Dreaming Big for a Tiny Home
I have to say it was wonderful reading about tiny homes in the recent issue of Time magazine. This has been something surfgirl and I have been talking about. We’ve talk to a family member of hers about buying a couple acres and builing our own little world on it, complete with tiny home or yurt and living a bit off the land with a garden. Unfortunately, the area is economically pretty depressed, but who knows, if we have enough money saved, that may not be too much of an issue.
About a year ago we really got into finding out all we could and the alternatives that were available. You may find some of these resources helpful if this is a similar dream of yours.
tinyhomes.com
notsobighouse.com
tumbleweedhouses.com
rosschapin.com/Plans/plans.html
Here is a society for people with small homes as well:
The Small House Society
NPR even did a story (5/16/06) on them: Tiny Houses Find a Friend on the Gulf Coast
You can also check into Yurt living –
Colorado Yurt
Yurts R Us
Yurts.com
Hope you enjoyed those; I know I did!
I, too, was intrigued by that tiny house article. It is completely at odds with the way most Americans want to live. It’s great to see there is a whole ‘movement’ about small houses.
Not to mention that most of those tiny homes in the Time article are about 1,000x more attractive than most of the bigger and modern homes in this country!!
It just seems more appealing to me to have a tiny home.
*Less mortgage
*Less utilities
*Less upkeep
*Less places to keep clutter
*More money
*More time
Its a funny thing about the McMansions… people getting bigger mortgages than what they can afford to buy homes bigger than they need- not to mention the soaring ceilings that heat disappears into during winter!
When we bought our 3 bedroom ranch approximately 2 years ago (square footage of only about 1000 sq feet), many friends and acquaintances took it to be a “stepping stone” towards the big colonial or McMansion in the suburbs. But we have found the size to be just what we needed- it makes us need to look at what remains vital to us- no room to store clutter not being used! One generation ago- when I was a kid- this was the average sized home of family friends, no matter if there was one or 4 kids! We did finish off the basement last year and gained about 200 square feet (including my inner sanctum- the craft room!). We know we will have to be fluid with what the rooms will be- for instance- I know that by the time my eldest turns 12 or so, she is NOT going to want to share a room with a 6 year old kid sister. Therefore, I am using up my supplies and buying as little as possible over the next 5 years to make for easier transition to my daughter’s teen bedroom. And we know tax returns one year will need to put another bathroom in our basement.
With our smaller sized home, our ceilings are only 9 feet high- I can paint the ceiling with a regular paintbrush or roller reaching up. I can also swipe a cobweb without needing to get out a huge extension pole and making a production out of it. And like I stated earlier- it has made huge differences in heating or cooling our surroundings. We save SO much on heat & electricity!
However, as “small” as our home is- I don’t think we could go much smaller into the pod sized homes. I feel we need to have some respectful privacy between adults and children- we need our own special times without kids and vise versa. It would definately be an option 18-20 years from now though…when all our little ones have flown.
Please check out this company before you purchase. Great American Yurts LLC. Also check refs at the http://www.indybbb.org. Buyer be aware!