S03.E05: 480 Sq Ft Gothic Castle House

[auntjess]

Well the extra space for the stairs was nice, and I'm glad the daughter seemed to come around, but come on, how much privacy can you have in an open loft?
Also, with a foundation house, how hard and expensive would it be to add a bedroom on each end, and let him use the loft for music.

At first I thought the girl was their daughter, but apparently they only met 5 years ago, or something like that.
I ended up think that she was the man's daughter.
I do give points for not planning to tote the house across the country.

 

[Snarkette]

Are there people really tuning in to hear how families can winnow down their possessions to live in a house they're just 5, 6, or 7 days away from occupying?

 

At first I hated the design, with the stupid staircase occupying 90% of the ground floor but after it was all installed, I like how there was a private room in the back, and two clear spaces to the left and right of the stairs. 

 

Why don't people just put in a 2nd floor? Wouldn't that gain them a lot more room? When I saw the builders walking across the beams I was all "Yeah! That's right. Use that space."

 

Summary: Pro musician can't stay on pitch. Cranky daughter was awful until the end. Everyone has horrible taste. Daughter is living in a shoebox and making the best of it. 6 pets? Really? Poor doggies and kitties. Parent's room notably doesn't have any privacy barriers. So...ew?

[mojito]

 

Why don't people just put in a 2nd floor?

Many people want their home to be mobile, and a tall house would have a hard time with bridges, trees, etc. Also, I believe the tiny home is 500 square feet or less.

 

Me, I wonder why people who don't want mobile homes just don't buy or build small homes where they can have doors and privacy and more space and maybe even pay less per square foot. 

[auntjess]

But this house wasn't mobile.  They called it foundation-built, and it was on a concrete slab.

[ChristmasJones]

I would go stir crazy in that thing after a week.

 

Years ago I lived in a studio apartment- 400 sq ft. It had a separate entry area, bath, and kitchen. But then just one main room - my bedroom/office/living room.

 

OMG- I went so crazy in that place- I left after 6 months.

[needschocolate]

Do they include the loft space as part of the square footage?

 

I could see having a tiny house as a vacation or weekend getaway place.  Much cheaper than buying a second full-size home.  But not living in it full time, at least not when you have kids.  

[auntjess]

I don't think loft space is included in the 400 sq'.

Meant to mention earlier that I loved High 3!

[Snarkette]

Wasn't Hi-3 in the deeply awesome vacation home, not the dark and cramped grand staircase house?

[auntjess]

Oops.  I think I clicked on the wrong week.  Sorry.

[proserpina65]

Just saw this one last night but missed a bit at the beginning.  Why was this couple determined to move into a tiny house?  It didn't seem practical for them at all, given their need for costume/guitar storage and his need for a studio for his podcast.  I felt so sorry for the daughter, who clearly did not want to live in such close quarters and who still ended up with very little privacy.

[debraran]

Well, it's been a year, but this is what they said in an interview in Tennesee paper, they thought downsizing would free them up to do other things. http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/gallatin/2015/05/27/tiny-house-family-lives-less/28036003/

If you get by the popups, this is an from 2015 when they were in 3 months.

 

I think in a f/up interview on FYI,  the daughter said she missed her door and parents said they were working on it. If that wasn't her, it was another teenager. ; )

Edited April 22, 2016 by debraran

[StatisticalOutlier]

Well the extra space for the stairs was nice, and I'm glad the daughter seemed to come around, but come on, how much privacy can you have in an open loft?

 

What got me is the daughter found the banister thing or whatever it was, but it was just spindles so they stapled some fabric on it to make it not see-through, but then it went IN FRONT of a wall.  I'm afraid they really thought a banister with some fabric was going to be enough of a wall for a teenager, and when common sense prevailed, they threw up a wall.  But still no door.  And some after-thought rags hanging over on the parents' side.

 

Also, with a foundation house, how hard and expensive would it be to add a bedroom on each end, and let him use the loft for music.

 

That's what I thought, but then it wouldn't be a super-cool and trendy tiny house ?  It just seemed stupid to have the daughter climbing a ladder to a room with no door, opposite her parents' room with no wall that is accessed by a staircase that takes up the middle of the house, when you could just make the footprint a little bigger and have something really functional.  But again, that's just a small house, not a tiny house, and you lose all credibility.  And if they had one more square foot of storage, they'd just become hoarders.  Or so they seem to think.

 

 

At first I thought the girl was their daughter, but apparently they only met 5 years ago, or something like that.

I ended up think that she was the man's daughter.

 

I thought she was the woman's daughter because of the way the daughter talked to/about her, but now that I think about it, that woman was pretty young to have a kid that age.  And where are they going to keep the daughter's band uniform and presumably the big hat with a feather on it?

 

As for function, I can't see them pulling those chairs out and putting them back in every time they use/quit using the table, so they're going to stay out in the open AND they not going to be able to use the under-the-stairs space for storage just in case the chairs DO go back in there.

 

And...the clawfoot tub?  I looked hard and didn't see a shower head, but I have a crappy TV.  I can see a definite logjam in the bathroom if everybody has to take a damn bath.  And I saw in the Tennessean article link above that the bathroom floor has to stay dry to protect the custom tile.  Huh??

 

These people always say how they want to spend more time together, so I loved it when they showed everybody alone in their own spaces, and the daughter hollering at her dad to quiet down.

[debraran]

 

And...the clawfoot tub?  I looked hard and didn't see a shower head, but I have a crappy TV.  I can see a definite logjam in the bathroom if everybody has to take a damn bath.  And I saw in the Tennessean article link above that the bathroom floor has to stay dry to protect the custom tile.  Huh??

 

Yes, that was odd, but then I read this on a forum where the builder of tiny homes is angry at the show for misrepresenting prices,etc. I have a friend who is getting a small home, 700 ft (so not tiny) but watches the show and websites for ideas for storage and she showed this to me:

http://rockymountaintinyhouses.com/the-truth-about-tiny-house-tv-shows/

The last comment says this:

"Saw the most recent episode of Tiny House Nation, and I have to say that I am astonished that anyone would want to actually live in a box made of painted chip board. No matter how cutesy they tried to make it, the episode for the photographers from Denver just made me wonder how long it would be (a couple of months at best) before the bathroom would start to fall apart. The seams between the boards were not finished at all, so the humidity would just destroy it in a short amount of time. I am assuming that they (the producers) thought no one would notice the horrible workmanship and cheap materials. Brush up against those walls with your clothes and it would just ruin whatever you were wearing. It amazes me that people fall for this nonsense.

This show is tricking people into thinking it is going to be easy to build something durable and transportable. I feel for you and your company having to break the news to people that this is not real, and the junk they create on TV is not going to be liveable, roadable or last more than a short amount of time." (end quote)

 

I hope that is not true, this show is an hour escape for me, and I don't want to find out most of it was bogus and I do think Zack's ideas are unique and awesome at times. I will take a closer look at that photographer show next viewing.

Edited April 23, 2016 by debraran