Most people dream of huge, palatial houses…the kind where you need a golf cart to get from one room to another with a huge lawn spread out at the front (looked after by a very expensive gardener, of course!) and an Olympic size swimming pool at the back. However, this guy here, Jack Sammis, a technology consultant in Alexandria, VA was in love with a house that was barely 7 feet wide!
The house that we are talking about here is the historic spite house in Alexandria that was built by a Mr. John Hollensbury, the owner of the house adjacent to it in 1830. Actually, the house isn’t much more than an enclosed alley and since Mr. Hollensbury objected to loiterers and horse carriages passing by his house through the alley, he decided to do something about it. The result? This tiny little house that looks dwarfed and bullied by the two heavyweights standing on either side of it.
To my mind, I picture Mr. Hollensbury to be an extremely grouchy fellow. Imagine being pissed off about people using the alley to get from one end to the other? What else are alleys for, if not that? But, that is neither here nor there. If it hadn’t been for Mr. Hollensbury’s eccentricities, Jack Sammis could have hardly ended up with such an adorable dwelling.
So, coming back to the hero of the story – Jack Sammis. We already know that he, unlike other people wished to live is a house that was just about 25 feet deep and measured 325 square feet in two stories and paid $135,000 for it in 1990. But that’s not the real reason why this guy is incredible. I admire him for what he has done with the house.
While most of us can do no better than complain about lack of space in our comparatively spacious homes, Jack Sammis has taken this alley-turned-into-a-house and made it into place you’d want to spend time in. The house is livable, it is comfortable, heck, it is even stylish! He has a regal looking bedroom, a fully functional kitchen, ample storage space, and even a walled garden at the back of a house that makes for a stunning setting for romantic dinners or casual get-togethers.
Watch this video as Jack Sammis takes you on a tour of his house.
By the time he finishes, you’ll badly want to have yourself invited over! You can also read a full interview of his with New York Times.
On an ending note, it’s strange that one man’s spite turned out to be another man’s pleasure!
A comfortable place for friends to sit together and talk Sharing a few cozy words
Makes the perfect setting for a quite evening You feel like curling up here right now!
