Tiny House - Could You? Would You Want To?

Downsizing they call it.  Mortgage free?  Maybe, if it's not too expensive or too big.  Safe?  Secure?  I'm not totally certain.  A private piece of land or a park lot?  How much will that be?  Living "off" the grid...like no electricity, water or anything!  That's not for me.  I'd be living somewhere in my Tiny House where there was sewer/septic and water.   Of course, this Home Tour is...

of a Tiny House.  Just 210 square feet {11' x 22'}, to be exact.  OK, I know that if you're a couple with children, this would just be too small.  But, if you were single or if there were just two of you, would you, could you do it?  Would you downsize?

I have one concern...how secure are they in storms, wind, hail and heavy rain?   When I lived in Tennessee, I lived in a single wide mobile home for a while and any storm with wind, wiggled the house and scared me to death.  Then one day, a tornado came awfully close to where I lived, out in the country...and I saw a mobile home lifted up and blown over and watched as it crashed into a million pieces and blew away.  I could hear the roof of my mobile home "lifting"...that was scarey.

I'd have lots of questions as to whether these can be secured, tied down...or anchored.

Beautiful - I love all the natural light!  I'd find room for a pretty Chandelier or two in here!  A microwave/convection?  Not taking up all that room!  A mini fridge?  I'd want a larger refrigerator.

 

I could live in something this size...wait a minute...I have lived in an apartment about this size.  It was fine for me.  It was alot less to clean...and you really need to be a neat freak and keep everything where it belongs in a place that size.  Another savings, this time in dollars - alot less windows to cover with pleated shades or whatever you would choose. 

I would want a range and oven...to bake and roast and broil.  And a Dishwasher.

 

 

  

I don't know about the huge step up to that office!...with the short closet...and the bed under the office floor.  That doesn't appeal to me.  I'd rather have a window on the wall where the guitar is hanging...and a bed lengthwise in there with a table and a lamp next to it.  It would have to be a Queen Mattress, since the space is only 7 feet wide.  I have a few other thoughts on what I could do with that space!!

I love how versatile that table is...so that it can be a desk...a coffee table or a dining table and be positioned around the room.

For another thing...I would want a door on the bathroom...not simply a shower curtain hiding the composting toilet.  Hey, wait a minute, I don't want a composting toilet!  I want a regular one!  OK?  I also want a stand up shower that doesn't mean the entire bathroom floor gets wet because it IS the shower!

And outside the bathroom, that shelving unit would go.  In its'  place, I would put a closet.  If you look at the 1st floorplan near the end of this post...it shows 6 windows across the back, above the sofa.  If you get rid of one or even two windows, you could certainly have a 5 foot closet.  Then just shift the bench over toward the kitchen.  On the opposite side of the house, there are 4 windows...and I would want them shorter, just like the back ones.  It would be better, if you're putting a desk or even a TV near them.

I love all of the storage under the bench - both for everyday stuff and for mechanicals.  Just make sure the seat and back cushions a comfy enough to spend time sitting on them!

 

 

I am not a fan of the large screen pulled down over the windows to watch TV.  I want a real TV.  And on the shelf to the left of the TV screen, is a vented contraption that is...a Propane stove. The Tumbleweed Tiny House Company suggests a product called the Newport Propane Fireplace (from Dickinson Marine) designed specifically for boats and small homes. It is a cozy looking little device that puts out quite a bit of heat and gives you a fireplace-like ambiance. The Dickinson Newport vented propane heater is frequently used in tiny houses because of the small amount of fuel needed and the amount of heat it can produce. Here is a photo of one used in The Minim House.

Even if I had to add square footage to the house to have all the things I want, I'd do that.

 

Composting toilet - NO!  I don't want to clean that!  And besides that, it's too tall!  You need a step stool to get up on it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 See how this plan shows a complete bathroom, with standing shower, a window and a small sink?  It also shows a closet outside the bathroom.  Perfect.

Another thing...why could you put a small island on wheels near the kitchen counter?  There's plenty of room...it would give added storage space and counter space.  And you could even move it totally out of the way, if needed!

My only concern is how will it withstand storms?  Thunder Storms especially.  Or Wind.  I live in a Manufactured Home now.  It could have been put on a foundation, just like any other house, but we put in a park on a lot.  It is tied into the ground in all 4 corners and every 8 feet around the perimeter of it.  Our home measures 26 feet x 60 feet.  That means it's tied down 24 times around the perimeter of the house.  Tie downs are steel rods, pounded into the ground with tie down straps that attach to the house.  We've been through some mighty nasty storms since we moved in here in 2006 and never even felt a wiggle...we barely even hear the wind in this house.  We have 6" walls and lots of insulation.  I haven't seen anything that tells me if the tiny houses are secured at all.  UPDATE:  the tiny house CAN be tied down, making it more stable!

I guess I would really have to look into the security of the tiny house before I'd totally be ready to move into one myself.

Click Here to view a Video Tour of this tiny house.
For more information, check out Images © Paul Burk/Minim Micro Homes

If it wasn't for the security of the tiny house...I'd say...Sign me up!  Just don't go over say $25,000 complete!  Yeah, that will happen...maybe in my dreams.  But I can dream, can't I?

How about you?  What do you think?  Did I give you some ideas?  Do you have more ideas?