mk30<p>i'm not unhappy with shack life, but eventually i would like to have a bit of an upgrade in living arrangements.</p><p>my problem is a lack of imagination, low standards (i'm honestly fine with my place as it is), cheapness (sure i can imagine amazing things, but what's actually affordable?), and chronic indecision.</p><p>with tropical construction, the possibilities are nearly limitless. i can't even decide whether i want a single structure or multiple structures with covered areas in the middle...</p><p>there are a few things i definitely want:<br>* covered outdoor kitchen with dining area<br>* bathroom/shower in separate structure<br>* shed/dry storage (a lot)<br>* large dry space to do art (i like to spread out and work on the floor)<br>* a screened-in bedroom<br>* a covered building/construction/living area that can be on the ground and between structures<br>* probably a single story (2 stories raises cost and complexity)</p><p>but what shape, size, and arrangement should those things come in? no clue.</p><p>this isn't in my immediate or even medium-term future, but given how hard it is for me to visualize what i want (i blame CPTSD, which doesn't allow my mind to even start having good dreams and desires for myself, and lets me be happy with whatever little i have because "at least it's not [living in an apartment, being with my parents, etc.]"), i've started looking at house design books, etc.</p><p>the hilo library actually has quite a few house design books, but of course most of them are really fancy. there are some tiny house/shed books, but most of them feature houses in cold areas that have design constraints i don't have. there are a few "tropical house" books, but they all feature houses that are extremely extravagant.</p><p>there are loads of creative shackteaus in my area, and i enjoy visiting people's places and seeing what they've done.</p><p>also, there are a lot of places on youtube, and you can even find tropical construction - especially if you expand your search beyond english-language sources, to spanish, portuguese, and southeast asia (which probably has the most similar climate to east hawai'i).</p><p>mud/earthen construction isn't appropriate here (we have no construction-grade mud, and anyway, we don't need such heavy-duty construction). bamboo is doable, but i'd need to find builders who feel comfortable working with bamboo, and who aren't too expensive (the only bamboo construction company i know in the area is kind of luxury "eco" construction). plus, i'd need a source of treated building bamboo that wasn't too expensive.</p><p>anyway, just sharing my thoughts as i start trying to imagine the possibilities within my extremely limited budget and extremely poor/overwhelmed imagination.</p><p>to that end, here's the kind of outdoor kitchen that i like to see:</p><p><a href="https://regenerate.social/tags/offgrid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>offgrid</span></a> <a href="https://regenerate.social/tags/homestead" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>homestead</span></a> <a href="https://regenerate.social/tags/hawaii" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>hawaii</span></a> <a href="https://regenerate.social/tags/solarpunk" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>solarpunk</span></a></p>