ADU, Travel, Community
Lina Menard
Maui, Hawaii

After A Week Long Send Off, My Round the World Trip kicked off with eight days in Maui visiting my sister Sarah who has split her time between Hawaii and Alaska for many years. What an epic way to start this adventure! There was mist falling when my sister greeted me at the Kahului airport on Maui a week ago, so she teased me about bringing the rain from the mainland. We headed straight for Paia where she presented me with a young coconut and a lei, accompanied by the chant for the gifting-of-a-lei.

Maui, Hawaii
Tiny House, Travel, Planning
Lina Menard
Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla

A number of circumstances collided recently to compel me to move the Lucky Penny to my property in Walla Walla where I have a ground bound small house called Valencia Cottage. So on Tuesday trusted tiny house movers Linh and Stephanie Pham helped me move the Lucky Penny safely from Portland to my place in Walla Walla.

Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla
Minimalism, Workshop
Lina Menard
Downsizing Tune Up

As I packed up recently in preparation to travel cross country in my Honda Fit, I did some downsizing… It was harder than it had been during my last couple of moves because this time I had more stuff. I’d been living in a bigger space…My apartment was a studio, but it was still about 6 times bigger than the Lucky Penny! I talked with several people about the experience and a handful of them said “oh my goodness, I need to do more of that!” So I’ve decided to offer a 6-week Downsizing Tune Up…

Downsizing Tune Up

granny's cottage

My Summer Garden Cottage

Garden Cottage = Home, Sweet Summer Home Those of you who joined Orange Splot for the Pedalpalooza Accessory Dwelling Bike Tour or participated in Jordan Palmeri's small home tour will recognize my new digs. It's also featured in this video about the ADU Bike tour and mentioned on my post ADU Bike Tour Draws a Crowd. (Not sure what an accessory dwelling is? Check out the Accessory Dwellings website and my posts Showcasing Accessory Dwellings in Portland and A Praising Accessory Dwellings to learn more.)

I feel very lucky to be renting Bruce & Carolyn’s garden cottage this summer. It’s energy efficient and has a plethora of sustainable design features, including advanced framing, heat recovery ventilation, cellulose insulation, dual flush toilet, structurally-insulated panels for the roof, salvaged wood for cabinets, and on-demand water heating. (The house was profiled in this Ecotrope article.) But more than anything, it’s a beautiful space located in a gorgeous garden setting. Should I attribute the great feel of the cottage to the rich red stained concrete floors, the golden earth plastered walls, or the beautiful exposed laminated beams? Or perhaps the fragrance of the splendid flowers, grapes, and berries that surround the garden cottage? Or maybe the rustle of the bamboo through the open windows or the bushes and trees that provide shade and privacy? It must be the synergy of all these features.

adjustable counters enable perfect height dishwashing

Bruce and Carolyn designed this little guest house on their property for aging-in-place. See this article about it on Apartment Therapy. The open floor plan, lack of level-changes, and adjustable counter height make it accessible for people who use a wheelchair. I’ve really enjoyed the adjustable counter height because it enables me to pick the right height for the counters in my tiny house. If they don’t have to be standard height they can actually work well for my needs since I’m not quite 5’2”.

The cottage is about 600 square feet but the open floor plan and natural light make it feel spacious and comfortable. I think I'm going to really love living here!