I came from a working-class family. We were technically not poor because both my parents had stable jobs, but we still lived from paycheck to paycheck. We also moved after a year or so in different apartments, especially when the rent was about to go up in one area.
Despite that lifestyle, I had no complaints about it because it was normal in my family. Even my aunts and uncles also rented their residential units. My best friend was our neighbor, too, which meant that they did not have a house of their own.
When I met Sally, everything changed. Her childhood was the exact opposite of mine. She came from a well-off family in Tennessee; her parents managed to buy a farm and build a home on one part of it before she was born. She only tried moving somewhere else when she went college, but still did not have the same experience as regular students because her parents bought a condo. That way, she needed not to share a dorm room with a few other girls.
Though Sally knew that I was only starting to build my career, it did not deter her from being with me. After our wedding, she sold the condo and decided to move into the apartment that I was renting at the time. It was technically a spacious loft for two people, but it was still not like the house that she was used to. Hence, I decided to surprise her on our second anniversary with a new home that we could call ours.
Making A Sustainable Home
I contacted an architect a year ago after buying a piece of land on the outskirts of the city. The price was pretty steep, but it was the cheapest option in that part of the town. It was close to both the metro and the countryside, which I knew that my wife would love.
Since I had never had a house built before, I asked the architect for advice on what design would be suitable for a new family house. He showed me a lot of examples, but one thing that impressed me the most was the idea of making a sustainable home.
What Should Be Seen In A Sustainable Home?
Bigger Windows
In prioritizing sustainability, the first thing that a sustainable house should have is a plethora of massive windows. If you imagine the ones you have seen at the hardware store, think bigger. Those are still a little too small compared to what you want to achieve here.
The bigger your windows are, the more air can circulate the place. For our project, I asked the architect and engineer if the middle portion of the house could be made of windows. They said that it was a unique request but a doable one. Thus, once we move in, we would not need to use the air conditioner much.
More Plants
Although I lived in the city my entire life, I developed an allergy to fumes after college. I needed to wear a mask if I had to go out of the building all the time; otherwise, my throat would itch, and I would start dry coughing. I did not want a repeat of what happened to me a couple of years ago when it transformed into laryngitis and put me on bed rest for two weeks, so I always turned the purifier on whenever the windows were open in the apartment.
In our new home, an air purifier would have been out of place because we wanted to focus on sustainability. The solution that we found was to add as many plants as possible inside. We just had to be careful not to add big ones because the house might look like a jungle.
Better Insulation
Another thing that I wanted to remedy was our excessive use of a heater and air conditioner. Both were pretty necessary because it was not easy to get enough ventilation in the middle of the apartment complex. If we did not use them, it would become too chilly or too stuffy.
Luckily, the engineer assured me that they would be insulating the house from the bottom to the top. It meant that it would be cozy at home, especially during the winter season.
Final Thoughts
When I finally revealed the house to my wife, she was too stunned to react at first. Once she found her voice, she screamed in delight and hugged me before running into the property. Then, she started talking about the furniture that would fit in our new home and was thankful that I waited for her before furnishing the house with appliances.
It was a challenge to hide the construction of our love nest to my wife, but based on how happy she was, I must say that it was so worth it.