If you want minimalism just live in a 500 square foot studio. It’s got to be better than living in a tiny house.
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Really? it has nothing to do with demand or supply? I mean rent control is fine but if demand out strips supply there’s still going to be a housing crisis. People who want to live in the Bay Area still won’t be able too.
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The modern version of that… Kind of…
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But they coud just more cheaply & comfortably place a mobile home on their lot. Execpt it’s declasse.
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Came here to scoff at the American idea of “tiny”, then realised that 240 square feet is actually only 22.2 square meters. That is too small. Doesn’t sound too bad for a single person though.
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yes! that’s seems like an obvious business opportunity, don’t you think?
As others here have pointed out, trailer homes are more livable than many tiny homes. It seems like a lot of tiny homes start out trying to be like a normal house but shrunk down, when they should be trying to make as livable an environment with the limited space they’ve chosen to use (like the footprint of a flatbed trailer.) The best tiny homes I’ve seen are more like studio apartments than a standard suburban house-- one large livable room, sleeping loft, bathroom tucked away somewhere.
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I spent thirteen years living in a 258 square foot studio (Note that I’m European and this sort of size is not terribly atypical for that sort of dwelling) and while living in a larger place is convenient (I am in a 620 square foot flat right now and vastly prefer it) I had no significant difficulties living there, having guests over, cooking, and my bathroom was very comfortable and not a tiny ‘wet room.’
Admittedly 258 foot is a bit larger than what she worked with, but my bathroom could have easily been half the size without significantly impairing its function. or necessitating not having a sink in it.
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From what I’ve seen, the tiny houses (or renovations of tiny spaces) are frequently on land owned and “donated” by the builders’/inhabitants wealthier relatives, and are also often built using a lot of donated expertise and materials from people they know in the building trades. Time and time again I see a lot of social capital invested in tiny houses that are supposedly “affordable for anyone”.
I applaud the tiny house builders for showing clever uses of space and for pushing Americans to see housing alternatives beyond 3000+sqf McMansions, but in the end these homes are a lot of hassle to live in (especially if you’re renting one as the only affordable choice in a city with jobs).
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You’re right! I should have known better. That sentiment was a big part of the plot line in the first season of the show “Ozark”, which I thought was a great show. I can’t believe I forgot that.
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I’ve always said that it’s very easy to tell the people who want to bicycle, and those that have to bicycle. It’s an enormous difference.
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It isn’t realist to ask property owners to “quit jacking up the rent.” They are responding to market forces. And it doesn’t solve the real problem - not enough housing.
Cities like those in the bay area need encourage the building of new housing - especially high density housing. Rent is high because there is artificial scarcity.
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I’m going to be spending alot of time in a very tiny house.
I will spend my time above ground with plenty of elbow room.
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Thirty years ago, I lived in a studio that was about 300 square feet, in a beautiful, well-kept 1920s-era building, after I was finished with school. Even though it wasn’t big, it still managed to have a usable kitchen, dining room, and a bathroom with a full-sized tub. The living/sleeping area had a genuine Murphy bed, of course. There was still enough space for a couch, desk, and a couple of chairs. The rent was quite reasonable, but that was Champaign, IL in the 1980s rather than the Bay Area in today’s even-more-fucked-up economy. While it was great for just me, and would have worked for a couple, it wouldn’t have been usable for a family.
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At the IKEA somewhat near me, they have some nice mock-ups of small yet well-organized living spaces. A floor plan like one of them would make a nice cottage. The problem is, too many towns have building codes that make it impossible to build a small house. Even 1500 square feet is too small for full-of-themselves towns that want to “keep the riff-raff out.”
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Trailer park homes are to tiny homes what Gathering of the Juggalos is to Burning Man.
Not necessarily as different as participants in either might prefer to fancy; but oh the cultural signifiers.
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The best document on the kit house…
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Better branding.
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This house was designed by someone who’d never lived in a confined space before, and only proves it’s possible to “plan” space ergonomics without foresight.
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