house as art

As mentioned in my last post, we are debating a move to the country - to the woods to be exact. We have been studying natural building forms and searching for the right piece of land. At first we thought we wanted to be in town, but the lots are too expensive, generally very steep, and highly overpriced. So we've started to look at surrounding areas. It's difficult to find locations that are remote yet accessible, though. In addition, we have to concern ourselves with neighborhood covenants sand building restrictions in certain subdivisions. One of the things that has taken us by surprise is that some of the subdivisions in the mountains are comprised of 20 acre parcels. I've never really thought of such large parcels as being part of any subdivision, but I guess the very word "subdivision" simply implies the fact that the land used to be a large tract, and that it has since been subdivided.

And of course, there are benefits and drawbacks to being in a neighborhood with covenants. While it may prevent anyone from parking a ratty mobile home or creating their own landfill, it can also prevent us from building with whatever materials we want, or in a style or scale that we would like. Fortunately, it seems that we have found a few areas that offer the best of both worlds - the owners have pride of ownership, and yet there is a diverse size and scale of homes being built.

For example, this one neighborhood had typical suburban type homes adjacent to log cabins and a natural home with an artistic flare - complete with a bizarre elliptical roof-line and architectural shingles that crept down one side of the building. The builder also made use of a large load of native stone. I didn't really like his use of plain plywood for some of the walls, but to each his own. It could be a permanent work in progress - as are most art forms. Regardless, he's living in a neighborhood where it is allowed and nobody gives him trouble for living differently. That's what we need, too.