Since I started my "Less But Better" Project, I've heard many other people buzzing about downsizing and simplifying. Friends clearing out their stuff, family moving into smaller spaces, even an acquaintance who's renovating an old bus to become her new home! Sometime through all this, I heard about the movie "Tiny: A Story About Living Small." The movie challenges the traditional concept of home. It's about a man with a dream to build a cabin in the woods, who over time, clarifies his dream and sets out to build a 124 square foot house on wheels.
I don't think there is any technical definition, but tiny houses generally seem to be homes of 300 square feet or less. Compare this to average house sizes over past decades. In 2013, the average American house was 2,589 square feet, though in 1973, it was only 1,525 square feet. Average house size has almost doubled over the past 40 years even though average family size has gone down! Tiny house dwellers are rebelling against suburban sprawl, McMansions, and this trend of growth for the sake of growth. The good news (for our land and resources, especially) is that more and more people are joining the tiny house movement every day!
I don't think there is any technical definition, but tiny houses generally seem to be homes of 300 square feet or less. Compare this to average house sizes over past decades. In 2013, the average American house was 2,589 square feet, though in 1973, it was only 1,525 square feet. Average house size has almost doubled over the past 40 years even though average family size has gone down! Tiny house dwellers are rebelling against suburban sprawl, McMansions, and this trend of growth for the sake of growth. The good news (for our land and resources, especially) is that more and more people are joining the tiny house movement every day!
"Tiny" follows Chris and Merete through the dreaming and building process. The movie also features in-home interviews with other tiny-home owners. What viewers learn is that in tiny houses, every square inch is utilized, most furniture pulls double duty, the true essentials are shrunk down, and non-essentials are minimized. The general design trend seems to be: open living/eating/working space with high ceiling on one end, small kitchen with sleeping area lofted above on the other end. Here's how Chris's place ends up:
What I gathered by the end is that those who opt into the tiny house lifestyle recognize advantages that include mobility, significant cost savings (average tiny house price = $23,000), conservation of resources, decreased maintenance, simplicity of life, sense of community, and more. Jay Shafer, founder of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company proclaims, "the primary asset that comes with a tiny house is freedom...the world gets a lot bigger when you're living small."
In my eyes, the idea of a tiny house sparkles with the promise of minimal-impact living. Smaller houses mean less lumber and other building materials, smaller and fewer appliances, less space to heat and cool, average of 36% lifecycle emissions reduction, reduced electricity and use, and connectivity advantages of high-density development potential. Plus this lifestyle would do wonders to discourage excess purchasing..."Less But Better" would be an absolute requirement!
I enjoyed the film greatly. (It's on Netflix if you want to watch it!) "Tiny" reaffirmed that there are other people who don't think I'm crazy for wanting to live small. Granted, I'm just delving into all of this, and I'm not even sure if I could live in a tiny house! However, the idea this movie fosters is that living small = living deliberately. I can think of another someone who wished to live deliberately...
Sounds pretty nice, huh? :)
Great tiny house infographic: http://homestead-honey.com/2014/09/01/less-tiny-house-movement/
My favorite tiny house TEDx Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A47JaOMDH4c
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