Pocket Neighborhoods
Newly built cottages today are often built around what's referred to as a Pocket Neighborhood model. Here's a simple guide to understanding what it is and why its benefits have made it a lasting trend.
Pocket neighborhoods first came to prominence in 1996, thanks to architect Ross Chapin. Basically, a pocket neighborhood is a small group of compact homes arranged around a common place where residents have a greater sense of community. The common place is often a garden, courtyard, lawn or any type of shared outdoor environment.
People who live in pocket neighborhoods desire to live in a neighborly setting. They are not just living in close proximity with other people; they are choosing a specific lifestyle. Chapin compares it to eating at a dinner table. At the dinner table, people can comfortably converse with one another more intimately than they would with a stranger.
If you are worried that your privacy might be sacrificed by living in a neighborly setting, pocket neighborhoods have you covered. It is common to see pocket homes designed so that they are nesting together in a way that values privacy. No home has windows facing another home's windows. So residents can be assured that when they're in their home, they won't have neighbors peering in.
One of the elements of cottage simplicity we are after is purposefulness. Today’s cottages tend to have a straightforward approach in design and contain a limited palette of color and materials. This helps tie rooms together and adds a spacious feel to the cottage.
TODAY’S COTTAGES
One change you might notice between a newer cottage and an older one is the overall size. Cottages today tend to have more space to work with. Because of this, modern cottages tend to be more informal. Instead of a traditional dining room, a modern cottage may have a dining alcove.
To handle larger spaces, Hutchison recommends using opposite complements, as they add subtlety. An example would be contrasting an intimate room with a larger room, such as a family or living room. “The intimate space and the taller/public space are opposite but complement each other in the sense that they enhance each other, much the same way that opposite colors enhance or complement each other,” says Hutchison.
Another change you will see in newer cottages is the size of the windows. In the past, cottages normally had smaller windows because glass was more expensive to make, and there were concerns with cold air seeping into the residence. But thanks to modern engineering, these issues are no longer problematic. Large windows allow natural light to illuminate the cottage and provide gorgeous views of the surrounding landscape.
“Sometimes cottages with the most stringent restrictions result in the most interesting and
satisfying
results.”