"Tiny house" nation, who wants in?

[MadPlumbarian]

I'm sure this has been mentioned somewhere on here but time for a freshening.. So who here likes or dislikes the thought of downsizing? I would have put one of those vote thing's but I have no clue how to? Anyway, what's everyone's thoughts on this type of living? I'm really curious? My wife(girlfriend at the time) and I got our first apartment it was a little studio, probably about 300sqft, and it was perfect, little bedroom/living room had me a little recliner, she had her desk, and a tv on the one dresser. Besides that a little kitchen with table and a bathroom. Since then all we've done is moved up in size, until we lost our house, well that and two kids, one starts high school this summer and the younger is only four years younger, so the thought of downsizing yet again has been talked about, but plenty of time!
  So what's everyone's thoughts?  JR

[derekmac]

I don't think I could downsize, at least not until the kids are grown up and move out.

[powernoodle]

Given the choice, I'll take 5500 square feet on 10 acres with a new F150 in the garage, but I'm all for each person deciding for himself what works.  I watched a documentary on Netflix about these teeny abodes, and most of those inhabitants came across like total kooks.  Seems like maybe they do it largely to get attention, or for other reasons that I won't address here.  Its all just a little crazy though. 

More important, how do you possible fit your MT collection into one of those things?   

[Etherealicer]

Hmm, I thought you wanted to found the MT.O Nation or something

I love small houses with brilliant furniture to use whatever space there is.

[MadPlumbarian]

Hmm, I thought you wanted to found the MT.O Nation or something

I love small houses with brilliant furniture to use whatever space there is.

I'm one totaly for the multi functional furniture! I got a table that both sides open up and four chairs store inside, over all it's got to be about 3' x 7' but folds down to 3' x 1'! I love it! JR

[Smashie]

I Really like the design and ideas that go into making living in a tiny house possible and i think quite a lot of that could be applied to normal houses. The home office I'm sitting in now is 167sqft and I'm running out of space fast.

I like the idea of having one as a holiday home though.

 Plus I have lived in a lot of small places in my life, I'm not sure I could go back to it.

[Etherealicer]

Etherealicer stop derailing this thread... but...

We could use Microbes PockerChips as currency in MT.O Land

 

[sawman]

My wife watched one of those shows with me and commented how we could live in a place like that. I don't think so. For one, we both have too much stuff, namely her stuff! If anything, we need a bigger house! 

[greenbear]

I am a great small house fan, and also a minimalist lifestyle type (100 or so possessions including the clothes I stand up in) can be challenging at times but that's half the fun.  Currently in a 2 bed, because of the nipper, but best house to date was a tiny one bed place I owned before - I loved it

[Nhoj]

I think tiny houses are a great idea. Raising kids in one might be difficult though. I personally would not be able to live in a tiny house because  I need my workshop to keep me occupied in winter. I am willing to live in a very small house though.

[bmot]

I've been interested in small houses and smart furniture, all that kind of things. Lots of things can be learned from boats for that, too


Really, it actually has a lot of parallels with MT-design, in fitting a very usable design in a small space. I really love this kind of house, growing up in quite a large house (actually too large) and having to help cleaning it, I'd quite like downsizing something fierce.


There's lots of good ideas out there, though honestly, most are designed for singles or couples, no kids involved.


Here's a few nice, much less "weirdo" than what you probably saw in the documentary. Downsizing doesn't necessarily means going off the grid, or living in one of those weird trailer things.


http://www.houzz.com/idea...ut-Apartment-in-Barcelona
http://www.houzz.com/idea...-Foot-Unfolding-Apartment
http://www.houzz.com/idea...udio-Opens-to-Flexibility
http://www.houzz.com/idea...nwinds-in-540-Square-Feet

[jzmtl]

Depends on how tiny. I think the current trend of 5000+ sqft house are wasteful (unless you have tons of kids) but I've seen extremes like 200 sqft which is way to crampy for me, especially that now I'm already keep bumping into stuff on a regular sized building.

I'd like a large lot though, good fence and good distance make good neighbors. And a large garage/workshop, which doesn't counts toward house size. 

[AimlessWanderer]

Everyone should follow what's best for them. My plan was to live on the boat, but it didn't work out. If I'd have followed that through, I'd have been living in a cabin space 35ft x 6ft. A couple of years ago, I had to make a decision whether I did that or move into a small house - I took the house option - roughly 16ft x 30ft footprint and two storeys (slightly bigger upstairs), and that's plenty big enough for me. I could easily downsize if I wanted to, but I do like having that bit of extra space. I'd have had to live quite a minimalist lifestyle on the boat. Now I have the challenge of steadily trying to clear out the boat and two sheds of all my posessions, and trying to find somewhere for it all to fit at home ... shed number three (at home) is already full

[Aloha]

Here in the US homes 60 plus years ago homes were smaller and families were raised quite well.  I feel we ( especially ) here in California have gotten to the point where families just want big arse homes, just because.  It would depend on how small for me, I've seen the ultra small NYC apartments and no thanks.  I am in the process of moving again and I'm totally fine with going smaller.  I'd say 1200sq ft is a good size but layout is everything.  I used to think I'd be able to live in an RV and actually believe I still could as my requirements are minimal.  Sure I'd love a garage/work space, yard, man cave, and so on but in reality I dont need much. 

 

[Syph007]

I could have a small living space as long as I had a garage.  Heck Id be fine with a lot of land, large garage and a camper to live in.  My wife on the other hand.. has too much stuff!

[ironraven]

I have plans for a cabin I'd like to build that is only 16x20. I could, in theory, with an outhouse and a pole barn to store wood, live in that. But I'm not sure I'd want to do it for the rest of my life

[MadPlumbarian]

When I was like 14 I drafted a layout of a house that I thought was perfect, by the time I was 18 things changed around and got a second floor, idk how many sqft it was but it was like four bedroom three and half bath, it's big! But it's nothing I need, let alone could I ever afford, not that these tiny homes are cheap either! JR

[Lynn LeFey]

Our current place is 988 sqft. The place we just moved out of is 868 sqft.

The last place was simply too small. The new place is bigger than we need, but that's because it has a full, dry, basement and garage.

I own Jay Shafer's Tiny House book, and watch videos on youtube from relaxshacks, Tiny Home Talk, and others. I love the idea of tiny homes, and frequently toy with floor plans for them. But there is no force in the universe that would get hubby to agree to it. He has a very middle-class suburban mindset as to what a home is, and anything outside of that makes him make grumpy noises.

So, I'm stuck with my dreams on graph paper. 

[VictorLouis]

I once rented a 600ft casita behind a main house. Turns out the widow landlord's late husband was a ship's carpenter. There was intricate cubby-hole cabinetry in the entry to the bathroom, and well-thought-out kitchen cabinets. Place even had a small, enclose foyer-porch. The only thing I didn't have room for was a washer dryer, unless I chose to leave it outside the back door. I went to a laundrymat. It was great until I got married, LOL...with the addition of wife's clothing which there was no room for.

[gustophersmob]

I Really like the design and ideas that go into making living in a tiny house possible and i think quite a lot of that could be applied to normal houses. The home office I'm sitting in now is 167sqft and I'm running out of space fast.

I like the idea of having one as a holiday home though.

 Plus I have lived in a lot of small places in my life, I'm not sure I could go back to it.

I agree with this.

Back in the late 40's early 50's, the average size home in the US was slightly under 1000 sq ft and the average family size was slightly above 4. Now the average home size is slightly above 2000 sq ft and the family size has shrunk to around 2.5.

I think needs and wants are very confused, especially here in the US, and we could all get along just fine with less stuff. I think we've gone so far to one extreme with house size that over correcting a bit may not be all that bad.

However, where that line is drawn is going to be different for everyone, and I don't think trying to nail down a "perfect" house size or specific # of possessions is all that helpful.

Ultimately, I think people should be free to decide how they want.  That being said, I don't think it would hurt anyone to spend some time critically examining their living and consumption decisions and patterns.  Most people seem to base their housing and consumption decisions on what their peers are doing, rather than based upon any personal reflection.

It is all about living intentionally, IMO.

[Lynn LeFey]

Well said. Our new house is from the mid 40's. Although, it's only two bedroom, so I doubt it was intended for a family of more than 4, and probably more reasonably 3 (unless your two children were both boys or both girls, or one of the kids didn't mind living in the basement).

Before we were house owners, and a few rented apartments before that, we had a place that was... I want to say... like 450sqft. It was an apartment in a building that had once been a hotel. It was about the size of 2 hotel rooms put together. VERY small. TOO small.

But a lot of times, square footage isn't a great measure of the utility of the space. A well thought out 200 square feet can be more useful in actual living than 400 awkward square feet. And, as VictorLouis just pointed out, cabinetry design can make a big difference. So can picking good multifunction furniture.

I personally think I could dump a bunch of crap I don't need, and comfortably live in 120 square feet. I DON'T think hubby and I could comfortably live in twice that, though. I don't think the notion of a 'sleeping loft' would ever fly with him. He gets up a lot in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and is not exactly what I'd call extremely coordinated. Like... he trips on flat dry sidewalks. So going down a ladder while half asleep is right out.

[gustophersmob]

Well said. Our new house is from the mid 40's. Although, it's only two bedroom, so I doubt it was intended for a family of more than 4, and probably more reasonably 3 (unless your two children were both boys or both girls, or one of the kids didn't mind living in the basement).

Before we were house owners, and a few rented apartments before that, we had a place that was... I want to say... like 450sqft. It was an apartment in a building that had once been a hotel. It was about the size of 2 hotel rooms put together. VERY small. TOO small.

But a lot of times, square footage isn't a great measure of the utility of the space. A well thought out 200 square feet can be more useful in actual living than 400 awkward square feet. And, as VictorLouis just pointed out, cabinetry design can make a big difference. So can picking good multifunction furniture.

I personally think I could dump a bunch of crap I don't need, and comfortably live in 120 square feet. I DON'T think hubby and I could comfortably live in twice that, though. I don't think the notion of a 'sleeping loft' would ever fly with him. He gets up a lot in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and is not exactly what I'd call extremely coordinated. Like... he trips on flat dry sidewalks. So going down a ladder while half asleep is right out.

  I wish I could say I didn't have any experience with that!

I do agree layout and how the space is utilized can make a huge difference.  We live in a neighborhood built in the early 60s. Our house is a 3 bed, 2 bath on a slab around 1300 sq ft.  I think its layout makes it feel quite a bit larger than the #'s would suggest.  We have friends in the same neighborhood who have an identically sized house overall, but two rooms are sized differently.  Their house feels incredibly cramped in the living area due to that change.

[greenbear]

Here in the UK have a series called "Amazing Spaces" hosted by architect George Clarke which specifically looks at small space projects and unusual small space builds (so camper vans/caravans/converted trucks as well).  It's been so popular we have just had the third series. 

The popularity of small space living is helped by the unsustainably high house prices over here. 

[Lynn LeFey]

I've seen a few episodes of Amazing Spaces. I think I found it while looking for videos on Airstream refurbs.

[Chako]

I think I posted this somewhere on this forum. but couldn't find it. So here is the link again.

http://documentaryheaven.com/small-homes-tiny-flats-wee-shelters/

[Whoey]

I would maybe consider a downsized "treehouse" as a secondary, but there's no way I want to completely give up the space I have, actually the wife and I are craving a little bit more space than we have currently. (70m²)

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I would downsize tomorrow really

I pay a lot of rent for my place and when the tenancy comes up in about march I'm sure I'll go smaller

I could quite happily live in one of those sitted caravans or a boat, Melanie my better half on the other hand... =

Sent from the astropathic choir.

[Whoey]

I would downsize tomorrow really

I pay a lot of rent for my place and when the tenancy comes up in about march I'm sure I'll go smaller

I could quite happily live in one of those sitted caravans or a boat, Melanie my better half on the other hand... =

Sent from the astropathic choir.

 

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

I've often been told I have an uncanny resemblance to Mr Pitt

Sent from the astropathic choir.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have 900sq ft now,  plus a small garage and it is perfectly livable. I would prefer more.... sort of. I'm happy with my living space but I would prefer a much larger garage. I mean I'd like a larger living space too, but my priority would be a bigger garage/workshop.  I've often thought that what I really need is a small warehouse 8-10,000sq ft would be perfect, with a small loft built into it.

Def

Sent from my smurfing hunk of techno sorcery