Small Wonders
Little detached structures create a place to get away from it all
The dictionary app on my iPhone alerts me every afternoon to a "word of the day." The other day it came up with "opuscule," a word I'd never before encountered. It turns out to be a derivation of the Latin word, opus (a piece of literary or musical work, as in Mr. Holland's Opus). And, just as in Spanish where one can add "ita" to any noun to mean the diminutive of that noun, one can add "cule" in Latin to achieve the same result. So "opuscule" literally means "diminutive work" or, in this interpretation, a small, endearing literary or artistic composition.
There is a long tradition of architectural opuscule, particularly in general and residential design. For example, there are the garden follies of the 19th-century landscapes. In more recent times, there are observation towers, tea houses, garden sheds, detached garages and more. What they all have in common is their small size and endearing quality.
So the next time you start to plan a new project, be it a new home or backyard play area, consider your own opuscule and, as always, have fun.
There is a long tradition of architectural opuscule, particularly in general and residential design. For example, there are the garden follies of the 19th-century landscapes. In more recent times, there are observation towers, tea houses, garden sheds, detached garages and more. What they all have in common is their small size and endearing quality.
So the next time you start to plan a new project, be it a new home or backyard play area, consider your own opuscule and, as always, have fun.
An opuscule can be a small, detached retreat set at the edge of the garden. A fine place for reading, painting, composing or just getting away from it all.
An opuscule can be an open-air structure nestled in the woods to take in the view. Perhaps a small wood-burning stove or fireplace adds just the right amount of heat for comfort.
Like a 19th-century folly, this observation tower stands apart from the main house. Whereas the house is all horizontal, hugging the earth, the tower is all vertical ...
... to mark a human presence on the land as well as provide a vantage point from which to view the landscape.
Perhaps the opuscule is actually a grand place to gaze at the heavens, rather than the landscape.
An opuscule can start as a simple storage shed that becomes integrated and in tune with the surrounding architecture.
Though an opuscule is typically small ...
... it can live large.
An opuscule can be a children's play set with the simple addition of a roof and railing to define and enclose the space. The addition of a small chair completes the transformation of the space from a pass-through to a destination.
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More: Complete Your Garden with a Backyard Cottage
14 Picture-Perfect Playhouses
Secret Forts Indoors
Tiny Home Built for Big Adventure
Guest House and Grotto in 68 Square Feet