The Burrow Cottage Makes the Perfect Picturesque Retreat

Trends in Small Homes and Cottages

Small homes and cottages are trending on the housing market, especially in the United States, as more and more people choose to down-size and simplify in an attempt to live a simpler, less costly and cluttered lifestyle. The Burrow, a small and stylish cottage on the coast of Maine, is the perfect example of just how practical yet tasteful a small home can be.

The Features of The Burrow

The Burrow is a small, 1,000 square foot house built on a 1/8 acre lot on the small Mount Desert Island, just off the Maine coastline. Despite its small size, The Burrow contains three bedrooms and two full bathrooms and was elegantly upgraded to include granite counter tops and new hardwood flooring. Mostly open concept throughout, it includes a covered deck and porch area, for added space. Also attached to the property is a tiny, finished shed.

The Significance of House Naming

In England, house naming is a hugely popular custom, but it is a less common practice in the United States where there are over 80 million houses and further 125 million housing units. Although naming a house isn't a new trend it generally has applied to castles, manors, and even small cottages like this one. Often houses are named after the town in which they were built or the architect who designed them. Houses are sometimes named after their owners or ancestors. They can also be named for a notable feature of the area they're in. And sometimes, the name is something so very personal and apt – a reflection of the homeowner, of their relationship with the house or their relationships within the house. The Burrow is an interesting choice for this cottage because a burrow is typically a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground to create a space suitable for habitation or refuge. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements. In this sense, The Burrow could be seen as a safe refuge or retreat, a comfortable habitat for its dwellers which is exactly what this small house is.

The Small House Movement

In 2013, the typical American home had expanded to an average size of 2,662 square feet, despite the decreasing size of the average family. The small house movement, both an architectural and social movement, has been advocated since the days of Henry David Thoreau in the mid-1800's but has recently been popularized in the last two decades by those wanting to live simply in smaller houses. The small house movement is a return to houses of less than 1,000 square feet. Although less prestigious than their larger counterparts, small homes come in all shapes, sizes and styles and, as demonstrated by The Burrow, many of them are tastefully and stylishly decorated, and designed in such ways to maximize the use of space quality over quantity. These small homes can be used either as full-time residences if they meet the proper zoning requirements or they can make for wonderful vacation homes.

Affordability of The Burrow

While the average sale price of a home on Mount Desert Island is close to, or over $1 million, The Burrow is for sale at a comparatively smaller cost. Good things do come in smaller packages and smaller homes tend to have smaller price tags. This quintessential Downeast cottage shows off a style that can't help but be admired, and for only $394,000 it's practically a steal.