BIG IDEAS/small spaces

It’s natural to be curious about what a house looks like on the inside, especially one that you may have watched in its progression. Your imagination is piqued: you can get a sense of what the floor plan might be like, but wonder what creative solutions the architects and builders choose to incorporate, especially if it’s a modest-sized house. Now, what if this said house is a Habitat for Humanity House?  This same curiosity applies, yet may be heightened, as many are aware that volunteers from the community, and the future family of the home, build the Habitat for Humanity homes. 

This month, Columbia County Habitat for Humanity is putting the final touches on their third and fourth recently built homes; both are part of the Phase II Columbia Street Campaign in Hudson, NY.

What’s evident to the curious passerby of these homes?

Homes three and four are Federal style 

attached single-family townhouses. Their architectural style and features are in keeping with existing homes and buildings on Columbia Street and last year’s Habitat homes (Columbia Street Phase I, homes one and two) further up Columbia Street. As the sign in front of the homes indicates, many local businesses and organizations have made contributions in the form of goods, services and money—90% of these businesses are from Columbia County according to Brenda Adams, executive director of the Columbia County Habitat for Humanity.

If you look a little closer?

Each home is a standard 1,200 square foot home, shared Adams, featuring three bedrooms and a full bathroom on the second floor, a kitchen, living/dining space, and a ground floor gathering room and laundry room. They have curbside appeal.

What’s not so evident to the curious passerby?

These homes were built by hundreds of volunteers and the family who will own it. One of the benefits of having the homeowner contribute 300 hours of sweat-equity is that they gain an understanding of their house: how it was built, the materials used, what the systems are, and the proper use of tools.

Additionally, each homes’ open floor plan on the ground level allows for easy maneuverability and exudes a sense of spaciousness. The staircase leading to the second floor is much wider than most, allowing for furniture to be moved in easily and is partially open to the living area.  The architects also designed the house to adapt to the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA). The gathering room and laundry room can be converted into a bedroom and a bathroom to meet ADA handicap accessibility standards.

These homes also set a new standard for the Columbia County Habitat builds: they built the homes with studs 24” on center rather than 16” on center, which means they used less lumber in the framing; the windows are double paned and placed for beneficial cross-ventilation and more insulation and vapor barriers were used. In doing so, these homes will use less energy to heat and cool them and meet the new higher Energy Star ratings. They are eco-friendly and therefore, economically friendly for the new homeowners.

The Columbia County Habitat for Humanity not only builds decent affordable homes for qualifying working families in need of a “hand up, not a hand out,” they also sell the home to the family with a no-interest 30-year loan. They are putting “lights on the street,” meaning houses, remarked Adams, as vacant lots or abandoned buildings are brought back onto the tax rolls.

Creative fundraising and community awareness are important in the success of these builds. Past events have included: a fashion show, a book reading, brunches and luncheons with guest speakers, and they launched the ReStore in Hudson, selling quality, donated and surplus used building materials, furniture and appliances at a reduced price.

This March, in keeping with their creative fundraising and community awareness approach, a “BIG IDEAS/small spaces” new style designer showhouse will be open for public viewing in the 240 Columbia Street house. According to Adams, this idea is the “brain child of Timi Bates,” owner of Interiors by Timi in Hillsdale, NY.

Bates said that designers from the area are participating in this showhouse and have agreed to keep the design/staging of the rooms “realistic” given the scope and premise of the project and organization.  Elaine Santos and Marc Bailey from Dennis Wedlick Architect; Melissa Cranna from Herrington’s; Lynn Opper of Opper Architectural Design & Consulting; Joyce Goldstein, Joyce Goldstein Gallery; Mitchell Motsinger of Sew & Sew by Mitchell; Shari Kline of Traditions; Karen Cedar, Karen Cedar Custom Interiors; Melinda Slover and Jasmine Northrup from liliandloo; Rick Lofreddo of Custom Crafters; Lowes; and Jessica Willis of the ReStore, are all contributing to the showhouse.

As the current trend in home building is towards smaller, environmentally green, versatile spaces, it will be interesting to see how this group of talented designers will choose to decorate and stage this Habitat home.  It’s likely that those who visit will walk away inspired.

Home ownership is an accomplishment, especially one that you helped to build. It’s something to take pride in and to value.  The hard work and effort of all those involved is evident in these Habitat homes. With the addition of a designer showhouse, we can see the potential of “BIG IDEAS/small spaces” proving that good things come in small packages!

                            
Dates & Times

Showhouse dates: March 24, 25,30, 31 and April 1, 10-4 p.m., admission $10.  A cocktail party is scheduled for Saturday, March 24th^,, 5 p.m., admission $30. March 30th, Meet the Designers Night” 4-5:30, admission $20.  All proceeds benefit the Columbia County Habitat for Humanity.

This posting is also published in the current, March, issue of Berkshire HomeStyle Magazine. You can also read it online at www.berkshirehomestyle.com.

                                                                             ~                              

On a Personal Note

A few years ago, a friend (and coworker) of mine, Florence Kirtsos, and I volunteered and worked on the first Columbia County for Habitat Women's Build.  It was a truly amazing and challenging experience for us. For additional information, or to volunteer for the next upcoming build, please contact www.columbiacountyhabitat.org and let them know that you read my story. 

Feng Shui: The Art of Placement

水  木  火  大    金

Water    Wood   Fire    Earth     Metal

As you walk into a house or room, you like it and feel comfortable. Maybe it’s the layout, the use of colors, placement of furniture and the selection of meaningful objects and art.  Clearly, the homeowner has good taste and an inherent sense of style. They may have also had a wonderful architect, designer or decorator; or, they have both a good sense of style and also utilized the services of a specialist. There’s another possibility, and that is the knowledge or engagement of services of a feng shui practitioner.

What’s feng shui?

                                               

Feng shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement that dates back more than 3,000 years, and is founded on the study of the land, and wind & water  (feng=wind, shui=water) and the benefits that could be harnessed from them. It later evolved to include dwellings and rooms within.

What is the purpose of feng shui? 

Feng shui is based on the belief that each dwelling or room has ch’i, meaning energy, and its flow through a dwelling and room. Feng shui’s purpose is to harness the ch’i in a beneficial way and to find a balance. Too little energy (ying) or too much energy (yang), as one can surmise, is not good.  Energy affects how we think and feel.  We want to have harmonious environments in which we live, and productive environments where we work.  Striking a balance of energy with placement of furniture, use of colors and meaningful objects will help “encourage” happiness, health and prosperity for those who live and work in a balanced environment.  To do so, feng shui manages the five elements that we should always have in mind when harmonizing our dwellings or rooms: water, wood, fire, earth and metal.  Each of these elements move in different ways (ying & yang) and can affect how the energy (ch’i) of a room or dwelling moves.

The three basic schools of feng shui are: the Form School (the energy and relationship of mountains, rivers, roads and placement of structures); the Compass School (the use of a compass called a luo pan, incorporating birthdates and gender to locate “auspicious” corners of a dwelling or room), and the Black Hat School (utilizes a ba-gua, which is chart with eight sections that represent the eight “stations” of life; the entrance the dwelling or room is the starting point when using the ba-gua).

Elisa Cashiola is a feng shui consultant. She works with Mara Handy, a residential and commercial interior architecture and design specialist and owner of Marais Creative in Great Barrington, MA.  Elisa recently spoke with me about feng shui and the art of placement. When you enter Marais Creative, you get that feeling that I described in the opening sentence—you like it; it feels welcoming. 

Elisa utilizes the ba-gua when working with clients to help harmonize their environments. She explained that when using the ba-gua, it’s important to use the main door of the dwelling or room as the starting point for the chart. When I asked her why the front door, even if it’s the door we don’t often use, she informed me that, “The front door is the door that receives opportunity, and if we don’t use it, we’ll have missed opportunities.” It also receives the ch’i. She further explained that as you enter, the energy moves in a clockwise movement.  The ba-gua can also be applied to each room in the house, as well as your office and your desk.

To illustrate the feng shui design concepts Elisa showed me the chart (ba-gua) that employs the five elements: water, wood, fire, earth and metal. Water feeds wood, wood creates fire, fire makes earth, earth forms metal (rocks) and metal directs water. Do you see the flow of the energy? Colors also play an important role as well. Have I lost you?  The placement of these elements and use of these colors will help the flow of energy in the dwelling or room, therefore, creating an auspicious environment for that station or part of life.

If it’s still confusing, don’t worry; there are experts who can assist you in optimizing the energy of your environment.  If that’s not your cup of tea, then you can always rely on your own intuition and design sense, or engage the services of an architect, designer or decorator to assist you—all very good options. If feng shui is your cup of tea, you can speak with Elisa, a certified feng shui consultant, and Mara Handy, a specialist in interior architecture and design, and get the complete package! They really are a knowledgeable team. And, given the current state of affairs, that might be a very wise thing to do in this very auspicious Year of the Dragon!

Marais Creative is located at 70 Railroad Street in Great Barrington, MA.