Love them or hate them, tiny houses are all the rage these days. Scaling down, minimizing and cutting back have a tremendous appeal to those who want to live a simpler, less expensive lifestyle.
I happen to love tiny homes and are always impressed with the amount of amenities and style that can be packed into a 300-500 square foot home. I don't think I could live in one as a family of four, but how cool would it be to have one to use for traveling or a retirement home?
Think about it? With the average tiny home costing roughly $30,000 you could have pretty much any material and amenity of your dreams. Not to mention, you can also live where ever your heart desires, mortgage free.
Let's take a look further at the pros and cons of tiny house living.
The limited amount of square footage can easily allow you to splurge on materials that you wouldn't otherwise be able to afford in a "traditional" size home. From barn wood beams and bamboo flooring to corrugated metal roofs and top of the line stainless steal appliances. Whatever your dream home consists of you're more than likely able to afford it in a tiny home.
Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to pick up at the drop of a hat and travel to wherever your heart desires? Having a home on wheels gives you the freedom to travel without the responsibility of taking care of a house you left behind. It's a great option for the adventurous type, those that love to travel, if you're in the military or if you're just not quite sure where you want to put down your roots.
Living in a tiny home means you'll have to do a lot of sacrificing in order to downsize. More often than not you'll have to give up your private office, art studio or home gym. Your washer and dryer will more than likely end up in your bathroom or kitchen and you'll have to do some serious compromising when it comes to what you bring into the home. There are ways to remedy these "sacrifices", but you'll still be giving up your privacy and downsizing no matter how creative you get with storage.
This is pretty much a no brainer. The less space and less clutter you have the easier and quicker it is to clean. You'll also use less cleaning products, saving money in the long run.
How would you like to live debt free? Imagine going to work and being able to use your hard earned money for whatever you want. Giving up the oversized home and building a home that you can afford and possibly pay cash for frees up valuable money. Money that can be used to invest in yourself. Whether it be traveling, advancing your education, starting a business or simply being able to retire early and live a life of your dreams.
Living in a tiny home by yourself might be easy, but sharing a small space with one or more people can be a challenge. There's no personal space to spend time alone or even roll out an exercise mat and get in a workout. Those of you that are extroverts may have no problem being in tight quarters with others, but introverts (I consider myself an introverted extrovert) may miss the alone time that a larger house can offer.
Tiny house living isn't for everybody, but if the pros of scaling down outweigh the cons it may be an option for you. No matter what your opinions are of tiny homes, you have to admit that they are pretty amazing and pack a ton of character and style.
So, the question is.....could YOU live in a tiny home?
I have always loved looking at tiny homes. Some of them are gorgeous. I have to question how easy they would be to tow though. The materials used would make them heavy and awkward to tow. I think a nice RV would be more practical if you want to be mobile and a tiny home would be better in a more permanent setting.
ReplyDeleteI opened your email notification as soon as I saw the subject line. :-) I *do* live in a tiny home, though not the portable kind. I have lived in a 400sf loft apartment for the last year and I LOVE it! All of your points are spot on here (I love that it takes 5 minutes to vacuum my WHOLE home), and I would even add another con or two... Because I'm in a loft apartment (rental at that), I don't have a laundry facility available to me OR a garage/carport. I thought these two items might really end up being a problem for me, but I took the plunge anyways. Sometimes, I definitely do miss both of these items, but 'living large in a tiny home' far outweighs these two cons. (My sister lives just down the street and allows me to use her laundry, and, though I haven't used it, I have a VERY nice laundromat near me, as well). I mainly miss the garage for DIY projects, but my kitchen area is actually large enough to do most of my projects (including painting my dresser a while back). :-)
ReplyDeleteI also love learning to 'pare down' and control what I bring into the house. I'm realizing that I need to 'edit' more or my decor, as well. All of these things are fun challenges. :-)
I'm actually going to be launching a blog soon, with tiny home living being a large part of my niche. Thanks for posting this, Katie! It was really fun to read!
Great post!! I definitely see the benefits of living in a tiny house and would love the freedom it allows (time, money, less stuff). But I live in an area prone to hurricanes and would be afraid that my home would be ruined when one blew through.
ReplyDeleteI too follow the tiny home movement, and you have identified the pros and cons very well. From what I have learned, the one major impediment to more expansive growth of the movement is zoning laws. It can be very difficult to find an area where you can move your tiny home. It can also be a challenge to get insurance coverage.
ReplyDeleteOne significant trend I've noticed in the tiny home building industry is the incredible increase in pricing for these homes. The average I've seen runs closer to $60 - $70K. While they are pushing the boundaries of tiny [mobile] home size (from about 160 - 180 sq ft to over 250 - 300), these builders are foregoing actual living space to create larger kitchens and baths. All of this makes me admire people willing to take on the tiny home challenge.
I hope you enjoying the holiday weekend and thank you for such an interesting post.
Cheers, Ardith
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