tiny homes

[photoguy]

Wife and I have been discussing how much space we need for a home and she showed me this short clip from portlandia:

Small homes/condos are appealing to us but I think we'd need to stay above 500 sq ft or so.

 

[NW-Bound]

Very funny!

A Web site I frequent to see this type of tiny houses is "tinyhouseblog-dot-com". I often wonder if I would be happy living in such small places instead of my conventional homes. I have a few hobbies and would have to give most up, except for gardening which is done outside the home.

And then, it occurred to me that I already live with my wife in a 200-sq.ft. place, the 25' long motorhome, a couple of months each year anyway.

 

[W2R]

They are appealing, ,except for the cost per square foot. The ones I have seen seem very overpriced, to me.

On the other hand, there is something appealing about not having so much unused space all around me just sitting there collecting dust (looking around wistfully). I don't think I have gone into my guest bedroom in at least a month.

It would be so cool to have about 800 square feet (plus attached garage) on a paved over lot. The point of that would be to avoid mowing or landscape maintenance as well as any potential HOA hassles. It should also include a 4'x6' shower and plenty of closet space. Now we're talkin'...

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Wife and I have been discussing how much space we need for a home and she showed me this short clip from portlandia....Small homes/condos are appealing to us but I think we'd need to stay above 500 sq ft or so.

Cute video. One thing I have noticed on the faircompanies videos is some of the households do not seem to last in the tiny houses for very long. I like the idea but I wonder if once the novelty wears off they just feel too cramped.

 

[RunningBum]

Just saw this on my facebook feed. 3 foot wide house in Warsaw.

It?s Unbelievable They Fit a House Here. It's 3 Feet Wide and the Door's in the Floor... | 22 Words

 

[old woman]

I don't want to live in a tiny house where you need to climb it get into bed. I camp in 11.5ft long camper and the stove is tiny, sinks are tiny, shower is tiny and climbing to the bed over the truck cab is hard.

I could downsize to 4 rooms but I want a real kitchen and real bathroom so that and a bedroom and den I would be fine if I never had company. I eat at my desk anyhow and never go in the living room or dining room or guest room. Something the size of a two bedroom apartment would be as small as I would like, I could live in a studio apartment if I had to but I am too old to deal with climbing to go to bed, I am short so need a stool to get into a taller bed now.

 

[mystang52]

There's a TV show, Tiny House Nation. I think it's on TLC. I watched a couple of episodes. Yeah, it looks really cool, and they sure do know how to maximize space. But still, too small for me. I'm not claustrophobic, but the lack of "elbow room" would get to me. As daylatedollarshort wrote, once the novelty wears off - and I bet that novelty lasts just 30 days - those cramped conditions probably get too bothersome.

 

[Midpack]

I've always found the idea interesting (and I've happily spent day after day in a tiny house bouncing all over the place - a boat), but DW is not amused. There have been all sorts of things about it.

Tiny House Hunters | Show | HGTV
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company
Impressive Tiny Houses - Small House Plans
Build A Tiny House - TinyHouseBuild.com
Tiny House Blog - Living Simply in Small Spaces

 

[travelover]

I've experienced this for short periods in our mini camper (7 feet wide by 10 feet long). It's only fun for a while.

 

[unno2002]

[FONT=&quot]How about something with systems engineered like earthships for homes.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Their “survival model” seems to be a “tiny home” size.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]For further info:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://earthship.com/ [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]https://www.thenaturalhome.com/passivesolar.html[/FONT]

 

[photoguy]

It would be so cool to have about 800 square feet (plus attached garage) on a paved over lot. The point of that would be to avoid mowing or landscape maintenance as well as any potential HOA hassles. It should also include a 4'x6' shower and plenty of closet space. Now we're talkin'...

After owning our first home we discovered that we hate maintenance (a lot of it for an 80 year old home) and yard work. We also had 1200 sq ft + maybe 600 sq ft of bonus space (finished garage/attic) but most of the space was wasted and unused. 800 sq ft or so would probably be an ideal size for us although we could go somewhat smaller.

I like the atmosphere and open layout of this home (although we need a bigger kitchen area):

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/garden/freedom-in-704-square-feet.html

[FONT=&quot]How about something with systems engineered like earthships for homes.[/FONT]

Seems like a very neat design. I joke to my wife we should live in a hobbit hole (they made them seem very appealing in LOTR).

 

[photoguy]

I've always found the idea interesting (and I've happily spent day after day in a tiny house bouncing all over the place - a boat), but DW is not amused. There have been all sorts of things about it.

Turns out my wife is the step-brother of the guy who founded tumbleweed.

Just browsed the site and ouch the prices are high. I wonder if most people build these themselves?

 

[HFWR]

Turns out my wife is the step-brother of the guy who founded tumbleweed.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

 

[calmloki]

The Portlandia clip is great - so efficient! I particularly like the small, high fold away cat box! While tiny homes have an attraction (Cor-ten steel shipping containers?) they just don't have enough draw for us. Unfailingly cheap here but the cost/foot and the breathing down each others neck ruins the fantasy.

That said, we know a couple who have 5-6 homes across the US (mostly bought for their kids to live in), two very fat pensions, and the ability to drop major coin on, say, a failed transmission or the lamb at a restaurant that doesn't have the prices in a menu. They also are plenty sharp when it comes to spending intelligently and thoughtfully. They have chosen to live in various locations in little trailers year round for the last three years. I'd go buggy.

 

[poorcarver]

I have been inside a number of these and they are appealing and then you think well wait a minute. I own a suit, a sport coat and a tuxedo and DW owns the female equivalent where do you put more than a spare pair of jeans. We like to cook, where are the pots/pan/appurtenances of cooking? And then there are the books.

But what does appeal to my wife and I would be a significantly smaller home, one bedroom, kitchen, library/living room and bath, with a significant out building for the shop.

 

[Big_Hitter]

we would kill each other if we lived in a house that small


multiply it by 10 and that would work

 

[NW-Bound]

I've experienced this for short periods in our mini camper (7 feet wide by 10 feet long). It's only fun for a while.

Still using yours recently, my friend?

We spent more than 2 months crisscrossing the Canadian Maritimes in our 25' motorhome last year. I am planning for a trip this year in late spring. As we are usually on the move, we are never bored but if having to stay cooped up in a small place, we would go batty.

My daughter has a small townhome of 1000 sq.ft., and looking at that we thought that we would be OK living in it. But as of now, there's no plan to downsize.

 

[travelover]

Still using yours recently, my friend?

As DW is still w*rking, I've been limited to warm weather travel in the Rust Belt.

We spent more than 2 months crisscrossing the Canadian Maritimes in our 25' motorhome last year. I am planning for a trip this year in late spring. As we are usually on the move, we are never bored but if having to stay cooped up in a small place, we would go batty.

Hope to do the same once DW retires next year.

My daughter has a small townhome of 1000 sq.ft., and looking at that we thought that we would be OK living in it. But as of now, there's no plan to downsize.

We plan to downsize from about 3000 to about 1600 or so, sq. feet. No tiny homes for me.

 

[bbbamI]

I don't want to live in a tiny house where you need to climb it get into bed. I camp in 11.5ft long camper and the stove is tiny, sinks are tiny, shower is tiny and climbing to the bed over the truck cab is hard.

I could downsize to 4 rooms but I want a real kitchen and real bathroom so that and a bedroom and den I would be fine if I never had company. I eat at my desk anyhow and never go in the living room or dining room or guest room. Something the size of a two bedroom apartment would be as small as I would like, I could live in a studio apartment if I had to but I am too old to deal with climbing to go to bed, I am short so need a stool to get into a taller bed now.

I hear ya. Especially if it's in the loft. I'd need a parachute when I needed to go to the bathroom.

I think one of those houses would be ok if it was situated by a lake. An occasional stay would be alright, but to live there all the time? I'd go bonkers.

 

[Big_Hitter]

Wouldn't it be roomier and cheaper to live in a mobile home?


I'm not getting it.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I'm a fan of the tiny house stuff, and read a lot about it.
There are plenty of people who use these as aspirational purchases for second (or third) homes to feel like they are embracing minimalism. Those are the really pricey ones.
There are also younger folks, priced out of the mortgage market, or not wanting to do what it takes (go into big debt) who chose to build one of these while they save money. Those are the ones being built for way less than $100 a square foot.
I've been interested in the whole small house movement dealie since reading about Susan Sasanka and her Not So Big House book published back in 1998.

Here's a thread about my own not-exactly-tiny-but still pretty small house build plan: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/adu-backyard-cottage-or-granny-flat-74752.html

I've gotten back this sketch from a nice guy who was working up SIP prices for me. Though I think we've decided, based on cost and the fact that I have two free laborers in my house to supervise and feed, that we'll stick build. I plan to have it completely dried in (all exterior walls/windows/roofing) for under $10k. We based it loosely on a Cusato cottage that was originally designed for rebuilding post-Katrina. It is under 500 sqft.

 

[W2R]

I have been inside a number of these and they are appealing and then you think well wait a minute. I own a suit, a sport coat and a tuxedo and DW owns the female equivalent where do you put more than a spare pair of jeans.

Wow, I don't. I saved one thin "little black dress" from my working days, to wear to funerals and such. It takes no room at all in my closet. I'd like a lot of closet space, but not so much for clothes as for other stuff.

We like to cook, where are the pots/pan/appurtenances of cooking? And then there are the books.

I have gotten rid of most of my books, and read entirely on my Kindle these days. I am just about ready to get rid of the rest. I could probably be perfectly happy with one half-height bookcase. As for cooking, I think the pot hanger can be very helpful although it wouldn't solve the problem. I would need counter space for my Vitamix, my rice cooker, my coffee maker, my electric kettle, and so on. So, I think that kitchen cabinets and counters are a valid use for some space.

But what does appeal to my wife and I would be a significantly smaller home, one bedroom, kitchen, library/living room and bath, with a significant out building for the shop.

Sounds nice!

 

[W2R]

we would kill each other if we lived in a house that small

I know you were joking, but seriously I think that often the need people have for huge houses is just to have enough space to get away from one another.

 

[Andre1969]

Wouldn't it be roomier and cheaper to live in a mobile home?

I'm not getting it.

It would be, most likely, cheaper to just buy a mobile home. However, many places put a ban on them, unless you put it in a mobile home park. They're banned in my county, for example, and most of the counties that are near Washington DC. I think lot rents usually run around $600-800 per month, and then you have the cost of the mobile home on top of that.

However, I'm sure there are going to be even more bans and restrictions on these "tiny homes". In many cases, they're just homes on wheels, which is a fancy way of saying a trailer.

One advantage, however, is that you could probably just take one of these tiny homes and park and level it pretty easily, whereas a mobile home would take up more space, and might require more effort to level.

Mobile homes aren't designed to be moved around a lot. Usually, just from the point of manufacture to the trailer park. The more you move them, the more likely they are to start falling apart. But, you never know, those tiny homes might have that same problem.

 

[LoneAspen]

Not for me, although I can appreciate the folks who can downsize that much and make a go at it.

As un-green and environmentally wasteful as it sounds, I like my space. Lots of it.

The house I rent right now is about 3000 square feet and it's just me living there, which is fine. Yeah, it's a little too big for one person, but not by much. Both houses I had in Colorado were about 1100 square feet, and I found them too small.

2200 to 2500 square feet is probably perfect for me, with all my hobbies and stuff I keep around the house (home theater alone eats up one bedroom).

I would never be able to downsize enough to something like a tiny home. I'd feel way too claustrophobic in such a thing.

Smallest place I've lived for any length of time was an Extended Stay hotel for a month while I was looking for a house to rent. A month was all I could take of that.