Closed for Business

Fact #1: We hang a curtain inside the front door of the Tiny House. I suppose you could call it a privacy curtain as it hangs down to block the window in the front door when we are changing clothes, etc, but it also serves as a nice signal for Jamie’s parents. Jamie’s mom, Sarah, says she uses the curtain to tell her if we are “open for business” or “closed for business.”

Fact #2: Our home is incredibly efficient. Jamie over-insulated the Tiny House adding 6 inches of blown in cellulose insulation and used good quality double-paned windows providing a very “tight” house where little heat escapes. One intentional decision was allowing the front door to not be as “tight” both to increase air circulation and allow a backup safety system for maintaining clean air.

Fact #3: As winter is fast approaching, the air around the front door is cold. Like, stick your fingers in your armpits, wear three pairs of socks kind of cold. Lucky for me, I sit closer to the heater, but even so the air around the door gets a bit chilly. One solution which still enables air flow but helps block the cold draft is to keep the curtain blocking the door most of the time when we’re home.

In chatting with Sarah the other day, we discovered our system for keeping heat inside the house conflicts with her system for seeing if we’re currently accepting visitors. While at the local hardware store, Jamie and I made a purchase to help her know when we’re available…