Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Common House Design

[Mark Frauenglass (WORKGROUP/MAILDATA/Mark%Acquilano_Leslie_Inc+p]

Paul and Jay,
>"I'm inclined to think that sewing rooms, craft rooms, reading rooms, and
>kids rooms are part of most common houses and yet seem universally
underused.

The kid's room is essential.  Dinner wouldn't work without it.  Kids
generally
take about 5 minutes to eat and then start bouncing off the walls.  A place
for them to go makes dinner enjoyable for the rest of the people.

>Along these lines I would ask the following heretical question:  Given that
>it might be used for dinner only 2 nights a week, is there justification
for
>immediately building a kitchen and/or dining room in our common house?
>
>Who out there has tried to have dinner 6 nights  a week?  How many times do
>you have it now?  Do you wish you sacrificed your dining room for a workout
>room?"

We're only having dinner 1 nite a week right now, but it is the glue of the
community.
We'll go to 2 nites/wk. in January since the residents of our third building
are just
finishing moving in this month.  After each of the remaining bldgs gets
finished, more
nites will be added.  Our goal is 5 nites with occasional weekend brunches.

I would NEVER give up the dining room.  But we do have an exercise room
(unfinished)
and a hot tub is in the plans as soon as we can afford it.

Mark Frauenglass
Highline Crossing
looking forward to social hour and Friday dinner