Living large in a small space

Light dances on the river, bamboo rustles, and dragonflies buzz. On a warm summer afternoon, there is no better place than Julie Higgs and Dave Stricker’s floating home on Hayden Island, Oregon.

“I’ve always wanted to live by the water. But once you’re in the water, it gets really hard to leave,” Julie says.

This love of the aquatic must be in the genes: Moored right next door is the houseboat belonging to Julie’s sister, Diane Hall, which she rebuilt with partner Rick Dallman. “Around here we’re known as the Cabana Sisters,” Diane says.

Years of living and traveling in Southeast Asia have given Julie and Diane an eye for the exotic, and their small-scale homes nearly burst with treasures―Asian antiques, tropical touches, and bamboo accents.

Their lushly planted decks frequently serve as settings for outdoor feasts replete with pitchers of Tahitian rum cocktails and platters of prawns.

It all has the feel of a permanent vacation, a setup that satisfies even a wanderer’s soul. “I love it here. This is the longest I’ve lived anywhere since I was a child,” Julie says. “I’ve never been attached to a place before, but the minute we moved here, I knew I was going to stay.”