Tiny living

[Kikiriki]

My house is just over 950 sq ft.

Main problem is bad design. Kitchen is just bad, even though it is 12x12. Cabinets eat the floor area, and there is too little counter top for doing stuff. The design is such that one person only can be doing anything.

Next is very poor storage. When you own a home, you need tools. I can't or won't go buy a tool to just have no place to keep it! This means either plan that storage from the start, or have a shed. The bad thing about a shed is the humidity that ruins stuff, or the constant temperature fluctuation.

Clothing storage for seasonal clothing is awful. Closets are small and there are only three. I added a pantry in the kitchen, and lots of shelving units.

Third problem is one bathroom. Nothing worse than having stomach problems when someone else is using the facility! I could cut a room off my house and barely notice, but I will NEVER have a place with only one toilet again!

It really is about designing in good function to every space, planning for storage, and THEN ensuring the living spaces are comfortable and bright with an open feeling, even if they are small.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Storage would be the biggest issue of me trying to go small. I can mulit-purpose rooms, but I have a lot of stuff and need a place to keep it. The biggest thing of tiny living is reducing what you own. I have a lot of hobbies and I am a fabric-aholic. From our move, I have 4 boxes that are just fabric, plus fabric crammed into other boxes as packing material.

 

[Cold Canadian]

Some really great inventive ideas

 

[iawoodchip]

I live in a small home. 960 floor space. I seem to have everything, and put it all somewhere. Just can't find it. We raised 4 kids, plus hosted 3 international students. but that was 30 years back.

 

[nayeli]

Myself , I'd go with the smaller one , the land would be the selling point .......not making it anymore .....lol....plus if needed to you could add on to the smaller one .1000 sq feet was the norm in the 70's and up to the mid 90's ........then for some reason everything doubled in size and dollar value ? Now to see single family housing in 2400 sq feet is the norm .........a lot of unused space as well as heating or cooling costs ...........small makes more sense , a place for everything , everything in it's place ........good logic I think .

We are actually going up this weekend, well my husbands weekend which starts Sunday LOL. I am not sure we will even check out the larger one. I like the style of the larger house, and it has an in-ground pool, and a nice area.. but it is even FURTHER out than the smaller cheaper one! They are both REALLY cheap, like we could pay off in a few years cheap, but that comes at the cost of location (they are both further out, which means less jobs in the area, and a longer commute)!

I have made plans for the smaller one. We can always get cheap outbuilding and turn it into a living area (building on is EXPENSIVE)! There are several small cabin buildings, some that have already even been modded so they are just a stand alone room =) I like the idea of my husband having a "man cave" anyway for when he is super grouchy, or if we have a baby and he is on night shift (so he can sleep)... =)

 

[Cold Canadian]

In some areas the location does reduce the price , but not by that much ? But again , not being familiar with your location etc maybe the prices do drop down real low if the houses are remote ? I would still have a home inspection done if the price is to cheap ......you get what you pay for is resounding in my mind .....you don't want a fixer upper that becomes a nightmare ..................just saying .Not sure if there is a basement ? something that could be converted into extra living space as well if needed ? For me small housing would stop being small after say 800 square feet , after that it becomes a regular residential residence .Our House is 900 sq feet on the first floor , then about 800 on the second due to the roof design on the second floor ....dormers , etc . All the bedrooms are upstairs , down stairs is living space , family room , kitchen , mud room/laundry room , dining room and living room .It's still to big , me /wife / one son ......and we have converted the dining room into a office , a living room that sits empty except for a couple of days a year ....Christmas ...and one spare bedroom upstairs that has become a storage room ? which we go through far to often to see what we can get rid of ? I still maintain the house is to large .....plus we have a double attached garage , half is storage for "stuff" that I go through regularly as well ........amazing what you hold onto ??

 

[Kikiriki]

I live in a small home. 960 floor space. I seem to have everything, and put it all somewhere. Just can't find it. We raised 4 kids, plus hosted 3 international students. but that was 30 years back. 

Your floor plan must be way better than mine

 

[iawoodchip]

Your floor plan must be way better than mine

Our kitchen was 11X19. U shape K on one end, dining on the other. all open. Been know to crowd 8 or 9 around the table, plus 1 or 2 card tables somewhere if need be. 3 BR's. 2 large enough for queen bed & dresser. the other had single bed or trundle. Each BR has double door sliders for it's closet. Bath was large enough. one stool, tub & 4 ft. vanity. Just had to make it do... Oh. Did I mention a full basement, And my wife used the crawl space in the attic for storage. It's all changed now. Lost my wife years ago, and have acquired my new best friend and her possessions. Not much room left now...

 

[alldembirds]

how have I missed this thread. I am building a tiny house its 12x20 minus the front porch. I have been doing more work around the house than on the house lately I am building the kitchen and bathroom separate from the living quarters I just have to get trees clear. I have 15 acres so space isnt an issue,, I made sure there were no building restrictions when buying my land, I dont want to hassle with permits and the only permit needed in my county is a permit for a septic tank so I am doing composting toilets.

Kass took this a while ago...

 

[RichnSteph]

I'm one of those folks that would rather have a 1000 square foot house on 10 acres than a 2500 square foot house on 1.