The Tiny House is All the Rage
If you look really carefully at the photo here, you will see a house. Can you see it? Good.
Today I am writing about the Small House Movement in the U.S., which advocates building and living in tiny houses.
This new trend is a good thing. Small homes are ideal, for example, if you are downsizing; if you want to save money; or if you want to put less demand on the natural environment.
Tumbleweed, a California-based company that sells small house building plans and other services, offers houses that range in size from a snug 70 square feet to a vast 850 square feet, with prices from $20,000 to $90,000.
Now, not everyone is made for small house living. Are you? Visit Ask the Builder to find out.
Here are some places where you can find out more:
The Small House Society
Lots of small house links (links are at bottom)
Ross Chapin Designs (the photo above is a Chapin house)
Tiny Homes.com
Offbeat homes (not all small but worth a look)
October 27th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
An interesting idea since all the new houses around here keep getting bigger and bigger. But like many single grandparents, I have a home large enough that I can invite my son and my grandson to share it. Three generations under the roof. It surprisingly works out very well.
October 27th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
YAY!!! Smaller is definitely better in most circumstances, and architects like Sarah Susanka have made it clear that you can still outdo the Joneses (if that’s your thang) with top-quality touches in a smaller footprint, rather than with cathedral-ceilinged square footage. Check out a few of these places, and see what you think…
In the meantime, to see why reducing our impact is so important and to see what innovative people and businesses are doing about it, check out the new documentary “The Great Warming” (www.thegreatwarming.com), opening at theaters across the US on Nov 3rd. Venues, information, voter guides and painless ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions – yes, even in an RV! – are all at the website.
If you’ve heard of the film, it may be because it’s been adopted by groups as diverse as Evangelical Christians and Friends of the Earth, and has actually united Evangelicals and Democrats in their effort to focus the Administration on global warming. I encourage you to check the film and website out, and if you like what you see, spread the word!
Happy housing ;>
October 27th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Not me…I lived in a trailer when I was a kid…ain’t goin’ back! Besides, I’m much bigger now.
October 27th, 2006 at 6:52 pm
I’ve got the littlest house (built in 1918) of anyone I know, but in the small house movement, it’s on the vast side.
October 27th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
I do enjoy living in a large house — with two teens around, I need the space, honestly. And a big yard is nice too. My husband has worked hard to make our house very energy efficient — his goal is 0 carbon emissions. We have put in lots of insulation, shaded screens on the windows, repaired the ductwork and bought an energy-efficient AC. If we get solar panels on the roof, we may actually be able to give energy back into the city grid. So you can be big and green (like the Jolly Green Giant).
October 28th, 2006 at 7:58 am
It truly isn’t for everyone. Thanks for the ‘green’ ideas, Lisa T. I’m going to check out the Great Warming. Fuzzy, I don’t blame ya for wanting a bigger place. Miriam, your house sounds amazing.
October 28th, 2006 at 9:40 am
I wouldn’t mind a tiny house. There are rooms of our house that go unused. Our last apartment was ~850 sq ft, so that sounds about right. Not sure the cats would appreciate the downsizing, though.
Thanks for coming to visit!
October 28th, 2006 at 9:51 am
I applaud the movement. I’m in a smallish ranch (inherited), and DD reports that the palatial development homes where many of her friends live are mostly exercises in wasted space :-I All secondary bedrooms are tiny cells, and the bloat occurs in second stories given over to cathedral ceilings for the “great rooms”, triple garages, and the master suite. Most lots are treeless, too, for the convenience of the builders. Grr.
October 30th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
Well I work on a lot of McMansions and think they are generally ugly and ridiculous…love my “little” 870sf, 1937 home! Mind you, I have a full basement which is awesome for storage.
October 30th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Even larger houses maximized for efficiency use more resources than small houses that are less efficient when you consider factors such as land, energy consumption, impermeable surface, water runoff, etc.
I for one and am glad that people are starting to reconsider the idea that bigger is always better. Even if it doesn’t cause everyone to switch to 1000 ft^2 or less, I think at least people are becoming more thoughtful about quality over quantity.
Thanks for the link!
December 17th, 2006 at 8:03 pm
I have to say we’re in a small house more out of necessity rather than choice (it’s what we could afford, though I guess we could have bought a bigger house if we went with a semi-detached house) but as the renovations continue I’m sure I’ll come to love our small abode. It forces my husband and I to be together a great deal (nowhere else to go!), and we have to keep organized and neat (something we’re working on), and there isn’t a great deal of room for material goods.
February 17th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
[...] I’ve told you before about the Small House movement. The New York Times ran a great story this week on people who are living in small houses (there are lots of photos and a good audio slide show, too). [...]
February 19th, 2007 at 10:33 am
Ross Chapin’s designed homes are sweet — but buy pre-canned plans from him and do not directly engage him. He is a primadona, appears to have a form of dyslexia (common in male left handers) that manifests itself as not understanding after a meeting what was said, or comprehending email. He tends to go off on his own tangents — so if you goal is a house design by him — wherever it goes, he’s ideal.
Also be aware that he will design for the maximum budget, if you want a 1000 sq ft house at $160 sq/ft and mention that there is $300K available (to cover landscaping etc), he will start a constant soft sell to get all of the $300K into the house (and his commissions). This will typically be done by expanding the size beyond 1000 sq ft.
February 25th, 2007 at 10:35 am
I own a 1940’s brick colonial that is roughly 1350 sqft on three levels including a full basement. I consider it a small house. It has a single 5 ft x 7 ft bathroom on the top floor. It also comes completed with those tiny reach in closets. I would love to turn it into a charming little home that can compete in functionality and aesthetics with McMansions that are cropping up in my neighborhood. Please help. I am looking for ideas / resources specifically for a SMALL, BOXY COLONIAL.
February 26th, 2008 at 4:24 am
We live in northern New Mexico, lots of sunlight, considering solar and building smaller houses using recycled barns and other eco friendly materials. Yes to reducing carbon footprint and see recent New Yorker article called Big Foot for best world wide perspective I’ve seen for some time. We live currently in 2700 sq ft home, faux adobe, lots of passive solar, south facing large windows, radiant hot water heat, also considering wind turbines.
Interested in working and talking with others who have had experience or who might be looking to build a small house in the Southwest.