The Little House seamlessly integrates historic preservation and green building practices in the transformation of a severely dilapidated garage/servant’s quarters into highly flexible space used for entertaining as well as a vacation rental.
The tiny (750 sf) 1920 cottage stands on a ¼ acre corner lot whose primary structure is a spacious bungalow in Nashville’s Elmington Park neighborhood. When the current owners purchased the property in 1992, they stabilized and re-roofed the garage, which stood as shell space until renovation commenced in 2009. Their initial purpose was to create a housing option for aging parents, which subsequently proved to be unneeded.
The potential for elderly inhabitants, however, led to a rehab plan incorporating “universal design” (aging-in-place) principles in the interior and landscape design. Other renovation goals included a flexible floor plan accommodating multiple functions, a building process utilizing recycled materials and generating minimal waste to produce an energy efficient, stand-alone residence with landscaping that provides food for the family.
That these sustainability objectives have been achieved is demonstrated by the Little House’s certification as LEED Platinum in 2011-one of the first historic residences in the nation so designated-and the project’s receipt in 2012 of the “Green Star Award, Best of the Best: Residential” from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Middle Tennessee Chapter.
During the renovation process, the owners realized that the Little House could serve as a demonstration model for others grappling with an apparently “throwaway” building of questionable utility and miniscule proportions. To that end they created a website to inform and inspire that has been featured in many online and print publications. They have opened the Little House to students, civic groups, design and construction professionals and the general public for workshops, classes, presentations, and tours focusing on sustainable construction and landscaping. The Little House stands today as a national example of how the historic fabric-not just the “starchitecture”-of a streetcar suburb turned urban neighborhood can be preserved by repurposing an outbuilding that a less adventurous and resourceful homeowner would have demolished.
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This shows the condition of the house when the property was first acquired in 1992. Between this time and the beginning of this project, the roof was repaired and the exterior was painted to help preserve the structure. The inside was left as bare stud walls with a dirt and/or rotting wood floor.
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This photo was taken from approximately the same spot as the original photo. The garage doors (and the small door to the right of them) are permanently sealed and were left on the exterior to preserve the original aesthetic of the structure as much as possible.
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The Murphy bed is hidden behind the green panels and is made to pull down with one hand through the couch so that nothing has to be moved to access it. The dark beams and knob and tube wire in the ceiling are original. Everything else in this photo that is not a light fixture, window, or door is reclaimed. The projector screen is hidden inside the dark green beam above the couch. Storage is hidden below the baskets (lid lifts up), above the top row of books (top piece of bookshelf also is hinged with a compartment underneath), and behind the toe kick of the bookshelf.
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The old coal stove chimney is original, but everything else that is not a plumbing or light fixture, window or door, or appliance is reclaimed (with the only exception being the light colored beams above the red and green pantry).
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Used during the day as an eating area, the window seats are the size of two twin beds or easily convert to one queen bed (frame for queen is built in to banquette storage). The couch from the Murphy bed area can be moved to this space to provide a sleeping space for a fifth person. All cabinets, countertops, wall panelling, hinges, and knobs are reclaimed.
