Thoughts on Building Tiny Houses
@faceyourfears (11)
United States
July 24, 2012 5:44am CST
I have been browsing the internet and a new and trendy green idea seems to be sweeping everyone up. The idea of what is called a Tiny House movement. In this people literally live in small spaces usually ranging from 100-200 square feet of home. A lot of these homes are generally build on trailers or posts but some are built on ground. Many store chains in the UK have already started mass producing ready to assemble Tiny houses that the user can assemble themselves much like a table you may find at a local Walmart store.
If you haven't heard of this yet, there are numerous video's on www.youtube.com as well as sites like www.tinyhouseblog.com and even groups that teach classes like www.tumbleweedhouses.com. I have to say I am quite intrigued by the idea of not only owning one of these houses but actually creating one my self. I have started drawing up numerous ideas and sketches to try and make a model home that would be comfortable, efficient, and elegant at the same time.
The green movement has inspired a lot of unique idea's and this is one of my all time favourites for sure! What are your thoughts on small living spaces, could you live in a small home like this. What are your opinions on the legality of these living spaces? In some states its illegal to have one of these sadly.
Thanks for reading!
1 response
@katcarneo (1433)
• Philippines
24 Jul 12
I have just bought a house that falls into the category of "tiny," with it measuring 236 square feet. The total lot area is 602 square feet. However, this size of a home is pretty common in my country, and is not really shockingly small.
I plan to keep things minimal within the house, and I'm quite inspired by traditional Japanese style homes. I also make a lot of sketches from time to time, because I plan to start making home improvements next year.
My religious upbringing is the reason why I have no dreams to own and live in a big house. We were taught not to want much. So, I have no problem at all living in a small house. Bachelor condo units are even smaller than that sometimes.
As for the legality, it is not a problem here in my country. I guess it's only a problem when big families would live in a tiny home.
@faceyourfears (11)
• United States
24 Jul 12
I have seen a lot of other countries allow smaller sized homes as a normality. I am kind of envious of this! I was actually shocked to find out that our government feels that small homes may reduce the value of surrounding properties. I suppose that is the U.S and it's greed. People need to live in mansions in order to feel successful. I agree with you however, I feel that our possessions aren't as important as well.
There seems to be a lot of ways around the law, but the fact that there are building laws that restrict the minimum size of houses seems a little ludicrous. Especially now when resources are dwindling.
@katcarneo (1433)
• Philippines
26 Jul 12
In big cities in Asia where there are so many people and so little space, small flats in high apartment buildings are the norm. I particularly like checking out videos of small Japanese apartments and am quite amazed how the space is maximized.
I guess in the US there's this impression that if you live in a small house, you are poor, and a lot of small houses and a lot of poor people in an area can make the area a less desirable place to live in. But I have seen people who live in microhomes by choice, and it's not like their homes are shabby or anything---they even have some pretty cool pieces of furniture and appliances.
