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This Couple Built the Smallest House Their County Would Allow
How one Indiana couple discovered that “just enough” is all you need.
Less is more for Angie and Alex Wendricks, who built the smallest house their county law allowed (1,400 square feet, for the record). Although they had initially planned to build a larger home, the couple decided to shrink their plan—by more than half!—to 728 square feet, adding a roomy 728-square-foot attached garage to meet the county’s minimum.
The Wendrickses (@countyroadliving) bought the seven acres of land near Pendleton, Indiana, in 2010 but didn’t start construction for five years. “We wanted to move out here with very little debt, so we chose to pay the property off completely before we built on it,” says Angie, a product stylist. “We knew we had to put in a driveway, a well, septic, electric, and all that costs a lot of money.”
While they chipped away at the laundry list of tasks, they also scoured flea markets, estate sales, architectural salvage shops, and old barns looking for the perfect pieces to furnish their future home. “We stored everything in a 10-foot-by-10-foot unit, and then refurbished everything, which saved us tons of money because we did it over time,” Angie says. Once the drywall was up and the windows were installed, the couple crafted the rest together. Keep reading to see the beautiful results:
An Airy Kitchen
Angie and Alex dug through a nearby barn (with the owner’s permission!) and found a long piece of wood for the kitchen shelf, plus additional wood for the homemade bar stools.
RELATED: 50+ Beautiful White Kitchen Ideas for a Room You’ll Love Forever
Creative Storage
In lieu of kitchen cabinets, the couple opted for beautiful pieces—like this antique wooden shelving unit—at reasonable prices. The simplicity of the piece appealed to Angie, so she left it untouched and filled it with a mix of everyday white china from Ikea, Crate & Barrel, and Target.
Hits of Wood
The Wendrickses purchased an old library door for $50 at an estate sale, sanded and sealed it, and made it their front door. Angie bought the side chair for $5 and removed the orange pleather seat back, sanded it, and left it raw. She liked the scale of the neutral, slipcovered Ikea sofa, which pairs well with vintage finds. For the loft above, Angie chose raw pine railing to set it off. “I wanted it to look like it could be in a barn,” she says.
Space-Maximizing Strategies
In a quest to use every square inch, the homeowners turned a nook under the stairs into a dog house for Olive and Bug.
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Statement Stove
Though the Regency wood stove adds charm and serves up heat, Angie is always on the hunt for baskets to store blankets. The stove sits atop porcelain “wood” tile.
RELATED: The 5 Best Wood Burning Stoves to Cozy Up Your Home
Architectural Salvage
A sliding barn door adds charm while eating up less space than a traditional door. The couple found the claw-foot tub at an architectural salvage spot in Indianapolis, a steal at $100.
Simple Surroundings
In the loft bedroom, the clean, crisp palette extends from hard materials like the white walls and pine railings into softer elements, such as the blue-and-white striped bedding, textured pillows, and a simple duvet.
Rustic Materials
Outfitted with $5 garage sale sinks, the star of the bathroom is a former barn door the couple found in a tobacco barn. They power-washed it, and after consulting a few YouTube videos, figured out how to cut holes for the sinks then added legs made from metal pipes. They added low-cost mirrors to finish the space.
RELATED: Our Best Decorating Ideas For Bathrooms
Bare Bones Laundry Room
The couple saved money on the appliances by buying the washer, dryer, and stove together as part of a bundle.
Outdoor Mudroom
“We got this sink at a flea market for $100 and use it for the vegetables we grow in our garden,” Angie says. “We also wash dishes out here when we eat outside.”
The Wendrickses
While their minimal style might not work for everyone, Angie says they wouldn’t have it any other way. “I've always been the freak of nature with the organized closet and the clean car. I just like things simple and uncluttered,” she says. “I wanted the house to be the focus, not stuff.”
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