Using primarily salvaged materials, it only took David Herrle approximately $4,000 and 6 weeks to complete.
They say it's the little things that matter most in life. Sometimes in our modern society, we can get too caught up with commercialism and material objects. Sure, a quick weekend trip out of the city can help us feel refreshed, but that's not enough for some.
Famous author Henry David Thoreau wrote about his desire to return to nature at length in his celebrated Walden. This book is required reading in most high schools nowadays, but if you're unfamiliar, the memoir recounts Thoreau's two years, two months and two days spent living in a cabin near Walden Pond in Massachusetts. He sought to live a simple and self-sufficient life away from society to reach a deeper understanding of his own humanity.
In the book he says, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
Thoreau's powerful retelling of his experience has inspired many generations with its transcendental philosophies.
Recently, a carpenter named David Herrle had a similar feeling as Thoreau. As he says on his website, "For the longest time I had a hard time not being 'normal.' I graduated from a small liberal arts college, got a desk job, and hated every minute of it. In 2007 my life changed dramatically after hiking the entirety of the Appalachian Trail…My time in the woods gave me a perspective on the benefits of simplicity. It was in the woods that I promised myself that I wouldn't spend a lifetime doing a job I didn't enjoy."
David quit his job, took $4,000 and built his dream home measuring only 11 ft. by 14 ft. in the woods. He now works as a carpenter, but he doesn't consider it work–he does what he loves.
Perhaps his inspiring story will inspire you to lead a simpler life as well.
The house was built in the forest with a breathtaking view of a cranberry bog.
Using primarily salvaged materials, it only took David Herrle approximately $4,000 and 6 weeks to complete.
The idea to build the house was partially inspired by David's desire to move in with his fiancée. He lived in a house shared with his brothers that he described as a "total bachelor pad."
On the New Year's Eve before they got married, he promised her he would build her a house. That's exactly what he did. They built the house on the same land as David's other house.
Though he built a house lacking in size, they made sure the interior was pleasant, chic, but as minimalist as the construction of the house.
He lofted the bedroom to save on space. He also installed a kerosene heater for the colder nights of winter.
Herrle quit his desk job to focus on living a life dedicated to doing what he loves. He wrote on his Facebook page, "I'm lucky it happened when I was 27 and not 67."
He did not install running water in the house. Instead, he set up a gravity sink and a system of obtaining water from the larger house on the property.
He and his wife added some beautiful touches they could both appreciate like this gorgeous ceramic sink.
The lumber used for the abode was felled and milled locally. Herrle and his wife did all the work themselves. This saved them thousands of dollars in materials and labor.
He gave the house with electricity by running wires up to the main house on the property.
Herrle: "I think this was a determining step in becoming the people we want to be. Every morning when we wake up in our tree house, we are inspired to continue that evolution."
Thoreau has inspired generations to live more simply. Perhaps this couple will too.
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