Small House, Big Living

A small house on a large property in California cultivates the perfect farmhouse lifestyle for this family of six.

- Victoria Van Vlear

When you spend most of your time outside, it's OK if your house is small - even if you have a large family. That's the case for blogger and shop owner Rendi Trent of The Vintage Bucket.

She and her husband Andrew live with their four children in an 840-square-foot house, on a 2-acre property in Northern California.

DECIDING TO STAY

The house may seem too small for a family with four children but the property has a lot more going on than just the main house.

And it was the entire family that made a conscious decision to stay. "[Our four kids] chose to stay here," Rendi says. "We looked at a huge two-story house downtown with four bedrooms and three baths. We told them that we can stay in the house we're in and remodel, and you'll all share a room, but we'll have all that property. Or we can buy the bigger home with no outdoor space. And they unanimously chose to stay with the outdoor space."

The main house isn't the only building on the property. The Trents have also built or remodeled their numerous other outbuildings, including the carriage house (a guest house they rent out); the chapel (a storage shed); the chicken coop; the well house (which houses the property's well); the garden shed; the barn; and the gift shop.

The property is also home to more than just the Trent family; it's a working hobby farm. "My children all participate in 4-H and FFA," Rendi says. Their current animal residents include nine chickens and one dog. "The animal landscape rotates," Rendi says. "We've had horses and steers, goats and rabbits." Besides the animals.

Rendi also tends the property's orchard, which they open seasonally for visitors to come pick their own fruits and even pecans. "There was all this stuff we couldn't do in town that we could do here," Rendi says. So they stayed.

MAIN HOUSE REMODEL