apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Adorable. I want one. I guess my 4 kids, 3 dogs and 2 cats will have to go somewhere else. Hubby and I would fit right in. ;)

I love these, but when I really think about it, it starts to see like just a really expensive (albeit luxurious) alternative to a tent.

I see how these are going to be popular because after this depression we are in many folks won't have much furniture left from having to sell item on craigslist.

Those itty-bity houses are somewhat extreme...
...but if my Grandparents could safely and successfully raise 3 children and have GreatGrandmother live in the same sub-1500sf 3 BR/1Bath house - I don't see why a family of 4 "need" a 3000 Sq ft McMansion.

Nobody "needs" 2 dining areas, 2 living areas, bonus rooms, hobby rooms, guest rooms, playrooms, separate bathrooms and bedrooms for every member of the family and 3-car garages for all their excess "Stuff"...

asinner, you think a tiny home is just an alternative to a tent? how so?

i've always found small spaces highly appealing, even separately from important factors like money and environmental impact.

I may get the blue and white one for my garden.

I hope this means overstuffed furniture will disappear forever.

There are places in this world where people only dream of living in a house like these.

I compared it to a tent because I can see affluent people buying a cute little "play house" like this to put on a piece of gorgeous property and "camp" in it occasionally. To me, that is an expensive luxury when a $200 tent would do just fine.

I think that scenario is far more likely than someone "trading down" from an average American house to something like this for 24x7 living. That would be admirable, but still seems unlikely.

I love love love small-space living too. My dream is actually to live aboard a sailboat one day - which is about the same amount of living space as one of these homes. However, that is another example of small-space living that is deceptively expensive.

While I appreciate the need to cut down on the spread of McMansions, the spread of Tiny Houses as a movement makes me... uncomfortable.

The thing is, I know it's the very best of intentions, but they feel like luxuries. Like playhouses. I wonder how many of these people have had to spend most of their lives in poor or cramped circumstances, or if it's all new enough to be a refreshing novelty.

Then there's the issue of storage, which is nearly non-existent in most of these homes. Growing up as an artists' kid, you're careful enough with money to reuse *everything.* But how can you reuse if you have draconian space limitations? There's no real space to put clothes or toys in the attic for the next kid, little room to store up bulk food, nowhere to keep mechanical parts of old items so that if something else breaks, you can still fix it and keep going. The list goes on.

If you have enough money to go out all the time, then of course you don't need a big kitchen or any privacy space. If you can go out and buy a new outfit when someone dies or has a wedding, then you don't need lots of storage space.

Too much stuff is a luxury, but a pristine uncluttered life is a bit of a luxury as well.

That's not even getting into "footprint" matters like the fact that a green built apartment building would still be light years ahead in terms of energy use, economy of scale, land use, etc...

Ach, I sound like I'm horribly damning the concept, and I don't mean that! I think it's a wonderful lifestyle, if you can make it work for you. I just feel uncomfortable in making it a movement that proclaims itself superior, safer, cheaper, and greener than alternatives.

gotcha. :)
i can see exactly what you're saying.

and for me, these would be trading UP in a financial sense! my current (and tiny) apartment is about all i can afford at the moment.

i have this pipe dream of converting an amish-built garden shed (the bigger kind) into a living space with a loft bedroom. i know someone who did that, and i've been intrigued ever since.

I was sort of shocked when I visited the Tumbleweed site to see that he offers houses approaching 800 sf as small houses. Our house is 1,063 sf and now that we have a baby on the way and a dedicated nursery, the house is only just now starting not to feel so huge.

My family had a few very large houses when I was growing up, and sometimes I could go a whole day without really bumping into my parents. The thought of raising my own family in those conditions is really offputting. I love that our little one's bedroom will be right across the hall from us, and that there's not a whole lot of unused space that I have to keep clean!

I agree, Kaete. These seem to function more like playhouses for people.

On the other hand, I can see them working well as part of tiny house communities, where there would be common buildings for eating and socializing, and these would function mainly as places to sleep or have "alone" time.

Oh man, Heather. That would be faaabulous.

Storage wouldn't be as much of an issue either, since you could probably hand-me-down clothing to neighbors and have a barn for most other essential stuff.

Really, the places I see tiny houses working for the best are especially in the country. When you're lucky enough to live in the country, you don't need so much inside space. Who needs a playroom when you've got an entire woods?

The only problem there is that only so many people can live in the country before it's not country any more...

These are wonderful! Charming, besides! I've spent most of my life in small spaces, and I find it far more relaxing and simple than having tons of space. I have 650 sf now and it's MORE than enough! I feel like living in a smaller space forces me to simplify my life... I'm less busy, less stressed, I don't have as much to CLEAN. My bills are smaller, too!

I've always wanted a little weathered grey house on the beach, too. These are perfect.

No wee house? I think that was the original. Sad.

How are these essentially different than living in a trailer?

What happened to balance?

I know there are people out there who feel like you haven't arrived until you can utter the phrase "let's go into the formal dining room" but, having grown up in a post-war Sears box house, I guess...I don't get it.

My parents home is no where near as small as that one, but it was definitely cramped for the four of us. No closet space, an unfinished basement and only two bedrooms were certainly problems for us, but we made due and, honestly, they've really finally maximized their small space. They split the living room in two, creating a third bedroom and, to make up for the lost recreational space, they got rid of a lot of the non-essential crap they'd been storing in the basement (my father is a pack rat), consolidated what they were keeping onto floor to ceiling shelves and managed to finish half of the basement as a rec room - which is great, because it gives my brothers bands a fabulous place to practice.

I'd buy that house for myself and the SO tomorrow if it were on the market. There's plenty of space for the two of us - room to store our stuff, to turn the living room into a relaxed dining room, the second bedroom into more of a den, the second bedroom into a craft room/office and - should we ever want to expand the family - there would be plenty of room to bounce the office into the basement. I guess I don't see why anyone would need anything more.

No Tiny homes for me - but no McMansions either :P

We have 6 people living in 1130 sq feet. Yay small living! I am a bit jealous though. I've been dying to convert a shed or build a shack in my backyard so that I may escape the sometimes maddening crowd, or to sometimes house guests.

are these tiny houses the size of a studio? how can a family expect to fit in these?

Kaete, I second that.

Space and privacy are the ultimate luxury. Having grown up in a cramped apartment, sharing a bedroom with a much younger sibling, I insist on having my own room ever since.

Communities with shared eating and entertainment spaces? What if you want to have a romantic dinner or a private conversation?