Random Thoughts On Small Homes and Buildings

Tiny houses are in.  It seems that almost every other day now, some substantial outlet (CNN, Yahoo, The New York Times, NPR, Oprah, NBC, HGTV, Parade Magazine, etc)  is doing a story about people living in, designing, or building tiny homes.  My interest in them goes back to the 1970's.  I was attending College of the Atlantic in Maine, and I remember being given an interesting assignment by my environmental design professor,  Roc Caivano, an architect.  He asked his students to find a fellow student and design a house for them that was under 250 square feet.  Of course we had to find out what our "client" wanted in this small space, and then figure out how to make it work.   I loved it.  There was another  professor at COA who's house was rumored to be so small, so tightly built and so well insulated that it was heated (on the Maine coast) by a single 60 watt light bulb and the body heat of the occupants.  Since I was already very much into energy conservation, that really appealed to me.

In the 1980s while working at Centerbrook Architects in Connecticut, I remember seeing some drawings and photographs in the magazine, Architecture, of a very small home by Duo Dickinson, another architect.  He and his wife lived in that house and as far as I know, they still do (although his family grew, and so did the house).  I kept that magazine for years just for those pictures.

Later, but still a long time ago, I saw a couple of pictures on the back cover of Fine Home Building Magazine of an almost unimaginably tiny home that somehow captivated me.  I'll get back to that later.

Why the fascination with homes on a tiny scale?  My guess is that mankind simply didn't evolve to live in homes of 3,000 square feet or more.  In any case, with Earth's human population rapidly closing in on 7 billion, we simply don't have the resources to build, heat, cool, furnish, maintain, and provide transportation to and from a lot more large houses than currently exist.  And today, after years of ever increasing home prices, many people are feeling the economic pinch of the current stagnant or declining home values.  The mortgage, taxes, utilities, and maintenance of large homes feels more like the American nightmare than the American dream.  Suddenly we don't all want big houses.  They've become a burden.  Downsizing is starting to look really good.

So why isn't my website loaded with tiny house plans?  Three reasons...
First, in most well populated areas there are zoning laws and building regulations in place that don't allow truly tiny homes.  Rural areas tend to be more lenient zoning-wise but they also have fewer jobs available, which is why they  have remained rural.
Second, there is basically one guy named Jay Shafer, who dominates the tiny home movement.  It was his house that I saw on the back of Fine Home Building Magazine all those years ago.  It was stumbling across his website (Tumbleweed Tiny Houses) ten or so years ago that rekindled my personal passion for tiny homes.  He clearly has inspired a lot of people with his tiny houses and the vast majority of the tiny house movement can be traced back directly or indirectly to him.

You can't compete with Jay Shafer.  He has it all figured out.  When you take a look at most of his competition you see a lot of outright unabashed copying of his designs. It's little wonder.  Jay's Tumbleweed Tiny Houses are like carefully crafted jewelry.  Every inch horizontally, vertically, and diagonally has been fine-tuned to the point where (to my mind at least) it is basically impossible to improve upon. 

The thing about his designs that has gotten everyone so excited is that his tiny houses actually look like houses.  They don't look like a nondescript box, an impersonal camper, or the unibomber's shack.  They look like houses...   except they're really small...   and on wheels...   because that's how you beat the zoning problem in non-rural areas...   build them on trailers... and call them RVs.

I said there were three reasons why my site isn't loaded with tiny house designs.  First there is the zoning issue coupled with residential building codes.  The second reason is because Jay Shafer has a lock on it (which I don't begrudge him, he's worked very hard at this for a long time, he's a nice guy, and I love his designs).  The third reason is because unless you are single, or a truly remarkable couple, you will not be able to live in a truly tiny home.  That's the harsh reality.  There is no place to store your bicycle, skis, guitar, or kayak.   Well, skis or guitar maybe, but bike or kayak, forget about it.  There is no room.  None.  You'll be doing your laundry at a laundromat and you won't be doing much entertaining at home because there is no room.  None.  Keep in mind that I am saying this as a tiny house advocate and enthusiast.  I love 'em, but they are definitely not for everyone.  I for example, am a member of a family of three.  Forget about convincing the other two to move into a tiny house.  Plus there is the matter of pets.  We have three cats and two dogs.  Living in 120 sqft is out of the question.  Even Jay Shafer, the uncontested leader of the movement, now has a wife and child, and no longer lives in his iconic EPU.  He has built one of his larger homes on a foundation, and now occupies closer to 600 sqft.   Plus he has the EPU parked right outside for additional space.  That's my understanding anyway, if you know differently, please comment and let me know. 

I am describing most of my house plans as "right-sized" housing.  As of this date, 08/30/2010, most of my house plans are intended for one, two, or three people.  By three people I mean one couple and a child (of any age).  Perhaps two children could live in some of my designs with their parent(s) if they share bunk beds in one bedroom.  That brings the total to a maximum of four occupants in my "Muir" two bedroom designs.

I think three or four people could live in a house on wheels of the Tumbleweed variety for a weekend or even two weeks, as long as the weather is good and people can spend a lot of time outdoors.  Beyond that, the lack of private space, the tiny bath, the minimal kitchen, and the lack of sufficient storage would, in my opinion at least, drive people crazy and create a lot of stress.  For some special families, for the formerly homeless, and for people from other cultures outside the United States it may seem adequate, but for a family downsizing from a two bedroom apartment or house, it's just not viable.

That is why most of my designs are considerably larger.  Not huge, not big, just "right-sized houses" for long term living with sustainability, resource conservation (including energy conservation), and budget in mind. 

I welcome your thoughtful responses to this post.  Thank you.

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