videos of 12 teeny tiny houses

[Paul Wheaton]

There is a huge movement for this. And the perks are easy to get your head wrapped around: no mortgage, tiny expenses, tiny housekeeping .... if it is a fit for you, you can retire ten times earlier.

Some of these it is a bit like living in a piece of art.

Some of these are so easy, you don't have to be a carpenter to build them.

http://www.makeitmissoula.com/2011/0...ouse-movement/

[AngieM2]

If you like the ones in the video (which I'll watch tonight at home) check out

www.tinyhouseblog.com - that's a place that I check out a good bit. And
www.tinytumbleweedhouses.com
and www.phoenixcommotion.com

I really, really like the tiny houses.

Angie

[FarmboyBill]

Thing I see, is a teeny tiny house, is kinda like a teeny tiny barn. It limits your ability to grow, expand, your farm, your garden. My kitchen is fulla of all kinds of stuff, so as to be able to can, cook, ect. I have 2 hoosier wood cabinets, 2 rainges, one wood, one gas, dough makers, cabbage slicers, grinders, food mills, and I dont know what all else in there, that I dont Really have room for. BUT, If a woman here WANTED to do a certain thing in the kitchen, I believe id have the stuff to do it with. With a tiny house, you have a glorified outhouse, that you can set in and look at the land its setting on, cause you cant do much else in/with it.

Dont get me wrong. Im not knocking them. Just tateing a point.

[Paul Wheaton]

Originally Posted by AngieM2

If you like the ones in the video (which I'll watch tonight at home) check out

www.tinyhouseblog.com - that's a place that I check out a good bit. And
www.tinytumbleweedhouses.com
and www.phoenixcommotion.com

I really, really like the tiny houses.

Angie

I just spent more than an hour at www.tinyhouseblog.com - REALLY good! They even have videos of cobville that are far better than mine!

[rootsong]

I too am fascinated by tiny houses. And I can see the perks. But the reason I personally could never live in such a home, is that I need space for our food storage, tools, extra everything (clothes for the kids to grow into, medications & first aid supplies, extra animal foods, canning supplies, gardening supplies, fencing supplies, etc. etc.). I can only imagine that one living in a tiny house couldn't be a big gardener, canner, have livestock or keep long term food storage. At all. They'd have to be the sorts that go to the grocery store every night, or every week at least. And don't store a whole lot of supplies that would allow them to take care of themselves in any emergency. Not my kind of lifestyle!

But, all that being said, I'm going to go explore all those links because I do love tiny houses!

[FarmboyBill]

Thats what I tried to say. Ya both said it together, better.

[AngieM2]

I'm thinking small house, LARGE workshop/storage shed. Rather like a modest farmhouse overshadowed by the large barn.

The small house would not need as much in the way of heat, etc; and basements, storage sheds could hold the 'stuff' but need as much heat, cooling, lights, etc.

And I'd like to take elements of the tiny houses space use and apply to a house for me, or modification to my mobile home.

[Chris in PA]

I have looked at building plans for tiny houses over the years and it may work for people who are just starting out on their land - a single person or a couple.. but you would have to have another building for tools,etc. It could then be turned into a guest house but I am not sure how one would live like that long term. As many have mentions there is no way to store anything...which would make you in danger during storms, diseasters, etc. If you can't take care of yourself and prepare accordingly, what is the goal? Having tiny bills does not help if you cannot feed yourself and your family.

[Freeholder]

The place that I see for tiny houses (besides yuppies who buy everything, shopping almost daily for groceries) is for people who are homeless, or would be homeless if it weren't for the tiny house. Design it so you can add on to it later, and make do with what you've got. Some shelter is better than no shelter, IMO, and especially if it's shelter on land you own, rather than having to move around frequently (like camping on BLM land -- have to move at least five miles every two weeks).

Personally, I would be quite happy permanently with a *small* house, but the tiny houses would need to be added onto as quickly as possible.

Kathleen

[AngieM2]

http://www.320squarefoothome.com/201...tiny-home.html

This is one of my favorites, her sewing studio/business is in a separate little building, next door -
I love the colors she's chosen for doing this home.

[AngieM2]

Oh, checkout Texas Tiny Houses. They have a style and charm, too

[PulpFaction]

Originally Posted by AngieM2

I'm thinking small house, LARGE workshop/storage shed. Rather like a modest farmhouse overshadowed by the large barn.

The small house would not need as much in the way of heat, etc; and basements, storage sheds could hold the 'stuff' but need as much heat, cooling, lights, etc.

And I'd like to take elements of the tiny houses space use and apply to a house for me, or modification to my mobile home.

This sounds most practical to me! I have the same qualms about a tiny house as the others have mentioned, but really, most of the storage aspects would be better suited to a storage building which would not necessarily need the same climate control as your actual living space. As for the kitchen...yes, I hate having a small kitchen but most of the most intensive kitchen uses are done in temperate weather when an outdoor kitchen is very feasible, and perhaps even preferable!

I think the Tiny House movement is a backlash against the "McMansion" thing where people arbitrarily build huge houses and fill them with gaudy reproduction antiques and nothing useful.

[Raven12]

The problem I have with most of these tiny house companies/plans/kits is the cost factor. It would be cheaper for me to buy an old small house and renovate it (which is part of my plan for the future).

[AngieM2]

Raven - check out the Phoenix Commotion and the Texas Tiny Houses as they reuse a lot of elements, especially Phoenix Commotion as they are doing low cost housing for people of Huntsville TX. I mean he uses ANY and EVERYTHING in these houses and they comeout with more character and charm than most anything I've seen.

[City Bound]

I lived in a studio apartment built into a one car garage and i loved it. I had everthing I needed and it was easy to clean. Now I have a large one bedroom apartment and it too much for me to handle. Living small is not for everyone, but for some, like me, that small shoe fits.

[City Bound]

Originally Posted by Raven12

The problem I have with most of these tiny house companies/plans/kits is the cost factor. It would be cheaper for me to buy an old small house and renovate it (which is part of my plan for the future).

I agree. I am just going to get plans for a two car garage, build it, and turn it into a little house. I figure if I ever get married or in a serious relationship that two people could live nicely in a place that size.

[City Bound]

Angie, I was thinking along the same line. A small home with a near by workshop, a garden shed, a root cellar, and a tiny barn. I considered the idea of a basement on the small house, but basements cost too much. it would cost less for me to build a shed to store "junk" then it would for me to have a basement built to store "junk".

[City Bound]

One good thing about small homes is that you can enjoy your life a lot sooner then later. I am going to be 36 this year and I will not have enough money to buy land and build a small house until I am about 42, but at 42, if things go as I hope they will, I will have no morgage, no rent, and less stress. I rekon I only have about 30 years left once I reach the age of 42, so there is no sense in spending the rest of my life working to pay off a giant morgage on a giant house that I can not take with me when I pass on. I rather have a small house, work less, save more, and maybe, finally, start to learn to live a full life again.......off the gerbil wheel.

[Raven12]

Originally Posted by AngieM2

Raven - check out the Phoenix Commotion and the Texas Tiny Houses as they reuse a lot of elements, especially Phoenix Commotion as they are doing low cost housing for people of Huntsville TX. I mean he uses ANY and EVERYTHING in these houses and they comeout with more character and charm than most anything I've seen.

Thanks. I will look at those sites.

[brreitsma]

Silly if you ask me.... why do hippies like living in 3rd world conditions?
No offense

Because as I have heard of many a hippy or rainbow say,"what you own also owns you."