Some people choose the life of tiny living so that they can reduce their carbon footprint. Others do it because, well, everyone else is doing it (have you seen HGTV?!). And others do it because it’s just plain convenient, in terms of location, money and all other areas of life in which convenience matters. Schuan Carpenter and his wife Holly are the last kinds of people (and therefore my kind of people).
Schuan wanted to live closer to his work, but the houses in that neighborhood were way out of reach (even for your 22-year-old dog doulas who seem to have their sh** together). However, instead of giving up hope and succumbing to the commute as your average joe might do, Schuan and Holly decided that, it just being the two of them, they didn’t need a ton of space. They purchased the largest house their budget could afford–a 790 square foot abode. And it worked out just fine, until Holly got pregnant.
With a growing family, the Carpenters realized that they needed a bigger space to match. They also needed a quiet space in which Holly could continue her violin music lessons–her financial contribution to the family. According to Holly, “Wailing infants and violin lessons do not go hand in hand.” I don’t play the violin, but I can imagine she knows what she’s talking about.
Schuan, wanting nothing but the best for his wife and her work, decided to “build an amazing shed that is more of a Little Mansion.” After letting his creativity run wild, he built what is now being called “The Chapel,” an enchanting 320-square-foot studio that is so impressive it eventually led to the formation of his own tiny-home architectural plans businesses, called Little Mansions. (It also led to every woman in the world loathing that their husbands can’t complete even a single, simple project much less create for them a little mansion, but hey, who’s complaining?)
What does this tiny mansion, this “Chapel,” look like? We’re glad you asked…
From the outside, The Chapel looks more like a castle, surrounded by a garden as equally commanding as the building itself.
Once you walk in, your eyes are immediately drawn to the loft ceiling of the tower. The windows of the tower reach all the way up, allowing in as much natural light as possible.
Though the “shed” may look small, once you enter you discover that it easily houses the baby grand piano that was bequeathed to Holly by her grandmother and the 10 to 14 students that attend her group lessons.
The bookshelves, which make up the majority of one wall, are handmade and crafted from 100-year-old wood floor planks from an old barn. The shelves are accented with Gothic Revival features.
Of course, you cannot forget about the pitched ceilings, which were designed to look like – you guessed it – the ceilings of a chapel.
The building may look small, but it serves multiple purposes. It acts as a music studio, design studio, spiritual space and community space. Every week, as many as 60 people gather in this little castle at once.
The high pitched ceiling creates a sense of space, while the dark wood beams and window framing ground that space with warmth and grace, adding to the chapel-like feeling of the studio. At night, the building simply glows from the inside out, providing the street with a beautiful, enchanted night light.
If you’re looking for your own little “Chapel,” look no further than Carpenter’s Little Mansions. He offers architectural plans of houses as small as his own 320-square foot studio, one-bedroom homes at 480-square feet and two-bedroom homes at 580-square feet.
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