For almost 22 years we lived in our cozy little house. The upstairs where we lived was only 875 sq.ft. But it was big enough for us and our dog--first Carob, then Ripley, now Halle. We rented the downstairs apartment for short-term guests till we got sick of always having strangers around. That's when we decided to combine the upstairs and the downstairs and make a bigger house.