What is a Tiny House? They are all the rage, everyone who spends time on the internet knows what they are. But you want to know more than just, “it’s a house that’s tiny”. I have been somewhat obsessed with tiny houses since I first found all these regular people showing their little wooden constructions to the world on youtube. It is Just amazing.
So you’ve heard of them, those tiny houses. The hard to pin down part of what is a Tiny House, is not what is a Tiny House. It is what is the tiny house movement, or the small house movement. A tiny house is really just a small house, it’s the half crazies that build them–I have plans to build one myself–that make them the special thing everyone is abuzz about. A tiny house, before it is anything is a decision first. The people who design, and build tiny houses are making a drastic change in there lives.
The average American home is 2,600 square feet the average tiny house is less than 500 square feet. For most that’s a big change and so a big decision. But square footage is only a defining factor for the tiny house. Something more important to the people is that house that’s 2,600 square feet, is on average, home to 2.6 people, so 2-3 that’s allot of space per person. The average tiny home is approximately 80-210 square feet, the data isn’t there to tell the average household size, but I’d say 2-3 is a good number, anyone can live in a tiny house, But it’s allot of couples and singles, there are reports about moderately large families,and others, but they’re not as common.
So yeah, Tiny Houses are Small, but because of there size they tend to be more thought out. Allot has to go into the design of something so small for it to function as a home. A side affect of having a well planned house is, well, having a well planned house. One that works well in many situations and is adaptable to your needs. Because of their size, tiny houses also tend to be more eco-friendly. A smaller house uses less lumber, less electricity to heat and less to cool in the summer, over all a smaller house has a smaller footprint on the earth. Plus, they are incredible susceptible to being off-grid.
That’s Tiny houses now I want to tell you about the small house movement. The small house movement has been going on for a long time. I’m pretty sure it used to be called downsizing, it happens naturally allot. Oh all the kids have moved away lets buy a lil’ bungalow in Florida–this is a fictitious scenario–. But really, it’s a wish for a simpler life. The Tiny House Movement, is the decision to live a little bit more consciously, a little closer to your friends and family and hopefully a lot happier.
Helpfuls:
Tiny House Giant Journey‘s Youtube channel