Andy Tullis / The BulletinThe living room features abstract artwork and a tall wood stove, giving it a modern feel.

When Sue Foster set out to build her home on Bend’s west side, she wanted to figure out how she could squeeze maximum functionality out of minimal space.

Originally, she wanted to build a 650-square-foot home.

“It’s surprising how difficult it is to get a bank loan to build a smaller home,” said Foster, who ended up increasing the size of her home to 890 square feet. “I really wanted to build the house with one bedroom, but in order to get a loan, I had to add another bedroom.”

Foster said she wanted to reduce her overall carbon footprint on her half-acre lot, and having lived in traditionally larger homes all her life, she realized bigger isn’t always better.

“How much house do you really need to live comfortably well?” asked Foster, who moved to Bend in the winter of 2010 to take a job as director of nordic skiing at Mt. Bachelor.

For several years, Foster said she looked all over Bend for a house that would align with her less-is-more approach.

“I saw so many homes, and many of them were quite elaborate, and that just wasn’t me,” said Foster. “I wanted something small and simple. I had almost given up, when I came to look at this lot. A lot that I had passed all winter long on my drive up to the mountain.”

When she came to the lot, she realized she could build the small house of her dreams.

“It had great southern exposure, so I knew the house could be built with passive solar heating, and I could add solar voltaic cells on the roof,” said Foster. “It was also in an area that was close to running and biking trails, and it would be an easy commute to work at the mountain.”

Builder Murry Perkins came on board, as he also believed in Foster’s small-house vision.

“It takes a whole different mindset to build small because every detail is important to space,” said Perkins.