Open Architecture Network

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
We are currently in the discussion phase of this project, but I can provide a summary of what we are doing on the farm and what we are looking for in this project. A few years ago my wife and I decided to move to a farm with her sister and husband. Our initial goals were to live sustainably off the land and in community somewhere close to our extended families. After looking at several properties within an hour of the Twin Cities we grew frustrated with trying to find a place and were gradually moving towards buying raw land and building. While we were researching design options we came across a place with 40 acres in Western Wisconsin that fit us well--10 acres of woods, an 18 acre field, a large barn and Quonset building, a garage, and a 2300 sq/f house with excellent Southern exposure and plenty of shelter to the North and East. The buildings were in good shape structurally (built entirely out of rough cut, native oak) though the house needed a lot of tweaking for our tastes. After remodeling the bathroom and living-room we added a wood stove, and a large wrap-around deck on the West and North sides with a wood-fired hot tub in the corner. We did little to the upstairs where the four bedrooms surround a small living-area. At this point my wife and I had our first child and Jay and Charis did the same a year later. We had reached a place in the house projects where we felt we could live comfortably for a while. With two baby boys taking up much of our time, we focused more on the gardens and landscaping and began to live in the house rather than work on it. Becca and I work part time in the cities, so we are really only living at the farm two out of four weeks in a month. This allows Charis and Jay a lot of time and space to themselves at the farm, and in someways makes it possible for two families to occupy a single family home. Eventually, however, Becca and I want to be at the farm full time. We have no set schedule for when this will happen (since in large part it depends on when we can make an income off the farm), but our tentative plans are for me to quit my job and live full time at the farm within the next year or two. We anticipate that when all six of us are living in the farmhouse full time it will be very crowded. It is more than possible to live in such circumstances, but we no longer find it ideal. We have realized that it is important for there to be some distinction between the community and our respective nuclear families, this being especially evident after having children. The farmhouse was not designed for two families--very few houses are. The basement is unfinished and on the ground level there is a kitchen, one small bathroom, a small guest bedroom, and a large living-room/dining-room (about 500 sq/f) with large picture windows facing the south. Upstairs there are four small bedrooms in the four corners of the house (about 120 sq/f each) with a small living area where we have a futon and TV on the South central side of the upper level. We don't want to build a separate house on the property both because it is not economical and also because it is important to us that we have shared community space such as the kitchen, dining-room, deck, etc. Another option is to add living space on to the present structure. We have discussed the possibility of remodeling the upstairs for one families private living quarters, and adding an addition onto the East side of the house for the other family. This addition would probably consist of a couple of bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small living area. We have also dreamt of the possibility of adding a large sun-room on the South side of the house which could join the addition to the shared space on the first level. The difficulties we face in this project are numerous. One, we have an undefined budget. We are unsure of how much these things generally cost, and the amount of money we have at our disposal is undefined at present. Two, as previously mentioned, the house is designed for a single family (perhaps extended family) and we anticipate it being extremely difficult to keep within the limits of the present design while radically changing its form and function. Three, we would like to do this in a sustainable way, using local, envionmentally sensitive materials whenever we can. We have no time frame for this project at present. I think we would all like to have this done sooner than later, but the present situation is not intolerable and could potentially serve us for several years. We are excited about the possibilities such a project might open up for us and are open to comments, criticisms, ideas from anyone who is interested.