom. It didn't take much investment, time- or money-wise, and now we have a real bed, instead of a futon, for our guests.

Basically, the only way I found to get a double bed AND a desk into that small room was to install a loft bed, i.e. a bed on stilts. (My inspiration for grown-up loft beds here.)

I found a used bed frame that I really liked and assembled it yesterday (with the help of my dad, luckily, because I don't think I could have done it alone!). I think the room looks great -- it's like the bed was made to fit that way!

But now I'm kind of curious to know who, out of our adult friends, will be willing to sleep (a) in a double bed (I'm learning that most people find it crowded in a queen-sized bed!) and (b) five feet off the ground?

I had the bed lowered by six inches so there would be more headroom above. I'm really glad I did as the ceilings are just regular height and it would have been pretty crowded up there. The bed could actually have been lowered another few inches more, but I wanted there to be enough space for us to work underneath as well. I can actually almost stand up underneath... but most people will have to stay sitting down!

What's nice about being under a double bed means we have space for a really big desk!

Total cost for our new guest bedroom: $255**

- new loft bed: $175
- new lamp for desk under bed (it's dark under there!): $30
- new desk (actually a wooden dining table that we'll be able to re-use for other purposes later): $20
- new sheer white curtains (for the window, and for closing off the office space): $30
- new bookshelf: $20
- old filing cabinet sold: -$30

ALL the "new" stuff above was purchased used (off usedottawa/kijiji/craigslist). And they're all pieces that we'll be able to re-purpose in our future home*. The lamp was a bit expensive, I have to admit, but I know this is one I'll want to keep forever - it looks really expensive and has a beautiful weighted base. [EDIT: saw this same lamp at Staples for $80! Score!] If I had bought one of those cheapo 10-dollar student lamps, I would have probably wanted to change it eventually. I'm trying to be less wasteful, and stop buying cheap stuff that I'm not happy with (see comments on that post).

*I think the loft bed would look really nice in a home with high ceilings. But it could also be used in a child's bedroom, or we could cut the legs down by two or three feet and just have a kind of high "captain's bed" with storage underneath.

**Still probably $255 more than what I should have spent considering we have a plane to pay for...

Living/Dining/Cooking Rooms

This photo represents pretty much the exact layout I'd like my future kitchen/dining/living rooms to have. I have many, many photos similar to this saved on my computer...

What I like about this one is the actual entrance way that separates the two rooms. (I don't necessarily like the colours or the furniture, though.) The kitchen with one wall of cupboards and an island too.

It's like one big great room, but there's still a separation. Our current apartment actually has this layout. I really love the fact that no matter how messy the kitchen is (me? leave unwashed dishes in the sink? never...), the first thing people see when they walk in is the living room - which is usually pretty tidy. The other day our neighbours dropped by and we spent the evening chatting on the sofa. I love it when people do that.

Makes me think that I never want to go live "out in the country", even if that's what I imagined I would do when I was younger. The longer I live in Ottawa, the more I like urban living. I love that we're close enough that no one has to go out for their way to stop in and see us. We're close to major buses, bars, restaurants, etc. Even a great bike path. Yes, apparently, being an urbanite also qualifies me for the "yuppie" label, but I'm actually starting to embrace it -- negative connotations be darned.

Rule for buying vs renting

"How can you tell if buying is a good idea or a bad one? Pelletiere invokes a rule of thumb: If your house costs more than 15 times the annual average rent for a similar place in your area, there's an excellent chance that your home is overpriced.

Here's an example to see how to figure out if your city flunks the affordability test:

In San Jose, the average cost of renting a two-bedroom house or apartment is around $1,300 a month. That's $15,600 a year you'll be spending on rent.

Buying a similar place will cost you easily $500,000 -- 32 times what you're likely to spend on rent a year. "That's an indication that the community has been subject to the speculative price bubble," says Pelletiere. Using the affordability rule, that half-million-dollar San Jose condo is really worth more like $234,000 ($15,600 x 15)."

(From this article.)

Our rent: $1100 x 12 = $13,200 x 15 = $198,000.

Can we find a home in our neighbourhood for that price? I think NOT. Better to keep renting! :)

Treehouses

Would love to go on a vacation to Treehouse Point. How romantic!

I've always loved treehouses*. I really really hope we have a tree big enough in our yard to have one later one.

(*See the Monday Morning Treehouses on this site for inspiration!!)

Books everywhere!

I loved the fact that in the movie Caché (starring Juliette Binoche), the dining room walls were covered with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

Like you're eating in the library! I think books really add character and warmth to a space. Plus, it'd be easy to just reach over, pull a book off the shelf, and strike up a conversation about it!


This photo reminded me of that movie:


I also love the kitchen in this very same home. "Organized clutter."

(Last two photos from a house tour on the Poppytalk blog.)

Actually, while on the topic of books in the dining room, I've had this photo bookmarked for a while now. (Not sure of the source.)

Buying vs renting: other arguments

So I'm pretty convinced by what I've read that financially we're not missing out by not buying right away.

There is also the fact that if we bought a house, we couldn't be close to everything the way we are now. The house we can afford to buy (in our region) might even be smaller than our apartment!

We also have so much more freedom in renting. If tomorrow morning we decide to leave for a six-month trip around the world, we can. Nor worries. If I find a dream job in BC somewhere, I can take it and not have the hassle of trying to sell our house.

So whenever I get the urge to look at houses, all I have to do is remember all of this.

Renting vs buying: the financial arguments

I love our apartment, I really do. But sometimes I feel like I should be thinking about buying a house, that all the money I'm putting into the apartment (in rent) is money wasted, and the longer I wait, the longer it'll be until I own my house. But after reading a few articles, I'm reassured. Buying a house would cost WAY more than what we pay in rent (we don't even have to pay for heating!). There are taxes to factor in, plus the cost of repairs, heat, electricity, etc. And especially: interest! A lot of articles on home ownership mentioned "don't fall for the zero-down trap!". So ideally, when we buy our house, we'll have saved up a huge amount of money to pay for most of the amount of the mortgage cash.

This article says that "theoretically there doesn’t have to be any economic difference between renting and buying. Ideally both renters and home owners should be invested in equities and real estate and will benefit if either investment class does well."

Good tips:
If you are a homeowner, you should only buy as much house as you can afford to still be able to save money and invest in equity markets. You should pay down your mortgage at a reasonable rate – 20 years maximum. In case your house value goes down the more equity you have (had) the better off you will be. If your house value goes up then you are still better off with less mortgage.

If you are a renter, you should save as much as you can (more than the home owner) and increase your asset allocation in real estate investments. You could also buy rental properties although that’s another ball game altogether. Don’t feel like you are being left behind. I honestly believe that a renter has more financial options than a home owner. The trick is to make sure you take advantage of those opportunities.

[EDIT: See also this article: "Why Renting Makes More Financial Sense than Home Ownership".

"Renting is for poor people."

True. But it's for rich people, too. [...] poor people rent modest apartments for lack of choice. Middle-income people buy houses. High-income people, presumably with a dose of financial savvy, often rent nice apartments instead of buying.]

Containers

I've been thinking about container homes for a while now. I'd love to use shipping containers to build my home. I'm sure we could make it very aesthetically pleasing too (see this article) - we can even add logs to the outside! The question is, is it possible to insulate them enough for a Canadian climate?

There's a company called DwellBox that designs and builds container homes. I found out about it through the Eco-Discovery Tour blog that I started reading after reading about it on another blog (This Tiny House) I've been following.

Although I like small homes, we discussed how many bedrooms we'd need and it looks like FIVE wouldn't be too many!! One for us, one for guests, one as an office, and one for each of the kids (depends on how many we have...). I think what we'll aim for is a not-too-big house, i.e., not tiny, but no wasted space. I don't want two living rooms, two kitchens, etc. Every space used efficiently. And bedrooms (for one person or for guests) don't have to be bigger than 12 x 12, really. That was the size of my bedroom growing up and it was perfectly fine!

Ahh, a house. What a huge project.

Mud House

Beautiful house - made of mud and straw bales!!

Buying a house differently...

Pre-fab house + cheap lot in Little Italy (15 min walking distance from work)?

1000 square feet

I love the idea of this house. (Read about it here.)

Hope we can do something like that - simple, efficient, small - with our house.

Vivre à la campagne?

Je viens de tomber sur un article intéressant sur la vie en région. (À lire aussi : les commentaires!)

Je pense souvent à déménager. À vivre n'importe où sauf ici. (Même si la capitale du Canada a souvent été classée comme une des meilleures villes.) Mais je me demande si je m'y plaiserais vraiment plus... j'ai tout ce qu'il faut ici : des centres de parachutisme, des parents qui habitent proche-mais-pas-trop-proche, des activités culturelles à n'en plus finir, des pistes cyclables, des parcs. (Et surtout : pas plus que ce qu'il faut! Pas de 2e voiture, pas de grand terrain à tondre, etc.)

"Il y a un mythe qui veut que la vie soit plus belle hors des grands centres. En banlieue, à la campagne - enfin partout sauf en ville -, c'est la paix, l'air pur, les vastes espaces verts où la main de l'homme n'a pas encore posé le pied.

S'exporter loin des grosses agglomérations qui puent, c'est dire "Oui, je le veux!" à un mode de vie plus sain.

Le mythe de la belle vie en région n'est ni tout à fait faux ni tout à fait vrai.

Certes, à l'échelle individuelle, la vie rurale a ses avantages: calme, nature, accès plus facile à la propriété. Mais si l'on observe les choses en mode macro, la dispersion de la population sur un vaste territoire est loin d'être une solution durable. Sur le plan écologique, c'est même une catastrophe. Croyez-le ou non, la ville a un avenir plus vert que la région.

C'est n'est pas moi qui le dit, mais l'ONU, qui soutenait dans son récent rapport État de la population mondiale 2007/Libérer le potentiel de la croissance urbaine: "Les villes offrent de meilleures chances de durabilité à long terme".

Grâce aux villes, la moitié de l'humanité occupe moins de 3 % de la surface émergée de la planète. Cela contribue à sacrer patience aux milieux naturels. Bon point.

En revanche, hors des villes, chaque tartempion possède son terrain gazonné, sa tondeuse, son barbecue, sa thermopompe, son bungalow. Les habitations, plus spacieuses que nécessaire, pompent plus d'énergie pour le chauffage et la climatisation. Résultat: l'habitant des régions occupe sur la Terre plus de place que le citadin.

Mais surtout, à l'extérieur des villes, l'automobile n'est pas une coquetterie. C'est une obligation. Parce que les distances à couvrir sont plus grandes, parce qu'il n'existe souvent aucun système de transport en commun, il faut brûler du pétrole pour se rendre au travail, à l'épicerie, au Wal-Mart, à l'aréna, chez le coiffeur. Partout. Résultat: le citoyen motorisé des régions produit plus de gaz à effet de serre que le citadin. [...]"

Une "résignation tranquille"

Ce texte dans Le Devoir d'aujourd'hui me rappelle ce que Marc Garneau nous a dit lors de sa conférence à l'Université d'Ottawa en avril dernier. En réponse à une question au sujet de l'exploration de la planète Mars, il a lancé que s'il y avait vraiment une volonté de se rendre sur Mars, nous y serions déjà arrivés.

J'ai un peu l'impression que nous vivons maintenant dans une époque où nous pouvons tout faire : ce n'est pas la technologie qui nous impose des limites, mais bien les dirigeants et leur soif de l'argent.

"Notre gouvernement fédéral, sous la direction de M. Stephen Harper, travaille très fort à ce que nous reculions le plus possible dans les domaines de l'énergie et de la lutte contre les changements climatiques, mais est confronté à la vision de M. Obama. Quel dilemme que d'obéir à Obama et en même temps aux patrons qui financent ses campagnes, c'est-à-dire les compagnies d'hydrocarbures et les banques!"

C'est triste :

"Alors que dans les années 1960 on nous proposait des projets d'avenir, en 2009 on nous propose des projets des années 1960!"

Je pense que j'aurais aimé vivre la Révolution tranquille : ça a dû être une époque vraiment magique, où tout change et on est plein d'espoir pour l'avenir. Aujourd'hui, nous avons réussi à élaborer toutes sortes d'énergies "alternatives" mais elles ne semblent être adoptées que par les granos. La résignation de Monsieur Tout-le-monde. Entre deux options, la plus facile à choisir est toujours le "statu quo"...

Inspiration for our home

http://www.sunset.com/home/architecture-design/great-small-home-design-ideas-00400000047280/

My future house

Alternative energy for my home: not as expensive as they say!