Making the Most of Our Little House in the Big Woods

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Kerri and Dale’s small summer cabin turned out to be a perfect full-time residence. It has become their little house in the big woods.
Kerri and Dale’s small summer cabin turned out to be a perfect full-time residence. It has become their little house in the big woods.
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Kerri and Dale start the day comfortably outdoors.
Kerri and Dale start the day comfortably outdoors.
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Kerri and her husband, Dale, on the deck of their Little House in the Big Woods.
Kerri and her husband, Dale, on the deck of their Little House in the Big Woods.
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An open floor plan makes the kitchen and living rooms feel more spacious.
An open floor plan makes the kitchen and living rooms feel more spacious.
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The covered porch adds important living space that can be used for evenings with friends or to enjoy a quiet moment outside.
The covered porch adds important living space that can be used for evenings with friends or to enjoy a quiet moment outside.
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Lots of light and a high ceiling make for an inviting freestanding office.
Lots of light and a high ceiling make for an inviting freestanding office.
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Carefully selected decorative items make the home more cozy without adding clutter.
Carefully selected decorative items make the home more cozy without adding clutter.
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The deck in back is half the size of the house, and adds valuable space for relaxing and entertaining, as well as nurturing an assortment of potted plants.
The deck in back is half the size of the house, and adds valuable space for relaxing and entertaining, as well as nurturing an assortment of potted plants.
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Inside and out, “a place for everything, and everything in its place” is the author’s motto.
Inside and out, “a place for everything, and everything in its place” is the author’s motto.

Remember the game of Twister? You put your feet and hands on different colored circles, which sometimes ties the players up in knots, and if you fall off of the space, you lose.

Often when I’m getting up for a bowl of ice cream in the evening, or especially when I get up in the middle of the night, I feel as though I’m playing Twister. Place my foot on the wrong spot, and I’m stubbing a toe on the dresser, tripping over a pair of shoes left in the wrong spot, or — worse yet — stepping on a dog’s paw or tail.

Still, I wouldn’t trade our 480-square-foot house in the country for the largest of McMansions in the suburbs.

Our “Little House in the Big Woods” — the moniker my sister-in-law has given our tiny dwelling in the Arkansas Ozark Mountains on Bull Shoals Lake — wasn’t originally intended to be a full-time residence. Sometimes, though, some of the best things that happen in life aren’t planned. Our little house was intended, and used for four years, as a getaway for me, my husband, and our four dogs to escape our lives in the city.

Our original dream of living in the Big Woods involved a second house on our nearly 10 acres — not a mansion by any means, but large enough for us and my elderly mother. The Little House was to be a guesthouse and my writing studio.

  • Published on Oct 27, 2009
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