For those that know me or have read my blog entries so far, you already know how much I enjoy reading, writing and experimenting with small spaces. Though I do admit that it’s in our nature to require more space to feel more comfortable, living in a tiny space has its undeniable advantages:
- Cleaning time gets shortened
- You have everything at arm’s reach
- Flexibility (most tiny houses are built on trailer beds and thus can be transported with a car and you can move around quite easily if you have a “do-it-from-home” job or simply want to travel for your holidays and don’t want to spend money on hotels)
- Tiny places tend to be more cozy
- Most importantly, it’s cheaper (forget mortgages and working endlessly to have a roof over your head)
The tiny house movement is a trend that won a lot of ground in recent years, in parts due to the financial recession and in parts due to environmental concerns (less consumption and more use of renewable energy). The movement involves willingly downsizing your living space to a tiny house standard, which varies between 9,2m² to roughly 37m². I know, given the fact that probably your houses are way bigger, the tiny house standards seem quite of a stretch, but believe me, after seeing the examples I prepared for you, you will change your mind and see how cute, cozy and feasible small houses can be.
More and more people are joining the group of enthusiasts and for good reason. A tiny house is not a nuisance. A tiny house is a home (on wheels or not) that serves the purpose of living very well. No, it’s not reserved for warm climates. Actually, a lot of tiny house owners live in temperate climates where you have cold winters. The secret to a tiny house being feasible all year round is the use of proper insulating materials and technologies to keep it warm and cool when needed. As a matter of fact, a well-insulated tiny house can be heated using an electrical radiator and nothing more. Most tiny houses are equipped with solar panels that provide more than enough energy to sustain the household and obviously make your energy bills disappear. If you need the extra hand, generators are a good alternative.
Another cool technology used in tiny house movement that is a very good sustainable solution for all you climate conscious people out there like me, is the composting toilet. In fact, I don’t think I have seen a tiny house that uses another type of toilet, because plumbing is expensive and most importantly you need special permissions from municipalities. It’s not that easy anymore, digging a whole and connecting it to your toilet bowl. Environmental concerns have raised the requirements pretty high, so most people choose the composting toilet solution and it works. A composting toilet uses the following system – the content is mixed with sawdust, coconut coir or peat moss that aids decomposition and blocks any undesired odors. The result is a compost that can be used for agricultural or horticultural works if the regulations allow it, otherwise it’s 100% organic and can be dumped accordingly.
Now that we’ve covered a bit about the construction section (I invite you to check this website if you want to go into detail with this part) it’s time to talk about what you can achieve within such a limited number of square meters. I’ve made a selection of the most unique and beautiful tiny houses I was able to find. I am a huge fan of home décor and recycled solutions and it’s good to know that most tiny house builders use recycled materials and furniture to minimize their budget. In fact, downsizing to a tiny house is first and foremost an economically conscious solution. Enjoy the beauty of living BIG in a tiny space!
Spectacular tiny house with a modern touch – Courtesy of Tiny Home Tour
The 32m² cottage that feels so airy – Courtesy of Tiny House Talk
The ultimate engineering masterpiece and one of my favorite examples of tiny houses – Courtesy of Living Big In A Tiny House – check the video in the link to see how this awesome truck home transforms into the most whimsical of places.
Timbercraft Tiny house – Courtesy of Country Living
And last but not least, the incredible 10m² “woman cave” built out of a shipping container – Courtesy again of Living Big In A Tiny House
The tiny house movement is obviously not for everyone. Most people still prefer to have a lot more space to their name, if you can say so. Still, it’s a lifestyle and for some people it’s the best alternative to the engraving rent and housing markets. Obviously, when you decide to downgrade you also have to consider getting rid of some of your possession, but from what I’ve personally experienced, you won’t miss half of them. We tend to surround ourselves with so many things when in fact we barely use 50% of our belongings (take for example your closet – do you actually wear every single top or every single pair of shoes on a weekly, let’s say monthly base? If the answer is no, then you kind of understand what I’m saying).
For me, living small is not something new. I’ve written about living BIG and stylish in a small space. I am currently sharing a 27m² studio with my boyfriend and everything’s going just great but I think that actually having a house on wheels would enable us to live a more carefree, environmentally conscious and travel-full life. We’re bound, though by stationary work due to our professions, but I can give myself the liberty of dreaming, can’t I?
I hope you enjoyed this small guide and the beautiful examples. If you want to find out more about the trend, I’d say you should watch this video on Living Big In A Tiny House.
So, how do you feel about the tiny house movement? Would you be willing to downgrade or is the big space life more of your thing? I look forward to discussing on this subject.
About me:
I am Ioana, a trained technical architect currently residing in Copenhagen. I am a big supporter of climate conscious behavior and sustainable solutions in the architectural world. I’ve recently opened my own portfolio website and an architecture, construction and home décor blog, where I mostly offer tips, tricks and personal opinions and observations of all things architecture related and home improvement. I’m newbie blogger, so bear with me. I’d love to get in contact with people that share the same passions, as I always enjoy a good conversation on the topics. You can find my website and blog at Ioana Fartadi Scurtu.com or directly on Facebook here.
While I love the idea of a tiny house, the reality of living in such close quarters (unless living alone) would be daunting. I remember reading the story about a family of 4 who lived in a 540 square foot home. They said it was great in the summer when they could be outside, but winter was a different story when cabin fever would set in! They said the secret was to have places to go and friends to visit!
The loft bedroom in the top photo, while pretty, is downright claustraphobic for me! I agree that so many homes today leave way too big a footprint, but for my family, our 1900 square foot home is just about right. 🙂
You make a very compelling point of view too. As I said in the end of the article, tiny house living is not for everyone. I myself enjoy airy spaces and big rooms, but I’ve managed to make living in a small space a pleasure. Then again, living small as a family of 4 is definitely a no go for me too. But for now it’s just me and my boyfriend and it’s probably going to be like that for quite some time, so the tiny layout works for us. 😀
I spent my childhood and teenage years (before I moved abroad) in a 160m² house as a family of 4. Sometimes it felt way too big and so much space was unused. Even my parents agreed that they went a bit overboard when they built the house. I think around 100m² would have been just perfect for us.
Thanks for the feedback! It’s nice exchanging opinions on this subject ^_^
This is so awesome!! WE are currently building a Barndiminium! Trying to build a home smaller than the first one but with a lot more wide open land. Trying to downsize everything and live life to our fullest.