Small Home Living

When you hear small home living, a lifestyle focused on intentional space use, reduced consumption, and deeper connection to daily life. Also known as minimalist living, it’s not about sacrifice—it’s about making every square foot count. This isn’t a trend for hipsters or eco-activists. It’s a quiet shift happening in cottages across Cornwall, cabins in the Lake District, and converted barns in the Cotswolds. People are trading big mortgages for quiet mornings, long showers for wood-fired baths, and shopping malls for kitchen tables where meals are made from local produce.

self-catering cottages, rental homes with full kitchens, private entrances, and no hotel rules. Also known as holiday rentals, they’re the perfect test drive for small home living. You get to cook your own food, control your heat, and live without housekeeping staff. No one’s telling you when to leave or what time breakfast ends. You wake up when you want, clean up when you feel like it, and leave the dishes if you’re tired. That’s freedom—and it’s exactly what makes small home living feel real, not just a photo on Pinterest.

People who choose this don’t just want cheaper rent. They want sustainable living, a way of life that reduces waste, energy use, and environmental impact through thoughtful design and daily habits. Also known as eco-friendly living, it shows up in rainwater collectors on cottage roofs, compost bins next to the back door, and solar panels tucked behind old stone walls. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about doing better than yesterday. A small home doesn’t need fancy tech to be green—it just needs someone who cares enough to turn off the lights, fix the leaky tap, and grow herbs on the windowsill.

And then there’s the minimalist lifestyle, a mindset focused on keeping only what adds value, removing what drains energy. Also known as decluttered living, it’s why people in small homes own three mugs, not thirty. Why they hang their coats on one hook, not a whole closet. Why they don’t buy a new blanket every winter—they mend the old one. This isn’t about having less. It’s about making space—for quiet, for connection, for real life.

You’ll find all of this in the posts below. Real stories from people who live in cottages that fit their lives, not the other way around. How they heat their homes without gas bills. How they cook for two with one pot. How they turned a 400-square-foot space into a place that feels like home. No fluff. No marketing. Just what works.