Living Tiny: Would you? Could you?

[David T. Cole]

Nope.

[Snarkette]

I couldn't but there's something really aesthetically pleasing about trying to figure out the details of how to optimize and simplify your life.

 

Interesting coverage: http://www.oregonlive.com/hg/index.ssf/2013/01/from_the_home_front_are_tiny_h.html

[LuckyBitch]

I don't think I could handle living in a tiny house for more than a week or two, but for some reason I find them fascinating. Whenever I see an article about them, I love to look at the photos and see how they organize everything in such a small place. The Daily Mail has had several articles over the last couple of  years, with good photos and sometimes video clips too:

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2524437/The-tiny-home-built-scratch-11-000-architect.html

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2545719/Home-sweet-tiny-home-Meet-family-four-living-168sq-ft-house-economic-downturn-downsize.html

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2584180/Perfect-SQUEEZED-middle-Web-designer-builds-mortgage-free-home-30-000-8ft-20ft-itll-tight-fit.html

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2613169/It-aint-home-Couple-opt-rat-race-build-tiny-house-costing-just-33-000-avoid-paying-mortgage.html

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2625602/Wisconsin-man-develops-adorable-tiny-house-WHEELS-79-000-dollars.html

 

That last one isn't so tiny, and I would absolutely love it as a weekend cabin somewhere. It's more high end, has a bedroom that can fit a king sized bed, and there's a full sized bathtub, fridge and stove.

 

I didn't even know about this show until I saw this forum was created. Also, I never heard of the FYI channel and didn't realize that our Dish satellite carried it.

 

The first two episodes are re-airing on Saturday at 12 pm and 1 pm ET. I'll have to check it out.

 

[LittleIggy]

I doubt I could, but I find the concept fascinating, too. Some of the larger Tumbleweed "cottages" look quite liveable:

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/pages/house-to-go

[patty1h]

I like this show because I live in a tiny apartment (325 sq ft) and I like to see how others are able to adapt.  In the first episode, with the couple who had a house built in the middle of a field, how do you get water and waste management set up?  This part wasn't addressed, but made me curious.

[Snarkette]

A lot of people live in small studios, especially as students. Now that you mention your apartment patty1h, I should mention I spent several years living in one that was if memory serves just about 155 square feet. I had to climb over my bed to get to the bathroom (which had separate faucets for hot and cold, which was an adventure in itself) and my fridge was in a closet because there was no other space for it. I had recurring dreams about finding a door that led to the *rest* of the apartment. 

[LuckyBitch]

I was thinking these tiny homes would be good for someone just out of college, or in their 20's and single. I could see myself maybe living in one back then, but I need some clarification on how the plumbing system works as far as hot and cold water for the sinks and shower, and also the toilet.

 

For some people, a nicely decorated tiny home all to oneself might be better than wasting money on rent, or sharing a place with a roommate, or having to move back in with the parents after college or grad school. I could see it being okay for a couple of years or so. 

 

I'm not sure I could stand living in one with another person, though, because I need my space.

[LittleIggy]

I thought the studio apartment with all the slide out things was neat.

[auntjess]

For one person, or limited time, maybe.
With one person, the multi-purpose spaces are great, but if you have one person wanting an office, and another a bedroom, with the same space, it won't work.

The one person ones they've shown seem to have more high-end touches too.

It's what others have been saying, what about spells of bad weather?
For that matter, what if someone is sick, and tying up the bathroom?

[maczero]

I think I could.  I realized the other day how much unused space I had in my bedroom.  I could easily fit a kitchenette in there and still have enough space for an arm chair.  I also own a camper van and I've stayed in its 80 square feet of living space for up to a week.  Anything over 200 sqft would be fairly comfortable to me.

 

In fact, my only gripe about tiny living is having to set things up.  For instance turning my van's couch into a bed.

Edited July 23, 2014 by maczero

[Snarkette]

I am in love with this place 

[LuckyBitch]

What an ingenious design. The only issue is that I'm not sure more than one person could live there because it doesn't seem like you can use one space (like the kitchen) while also using another one (like the bedroom).

 

Here's a 2009 NY Times article about it, with several photos of the different configurations:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/garden/15hongkong.html?_r=0&pagewanted=all

MR. CHANG’S experiment in flexible living began in 1988, when his family moved into a bigger apartment a few blocks away, with his grandparents and uncles.

 

Mr. Chang was then working for the P&T Group, an architectural firm, and living in a rented room near the University of Hong Kong, where he had studied architecture. His mother suggested that he take over the lease on their old apartment, “because the rent was unusually low,” he said. Instead he bought it, for about $45,000.

 

He had been itching to tear down the walls since his teenage years, when he sketched new designs for the family home, and he then began in earnest. In the last two decades, he has renovated four times, on progressively bigger budgets as his company, Edge Design Institute, has grown. His latest effort, which took a year and cost just over $218,000, he calls the “Domestic Transformer.”

 

 

Also, this blog post has a good floor plan that shows how the different rooms are set up:

 

http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/moving-walls-transform-apartment-four-minutes-of-wow-video.html

Edited July 23, 2014 by LuckyBitch

[LittleIggy]

I like this house: http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/loring/

I might could live in the one bedroom.

[DangerousMinds]

I was thinking these tiny homes would be good for someone just out of college, or in their 20's and single. I could see myself maybe living in one back then, but I need some clarification on how the plumbing system works as far as hot and cold water for the sinks and shower, and also the toilet.

For some people, a nicely decorated tiny home all to oneself might be better than wasting money on rent, or sharing a place with a roommate, or having to move back in with the parents after college or grad school. I could see it being okay for a couple of years or so.

I'm not sure I could stand living in one with another person, though, because I need my space.

I think living alone in one of these sounds ok, also, no matter what the age. But what about the expense of buying the land to put the house on? And other than more rural areas, is it even easy to find land? Edited July 25, 2014 by DangerousMinds

[LuckyBitch]

I have no idea. Maybe in some cases people lease the land?

[purplemonkey]

I love the Hong Kong apt, except for the sad couch bench. How about instead of a soaking tub you get an easy chair instead? Does he just use the bed when he wants to lounge?

[Snarkette]

I'm surprised at the overall lack of easy chairs. When the iPad gives you libraries without books, doesn't it make sense to fill up that space with better reading furniture?

[zxy556575]

I used to have a 120 sf apartment that was very comfortable for one person and wouldn't at all mind going back. The main room had a Murphy bed, 6' sofa, arm chair, coffee table, and wall of bookshelves that also held the TV and stereo. When you pulled the bed down, there were 3 pretty deep shelves on each side that functioned as bedside tables with outlets for an alarm clock and lamp or whatnot. There was a double closet and built-in dresser in the hall. The kitchen had a two-seat table, 2 upper and 3 lower cabinets and a two-burner stove. There was a small stand-up shower and pedestal sink in the bathroom.

[Trini]

If anyone is more interested in "tiny" living, Tiny House Blog has articles and resources. I stumbling upon it looking for RV websites.

[auntjess]

A lot of those in the blog looked like playhouses, moreso than the ones on the show.  Maybe because they seem to be sitting in someone's yard.

[Ipse Dixit]

Not only could I, but I did!

 

It's interesting, somehow I'd forgotten all about it.  For about a year, in university, I had an efficiency apartment, the main room probably 12' or15' square; it had a full Murphy bed, a sofa, an easy chair, a small table; then there was a kitchen big enough for a four-burner stove, a sink and small refridge; a closet with bureau about the same size as the kitchen and a bath also that size.

 

So yeah, the main room probably was 15' square and the kitchen, closet and bath were 5' square each.

 

I loved it.  I lacked for nothing.  Can't remember if there were laundry facilities in the building but there were ironing boards and irons in a cubby at the end of the long hallway.  The building's long gone and I didn't take any photos when I was there.  I wonder if it would seem incredibly tiny if I were able to see it again, much like one's childhood home never looks as big as one remembered it.

 

The spoiler these days would be my partner, who lives large to being on the cusp of hoarding.  But my best friend and I have often talked about how if we're ever both single, we'll build tiny houses somewhere in proximity, and spend way more time enjoying sports, nature, travel, concerts and dining out -- and way less on cleaning, organizing and looking after our respective dwellings and the contents therein!

Edited September 8, 2014 by Ipse Dixit

[hatchetgirl]

I could do it.  We currently live in LA, myself, hubby and son, in 800 sq. ft.  Meh - I wouldn't mind downsizing further.  :)

[wrestlesflamingos]

I lived in 450SF for 3 years that cost me an absurd amount each month. The appliances were 27 years old and it was constantly hot. Upgrading to 700 sq ft felt like a mansion.

[Random Noise]

I've been living tiny for two years and don't think I could ever feel comfortable in a 'normal' sized house again.

 

Attitude is everything in making the transition. I thought of it as an adventure and adapted to the change quite easily. People I know who have gone to living small because of necessity (work on the road, etc) more often have a negative opinion of the experience and are inclined to go back to a more conventional home.

 

My only criticism of the tiny house concept is that it takes several months to transition from 'normal' living to tiny living, so 7 or 8 months after taking the initial plunge, you begin to notice that it would have been more convenient to have the bathroom 6 inches wider, or the bedroom ceiling a few inches higher, or a certain cabinet a few inches deeper, etc. When you downscale, space is at a premium.

 

In my situation, I've made the interior walls movable, so the bathroom, bedroom and livingroom can change size as needed.

[auntjess]

Try this for tiny.
Not doable for more than a few nights.  And think of the stairs, and no comfortable chair.https://trove.com/me/content/T8WyE?chid=123300&_p=trending&utm_source=wp&utm_medium=Widgets&utm_campaign=wpsrTrendingExternal-1-opt
 

Edited November 4, 2014 by auntjess

[LittleIggy]

Sort of a posh prison cell!

[auntjess]

HGTV.ca had it on their Facebook page, and said it a couple made it for their au pair, but you nailed it, a posh prison cell indeed.
And if the 7-story climb is true, that makes it worse, if she'd need to make the climb more than once a day.

I saw on FB again as a story in a SF paper.  Haven't read it all, but my friend thought it looked neat. 
Wouldn't you suffer "sensory deprivation" or whatever it is, in something that is all white?

[SmithW6079]

"Home to Go" on HGTV used to do small spaces, and there was one where a woman had an apartment that looked to be about this size. The design really did take advantage of storage solutions, but with the renovations, you basically walk into a hallway, with doors everywhere. Where do you do your lounging? I preferred the openness of the room before renovation.

 

When I lived briefly on the West Coast, I went from my parents' home to a small studio. It was amazing how much I left behind that I never missed. I kind of miss not being bogged down by so much "stuff."

 

Wouldn't you suffer "sensory deprivation" or whatever it is, in something that is all white?

 

I don't know if it's that, but it's certainly claustrophobic. 

[Random Noise]

The interesting thing about designing for small/tiny spaces is that something can look good on paper but when you apply it physically within the given space you start to wonder just what the hell you were thinking. I learned that lesson the hard way designing my own tiny home. Then there's the practical element where the space has been completed but after living in it for a few months you start to wonder just what the hell you were thinking. There's a natural laziness factor where you get tired of sliding something like a table in and out or a chair or any other item you use daily and after a time just leave it the way you normally use it and work everything else around it.

 

For the apartment (prison cell), I think it would have been more appropriate to have the upper storage area, but leave the bottom part open. That would widen the room significantly making it less claustrophobic, and the space could be used for a sofa/bed combination along with a couple comfortable chairs, end tables, etc.

 

The white walls wouldn't be all that big of a deal if mood lighting was appropriately incorporated into the design. A warm tungsten or perhaps orange LED lighting would change the appearance of the wall at night to suit personal taste.

[auntjess]

This one makes a lot more sense to me, and as it's a permanent residence, they have storage sheds.
I would like to have seen the bathroom.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/garden/freedom-in-704-square-feet.html?WT.mc_id=AD-D-E-KEYWEE-SOC-FP-NOV-AUD-DEV-ROS-1101-1204&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1414728000&bicmet=1451538000&ad-keywords=KeyweeCampaign&kwp_0=4548&kwp_1=99667&kwp_4=36138
 

[LittleIggy]

This one makes a lot more sense to me, and as it's a permanent residence, they have storage sheds.

I would like to have seen the bathroom.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/garden/freedom-in-704-square-feet.html?WT.mc_id=AD-D-E-KEYWEE-SOC-FP-NOV-AUD-DEV-ROS-1101-1204&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1414728000&bicmet=1451538000&ad-keywords=KeyweeCampaign&kwp_0=4548&kwp_1=99667&kwp_4=36138

r

Tiny, yes. Inexpensive, no. The kitchen area was small. Guess they don't cook much.

Edited November 15, 2014 by LittleIggy

[auntjess]

No, but as a main residence, it's not that high.
It makes sense as a base, allowing lots of travel, more than a house that you have to cart around.

I do like the fact that they built storage, rather than purge everything.
Makes them sound more realistic to me, rather than fanatics.

[LittleIggy]

I agree about the storage. The big outdoor space was nice, too.

[Diane]

This one makes a lot more sense to me, and as it's a permanent residence, they have storage sheds.

I would like to have seen the bathroom.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/23/garden/freedom-in-704-square-feet.html?WT.mc_id=AD-D-E-KEYWEE-SOC-FP-NOV-AUD-DEV-ROS-1101-1204&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_id&bicmst=1414728000&bicmet=1451538000&ad-keywords=KeyweeCampaign&kwp_0=4548&kwp_1=99667&kwp_4=36138

 

Love that, it is practical and beautiful.

[auntjess]

I'm told that House Hunters will have tiny houses next week. 

[SmithW6079]

I'm told that House Hunters will have tiny houses next week.

 

But...but, how will house hunters be able to do all the entertaining they do, and how will he practice music in his studio while she scrapbooks in her special scrapbooking room? And what of the kitchen? Won't somebody think of the granite counter tops?

[auntjess]

From what I can tell, HGTV has Tiny House Hunters starting 12/15, THEN FYI has Tiny House Hunting starting on 12/22.
Oh, and Tiny House Nation has been renewed for another season.
Honey, I Shrunk The Whole Damn House!

[auntjess]

Good grief, they're taking over! http://tinyhouseblog.com/announcement/deek-diedricksen-tiny-house-builders-hgtv/

A "sneak preview: of Tiny House Builders on HGTV tomorrow at 1pm.

 

[laredhead]

Don't know if I'm supposed to use this forum to post a comment about HH's Tiny Houses series that has been airing on HGTV this past week, but here goes.  The woman last night was looking for a tiny house on wheels.  Said she had though of buying an RV, but wanted something "more permanent" - HUH?  Being on wheels doesn't make it permanent in my world.  Basically, this woman could have bought a tow behind Airstream or a 5th wheel and gotten the same result with more space.  Sounded to me like she was ditching her 5 bedroom house to camp out for a year or so.  I think her 6'5" boyfriend probably wasn't going to last very long in any of the tiny abodes she looked at.     

[auntjess]

 

Don't know if I'm supposed to use this forum to post a comment about HH's Tiny Houses series that has been airing on HGTV this past week, but here goes.

I made a topic for all those other tiny house shows, Building, Hunting, and Hunters et al, in the genre subset, but I also see people posting i HH.

[laredhead]

I'm going to confess my ignorance by asking what/where is the genre subset?  I'll post there, but need to know how to find it.

[wrestlesflamingos]

There is a forum called Genre that houses threads for some broader subjects. Below is a link that will take you to the tiny living thread.

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/19531-tiny-houses-ad-nauseam-except-tiny-house-nation/#entry662171

[laredhead]

Thank you, Wrestlesflamingos.  BTW, love your screen name.

[camom]

I think the lack of storage would get old real fast.  The normally don't have a washer/dryer, so it's off to the laundromat.  Where do you store the laundry basket?  I also think these people have to waste money by purchasing the smallest amount possible of daily necessities.  They'd have to buy the small bottles of detergent, the smallest pack of TP, etc.  And the clothes storage usually looks like you could have 2 pairs of pants, 2 shirts and 1 pair of shoes.  Forget about the heavy coat!  You don't need a lot of "stuff," but you do need some stuff and a place to put it.   

[Snarkette]

 

I think the lack of storage would get old real fast.

It does but the situation isn't as dire as you make it sound for normal small space living. It's really trailers where they have to have a full-sized kitchen and an entertaining area where storage really takes a hit. Places that are squarer rather than long and thin naturally lend themselves better to both storage and multi-use. When I lived in 160 sqft or so, I had a closet (it was small), went to school, and had business clothes for my part time job. I hung up the business stuff, and used a lot of crate storage for the rest, plus had a dresser -- easy to rearrange crates into other things and store things at the same time, not always the best for finding stuff. Some of the solutions on the show (hangers above the bed, move the bed to get to the storage) are awful. They really don't think about daily living so much as "extreme solutions". There was one ep with a fold-down table/desk that was just ridiculous because real people need surface areas that get used 24/7.

[holly4755]

I have to admit this has been tempting me. I live alone in a house that had family of 6 in it at one time and every closet is full as well as the basement and attic. Watching this has encouraged me to get rid of this stuff, my nieces love my clothes from the 70's, Every Christmas I donate more ornaments I have 4 huge tupperware and a collection of Dept 56 houses, My coin collection is on sale on e-bay. My niece is moving into her first apartment, she is getting the Furniture in the attic, Stiffel lamps and Thomasville furniture - too good to throw out. I had a garage sale but no one showed, so I need to donate over a few years to get good tax deduction, then time to move into some smaller place. The good news, I barely buy anything anymore - Tiny would be good, But most likely will be a tiny condo, which is why I like watching this show so much, to give me more ideas and to drive my disinvestments.  Next out - years of paper records, I have every tax return I ever filed and every letter from the banks I used, heh. Need a shredder!

[holly4755]

MY town has a shredder day on april 16. I just have to have it packed and ready to go without staples. Then you just pour it in the cross shredder truck and walk away. 

[Betelnut]

I lived for 3 years in a very small studio in NYC so I could do it...if I lived alone. Now that I have a kid, the noise factor would be unbearable; I really need some separation for some peace.

That said, I know I could live in a smaller home just not a "tiny" one. I'm thinking more like 300 to 500 square feet per person is doable.

[SmithW6079]

Maybe I'm not getting the tiny house "movement," or maybe it's the people who've been highlighted, but it seems to me that a lot of the "movement" is based on living as simply as possible, yet we're treated to (and this includes all the tiny house shows: "Tiny House Nation," "Tiny House Hunters," "Tiny House Hunting," "Tiny House World," "Tiny House/Big Living," plus any I've missed) are people who say they want to downsize and live simply, but this still must have room for an office and workout space and craft space and practice space, plus if they have kids, a play space. It seems that the majority of the "newest members of the tiny house movement" have been pretentious upper-middle class people who are going tiny because it's the trendiest thing right now. 

 

And to me, "tiny" living in a city is just a matter of the available real estate, not any true decision to live tiny. If you have several hundred thousand to buy a place in a major city, you're certainly "comfortable." 

[Snarkette]

It seems that the majority of the "newest members of the tiny house movement" have been pretentious upper-middle class people who are going tiny because it's the trendiest thing right now.

 

It's all about living in an RV without any of the stigma.