After seeing its progress on the At Home blog, we were all anxious to see how Lyndsey Lewis’ adventures in green design would turn out. Finally, in July’s “Green Living” issue, we got to see the final result of all her hard work. So we asked Lyndsey to come back to the At Home blog and tell us what it’s like living in Little Rock’s adorable Little House! Take it away, Lyndsey!
The little house project was less about downsizing my stuff and more about restyling my life. The process of building (and blogging) my home really woke up my left brain and reminded me to make time to be creative.
With less time spent working (or driving to work) and less money going to housing, I’m free to try out new things. My garden, started from seeds, has been a success! Not only does it provide fresh, organic groceries, but it makes the yard look like a domestic oasis.
Cooking has always been a hobby, but it has a whole new dimension now that I’m using produce from the garden. I also experimented with sewing (see kitchen café curtains), which is frustrating, challenging, and extremely satisfying when things actually turn out (mostly) correct.
Living in the little house, I really challenged myself to redesign the norms of my day-to-day tasks. For instance, caring for the ‘girls’ (see photo above) reminds me to think twice before choosing meat over other foods. I also try to make time to walk to work in the mornings now that I’m living close to work.
Even the way I do my laundry has been modified. Most of the time, the sun does the work instead of my dryer. Besides saving electric energy, there’s something really pleasant about watching clothes flutter on the line.
Having less space has meant buying less stuff. I’m struggling to master the art of window shopping. However, I do not count bartering as shopping. Mandy Keener (At Home Stylist) swapped me an awesome pillow (see photo above) for a box of glass pharmacy decanters like the one on my side table. I rescued the containers from the ‘toss’ pile at work…And voila! I now have style in the living room for free. (Thanks Mandy!)
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For more info, plus more photos of Lyndsey’s little house, read the full story on the At Home website here. To read about the making of, check out Lyndsey’s previous blog posts here.
