Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Reality Questions for our new Common House!

[E Kay Argyle (kay.argyle]

Wasatch Commons in Salt Lake is in a suburban working-class neighborhood. The 
common house is (supposed to be) locked except during events. Someone (rotating 
monthly) is assigned to double-check every night that all doors are locked.
 
If you are like most communities, you'll find that very few events draw the 
entire community -- in fact, as time goes by, few draw more than half. It's 
nice to have capacity for absolutely everyone, but the great majority of the 
time you won't need it. (In fact, a dining room that seats fifty can seem 
awfully echoey for fifteen diners.)
 
Our coat hooks are two levels, shoulder-high for adults and waist-high for 
kids. (The hooks on the lower rack are animal heads -- elephants, horses, 
flamingos, rhinos, camels.). There are maybe half as many hooks as residents, 
quite adequate for most occasions. A rolling clothes rack (with hangers) comes 
out a few times a year for large events.
 
In the winter we put carpet runner near the door for people to leave snowboots 
on. I suspect we have a lot less mud than rural New England, however. 
 
Kay