Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: How have things worked out

[dahako (dahako]

Hi -

We have sized down twice in cohousing.  First, my family of 4 sized 
down from a 3000+ sf 4 bedroom, 2 study, 3 bath home on 30  rural acres 
to a cohousing home with 4 bedrooms, 1 study and 1900 sf on a lot in 
Eno Commons (Durham, NC).  Then, we moved into an urban cohousing, 
Eastern Village (Silver Spring, MD), and have a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1 
study apartment that is not quite 1500 sf.  We're not quite done 
finishing the interior of our EV unit, but it is living very well 
nevertheless.

The trick to doing it successfully seems to be keeping the bedrooms and 
bathrooms as small as possible and throwing a disproportionate amount 
of space into the living/dining/kitchen space.  We also have high 
ceilings, which makes the place feel more spacious (a good thing with 
teens and pets roving around).  Another trick is to create a separation 
(a hallway, an archway, going around a corner) between the bedrooms and 
the other living spaces.  And larger households will probably want 
laundry capability inside their units.

During the design phase, two of the households at Eastern Village that 
needed larger units hired an architect with real skill at interiors to 
review the unit designs.  This was done early enough that it did not 
affect the unit costs. His changes have made all the difference in the 
livability of our units.  I think all the 3 bedroom units do have at 
least one bedroom with an en suite bathroom.  At Eno Commons, the "B" 
house design (on their website) uses a sliding door to allow part of 
the master bathroom to be separated as a powder room for guests.  I 
found that this design lived well (Thanks, Denise!).

Jessie Handforth Kome
Eastern Village Cohousing
Silver Spring, Maryland
Where my kids are in great nearby schools. We can walk to good parks, 
theaters, shops, metro, and restaurants.  And we have cohousing!