Who lives in a "tiny house"?

Sweet

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

That is so darling and pretty and neat and lovely.

If you have inside photos you would not mind posting, I would love to see inside.

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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale

Oh Kasota, I love your little home ! It is what I always thought I would want if I didn't have so much stuff ! Your yard is wonderful also.

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Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird, that cannot fly.

Family of 6 here, and we are in a 16 x 28 'cabin' with two 16 x 8 lofts on each end.

Bought this one, would have rather built but time and other issues were a factor (long, long story there). Slight modifications are under way to help with venting and shoring up a few things.

Murphy beds and kids have the loft. Building in cabinets and bookcases this spring, will be adding on outdoor cooking area and shower area.

It can be done easily, just takes the right mindset and for us we included the kids on the selection and color and stuff like that (in as much as we listened to them and discussed, then boss wife made the decision).

Cabin Fever is not bad for us (even though the kids are on their 8 straight day of snow days out of school. Heat is with an older Earth Stove, water right now is 300 gallon IBC's and buckets. Showers are water heated on stove, and it is amazing how much water you can save that way.

For us, it was helpful when we were in Georgia making plans to 'live' in the space you are thinking of. If that means for one weekend you live in the kitchen and living room only, try it, see what works.

Other than a few little things, I wouldn't change much. Build if possible, so you can do it cheaper and to your own specs, that would be my one point.

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Commerce with all nations, alliance with none, should be our motto- - Jefferson

We lived in a 31 ft travel trailer for 17 yrs. With dogs and cats and birds and other assorted pets at times. I would do it again in a heart beat. Got to be very happy with the people you live with though.
I have even thought about having a self contained truck camper for emergency housing.

I am living in a 16 x 32 foot cabin I am still in the process of building. It also has a 15 x 16 foot loft. In order to live in a small cabin you really have to be organized and be good at planning your space. I am not organized and am still finalizing how I want to do the interior. When I started building I set a pretty aggressive goal of how much $ I wanted to invest and save per month over the next several years so I do that first, and then whatever I have leftover I put towards the cabin/land. Things have not progressed as quickly as I would like but I am glad I made this decision... the slower build has helped me have time for the planning and organization. I just finished a deck and hope to add on to it later this year. I think one of the keys to a small cabin is having more area outdoors.. deck, garden / greenhouse, park, etc

Thank you all for the kind words about my wee house! I do have some pictures that are a couple years old of the inside and I will post what I can and more of the gardens, too. Forgive the family photos...they are the only ones I have of the inside.

This first one is of the kitchen when mom finally got new cupboards and the kitchen upgrade was still under construction. Prior to this there were cupboards made out of 2x2's and 1/4 inch plywood. Not exactly sturdy. The length of that countertop, including the sink, is 9 feet 2 inches. Yes, we get creative. LOL!

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Here are some garden pictures and a few of the inside.

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And a few more...

The raised beds have been expanded. The middle one is of my bog garden. The picture of the patio shows the houses across the street.

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I love your place Kasota!

Our house is small, but definitely not tiny, 932sf. No garage or basement. It was a granary for a while and a chicken coop at another time (in the 60's I think).

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I saw something nasty in the woodshed

A few more garden pictures and one of my deck. I can pick apples off my tree right from the deck....

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So here is a little story about this wee house. It started out as a garage. Some single man bought a used garage and moved it to a vacant double lot. He did put a basement under it and he put a 1/2 story on the top. Years later he sold it to my mom who was a single woman raising 4 kids on her own.

When my mom bought the house it had linoleum floors through the whole thing. The furnace in the basement was coal. When I grew up it was my brother's job to get up first in the winter and fire up the coal furnace. We would snuggle in our beds waiting for the house to start to warm up. Mom would be down in the kitchen and she would turn on the stove and we would bring out clothes down to the kitchen to get dressed by the stove where it was not so cold. Mom bought this little place for 5,000 back in the 50's. It was what she could afford. The house was very humble, but it had a big yard and it was walking distance to the bus line, the elementary school and a church. She did not have a car. It was also in a very safe neighborhood and only two blocks from a wooded area with a creek.

I remember the day we had the furnace converted to natural gas. My mom was so happy to not have to deal with coal dust anymore!

Mom raised 4 kids in this little house. The house next door was purchased several years ago by her cousin. On the other side is a very good friend who shares my love of gardening. Across the road in a family that watches over us. He fishes and these days we hire his son to cut our grass because it gives him some money and he is saving for college. He is just 16. We often end up taking packages of cookies when we bake to a 1/2 dozen homes around hours.

I moved out when I was 19 and didn't come back to this town until 2006. I had gotten divorced and had to sell my farm and my mom needed me as she had a bout of cancer.

So here I am, back home again, in the little house where I grew up. Mom put the house in my name some years ago, with my sibling's blessing, because I have spent all these years caring for her. Who says you can't go home again?

I really do love this wee little house. I have replaced all the windows and the sliding glass door to the deck. I've had the old dying trees cut down and replaced them with fruit trees. I re-did the deck which was sagging badly. I finally had to replace the old furnace. She still needs work. I would love to get new siding on her and insulate when I did so. She does have a newer roof. I'd love to re-do the ceilings inside but that will come. Bit by bit she's getting fixed back up.

Thanks for thinking my little house is lovely. You warmed my heart.

My wee little deck.

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Love your home and the story of it. Congratulations on your mother's gumption.

And that deck looks so inviting. I cannot get over how nice and lush all your gardens look.

You have something to be very proud of, and the Love shows.

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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale

Thank you all again for the kind words for my wee home.

Tiempo, I love your house! That's priceless that it used to be a chicken coop and now you have chickens in your yard!

Btw - the young man fixing his tie in the one photo is my son. He was getting ready for his cousin's wedding. First time I'd seen him in a suit in some long years.

I so love your little tiny home and your story that comes with it. Those are the kind of stories I could sit on the front porch, sweet tea in hand and listen all day. Beautiful memories you have tucked into your little space. May you and your mother continue to stay blessed and thank you so much for sharing.

Can you share your home story and pictures as well?

Inspiring tiny home stories Kasota your tiny house is beautiful inside and out and such a lovely story to go with it.

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Tiny Forest ~ my tiny blog

My dh and I starte out in a 16x20 cabin. Loved it. Not much storage but you could not become a pack rat. If you wanted the house to be clean you had to keep on top of what you have. We now have a family of soon to be 11 our house is less then 1,200 sq feet. This house is not set up for a large family.
If I had it my way knowing how long we would be here I would have gutted it (without permission) and re configured everything! On the outside my house looks big. But you step in and you feel closed in. Our main living space is 354 sq feet. I also homeschool 7 of our children.
Our living room is 11x13 our kitchen Is 12x12 that's most of our space. The house is very easy to trash. When all the kids have their school books out its cluttered.
Life is busy in our little house. With the cold winter it's been a little rough.

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I'm so done here.

What lovely houses! Thanks for sharing. I read this thread last night and needed more, went searching online for small houses. The Europeans are doing some beautiful little houses! But I saw very few that were lived in as a main residence, mostly 'retreats' and summer cottages. A Swedish company is making a Hermit's House, looks like an ice fishing shack.

DH and I have lived in many small homes (not tiny) when we were young, never really thought about it, but I suspect that's where my love for tiny homes comes from. They really make my heart sing. Maybe someday....but then we'd have to move!