OT: Any tiny housers in the house?

[JAllen]

So I've always liked the idea of living smaller and utilizing what you need. Sticking it to uber consumerism that has engulfed society today. Getting back to the roots... or maybe furthering my transformation into a dirty, granola munching hippie...

At any rate, I was curious if anyone was living in a tiny house (under 400 square feet)? How have you/ how would you build one? Or anything else you might think worthy to the conversation.

We're quite some time away from even taking the first steps with this (after I convince my wife that this is indeed what she wants ). I would want to use as much recycled, upcycled, repurposed, and so on materials. I was thinking around 250 square feet, on a trailer platform. I would want a washer/dryer combo, a small oven with a range, wood burning stove, refrigerator, and composting toilet. I was also thinking about bike storage for probably 4 to 5 bikes.

[AngryScientist]

micro life is the life for me!

[SlackMan]

Like you, I hope to be a future tiny houser. We probably can't go 250 sq ft given that the weather is not sufficiently nice to stay outside for significant parts of the year -- I think you can make really tiny house work if you can be outside in a great weather for most of the year. I'm thinking something more like 650 sq ft.

Where do you plan to store four bikes in that small of a space? I'm curious to know the design you are thinking.

[tuscanyswe]

Here (sweden) these size of houses are quite popular as you are allowed to put them up next to your houses without building permits. Keep it under 25 m2 and you are okay here.. Well theres paper work and such but its not under the same scrutiny as a larger size house is. They are called "atterfallshus" fyi if you want to find out more.

I like this companyｴs take on em. If i were building something this small it would be something like this. Their webpage lower down is translated so dunno if that mess up functions or not.



Homepage with lots of similar houses and floor plans..
https://translate.google.com/transla...anlosningar%2F

[verticaldoug]

Originally Posted by JAllen

So I've always liked the idea of living smaller and utilizing what you need. Sticking it to uber consumerism that has engulfed society today. ..... I was also thinking about bike storage for probably 4 to 5 bikes.

I hope you see the irony in sticking it to consumerism while storing 4 or 5 bikes.

Sarah Susanka has a book 'Not so Big House' which discusses many issues on living smaller.

Although her projects are more in the line of 800 to 1200 sq ft. You may find many of her ideas about using space interesting.

[rwsaunders]

+1...You might enjoy her thoughts on small house design. However, 400sf is awful tight, especially if you have to share the space with another human being.

http://www.notsobighouse.com

[JAllen]

Originally Posted by SlackMan

Where do you plan to store four bikes in that small of a space? I'm curious to know the design you are thinking.

I was thinking some sort of separate shed the could be somewhat easy to dismantle should I need to move it.

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

I hope you see the irony in sticking it to consumerism while storing 4 or 5 bikes.

HA!

That irony doesn't escape me one bit. You have to consume on some level. It's always been that way, but I think we can greatly reduce what or how we spend. That's what's key.

As it is... bikes help save the planet. Don't you know that???

[batman1425]

I lived in a 600sqft apt with my wife for 2 years before we bought our first house. It was wasn't that tight really. Getting down to 400 would be easy. Under 300 would be hard.

[54ny77]

yes, i've lived in a tiny house for a decent chunk of time in my younger years--it's called a studio apt. in nyc, about 350 sq. ft.

the whole "tiny house" concept is kind of ridiculous, as if it's something new. newsflash: that apartment is now about 125 years old. i'm sure there's plenty in town that are much older.

ahh, what's old is new....

as for living in it, it doesn't need a rapha-style ad or anthropological/politico-economic mumbo jumbo to describe the lifestyle. it's quite simple: don't own too much sh&!. de facto, you save money in the process. voila.

[metalheart]

While on the trainer yesterday I watched a Netflix doc called "Tiny:A Story About living Small" It is worth a look if you are interested in the "tiny" house approach. For my next move I am going in the direction of the "Not so Big House" approach maybe 1000 sq feet.

[Seramount]

my 1951 3-BR abode is 1060 sf.

small, not tiny. but, living alone, it's far more than I really need. bikes fill one room, dive gear occupies another. if I got rid of my hobbies, I could probably get by with 500-ish sf.

when I bought it in 1990, everything I owned fit in the back of a Datsun truck.

now, I'd need an 18-wheeler to move the contents.

houses are just junk magnets.

[William]

Smaller but well designed spaces...on a chunk of property are appealing to me. I've been watching what some folks are doing with containers for ideas....






William

[rugbysecondrow]

I like the idea, and I think there are great examples of these concepts in areas where the outdoor world is much more accessible and acceptable to living.

[AngryScientist]

the idea of an ultra efficient house appeals to me over an ultra tiny one. i would love to build a house from the foundation up on a mass heater typed idea. keep it sealed and insulated extremely well, with a super efficient hvac system. burn whatever available in the mass stove to warm the place.

further the idea of growing as much of my own food as possible is super appealing to me. we only keep a small garden in the summer, but it's very satisfying to eat food grown at home.

in retirement i would like to make a vision like that a reality.

[p nut]

Most of the tiny homes I've seen on TV shows look like they would hold up for about 2 weeks. Multi-tasking furniture with a gazillion joints, hinges, etc. seem so flimsy. Dining room table that turns into a bed that turns into a shower door that turns into an awning.

I'm all for the "smart space" idea, though. We'll be building our new house next year, and we'll incorporate some of those ideas into the plans.