Issue link: http://hvparent.uberflip.com/i/545664
30 Hudson Valley Parent ■ August 2015 By BETH MACKEY W e used to be "normal." You know, living in a 1,200 square foot, 2-bedroom apartment, with rooms and closets and things sitting in them that we didn't use. For a family of three, this seemed just about right. Then we started off on a wild adventure. The goal: to run a bed & breakfast with the option of a guided rock or ice climbing adventure. My husband, master of many arts, went to culinary school at Johnson & Wales and is also a licensed climbing guide. For a long time, we've want- ed to marry his two occupational loves by offering both services in one location. Big dreams, small house In 2012, we found the perfect loca- tion nestled in the Adirondack moun- tains, but the small house that came with it isn't what we had originally intentioned. With a 600-square-foot open fl oor plan, a 125-square-foot sleeping loft and a 125-square-foot basement, this was hardly the ideal lodging for a small family and their B&B patrons. But the risk of getting into large amounts of debt for a larger house, trying to get a new business off the ground, and the commitment of time and effort establishing a new business while raising a family and working full-time to pay for renovations all made my head spin and my pulse race. We needed to downsize our plan without giving up our dream. We went ahead and bought this small house because of its warmth, charm and location, but we had no Living small How downsizing our home helped our family grow Beth Mackey's small house in the Adirondack mountains. Her family downsized from a 1,200-square-foot, 2-bedroom apartment to a 900-square-foot house with an open fl oor plan. "We realized we were willing to give up space to have more money and more time with our kids." — Vanessa Grimsland of Kingston