Views and weather would make a big difference.
S1 (age 28) bought a 780 sq. foot house three years ago. It’s one block from the beach. He loves the locale but now thinks his house is too big and he really could downsize. His dream is to tear the original (circa 1958) house down and build a duplex or condos…all very small.
We have one of these arriving in May–
http://www.tab-rv.com/
It has everything we need-- dining area that turns into a queen bed, tiny kitchen, bath, A/C, entertainment system. There’s an attachable screen room for warmer weather. We’re hoping to take some long road trips with it.
1moremom, there is someone in our neighborhood who has a T@b. DH and I have been contemplating graduating from a tent to a trailer for our camping expeditions. Would love to know how you like it!
That Tab looks fantastic…I can see it as a transition to my “larger” tiny home. I see it has air conditioning, but I didn’t notice a heating unit. Is that an option?
1moremom – that thingy is SO cool!!
Yes, it has heat. We were also tent campers (backpackers when we were younger) but it is getting so hard to sleep on the ground and my need to get up and pee several times a night makes tent camping even less appealing. (Sorry if that is TMI.) We had been toying with the idea of a T@B and then some friends bought one last summer. They love it. It makes it so easy to get away because it is pretty much always packed and ready to go.
Just saw this video and thought it would be perfect for this thread.
FYI, a new “season” of this series is back on HGTV. In our area (Eastern Standard Time) , it’s showing at 10pm.
My DD’s boyfriend told her he wants to build a tiny house. I laughed and said I have lived in a tiny house and it is not as glamorous as it looks. Years ago, just starting out my husband and I lived in a single wide mobile home (like you see in parks) on his parents’ property. We paid cash for it and after several years of living with no monthly payment we had enough saved to put 50% down on building the home we live in now (which stands where that tiny home once lived). I cannot imagine going back to that (although our home now is a single level ranch with a finished basement and is probably tiny by a lot of standards).
It’s so stupid… I feel these people are going to regret wasting their money on a tiny house that will depreciate like a rock in 5 years when the fad blows over. They could have spent that money on a normal house.
I can certainly see the benefit of downsizing from a 2,500 sq ft house to a 1,200 sq ft house, but going from 2,500 to 200 is just insanity… aside from the lack of living space, there will be practically no storage space. Do these people plan on never buying anything for the rest of their lives?
To each their own, but I really don’t get it…
I totally agree fractalmstr. It’s a fad and not suitable for the needs of 99% of us. Now mind you, I’m referring to those less-than-500sf places (often on wheels!). Even an adventurous young couple will get tired of this kind of thing once they stop roaming and/or have kids. They’re incredibly limiting in a 4-season climate. Climbing up ladders to a lofted bed on an everyday basis is impractical and unsafe for most people. You have to have land to put these structures on. Etc, etc.
That said, I wouldn’t mind a tiny vacation cottage. Or even a couple of guest cottages as part of a vacation property. But that’s a whole other can of beans than those tiny houses.
^^^agree!! It would feel claustrophobic even if I were by myself! No matter how much I love my husband, it would be difficult for me to never have a space to myself.
I can’t imagine living in the tiny houses featured on the show. We are about to downsize from over 3600 sq. ft. to about 1750 sq. ft. - which is my version of a tiny house. Now that my youngest has gone off to college, we don’t use a lot of the space in our current home. And, I’ve just accumulated way too much junk over the years that needs to go. Nonetheless, I’m still a bit anxious about the new space, especially the tiny bathrooms and closets. 500 sq. ft.? Not a chance.
So who watched the show last night, besides me?
I was amazed that none of the houses had the “office space” the couple was looking for. They wound up with a house that requires the husband to sort of crawl over to his desk/computer area. I think that’s going to get old pretty fast. I also don’t understand their insistence on having a king-size bed in the BR. In one of the last scenes, after they moved in, it showed the BR with the king – but the mattress blocked off the ability to open some drawers. I just don’t get how that could be comfortable after, say, two nights in the place.
OTOH, the kitchen was spectacular, and at least as large as many non-tiny houses’ kitchens.
I watched it and also thought that the husband crawling to his office space would get old. It never ceases to amaze me how these young couples buy these tiny homes and then plop it in the parents’ back yards. Do they share in the yard chores? Do they have to schedule with each other for use of the space for outdoor entertaining? Where do they park their car(s)?
In many residential areas there are ordinances prohibiting trailers/campers from being on the property, so it takes a special situation for couples to use their parents’ yard.
I just don’t get it. I need space. I wouldn’t last a weekend in a tiny house.
And why have such a huge kitchen if you are into the tiny living lifestyle? Same goes for king size bed.
I’m curious to see how this series pans out. I like the concept of a tiny house, but I’m not really sure it works.
ETA: Don’t these houses all need electric and plumbing hookups just like a real house? I’m not sure I see the advantage of a tiny house, other than having less of an impact on the environment. I know I don’t need a 4500-square-foot house, but I’m not sure a 400-square-foot house is quite enough.
In a couple years they can do a show “whatever happened to those tiny house folks.”
I’d like to know the divorce/breakup rates of these tiny house couples. 
This isn’t for me but this is how one person designed his bachelor apt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB2-2j9e4co