So we’ve been living in a tiny house now for the past week-and-a-half and many of you have been asking, “what does it look like?” and “how has it been living in a smaller space?” It’s been awesome. (Note: It’s not our tiny house. We are just housesitting and dog-sitting for a couple of weeks while our good friend is off on an adventure.) Months before this housesitting opportunity, Michelle and I watched a bunch of “Tiny House Nation” episodes with my family and was fascinated with all the stories of people transitioning into tiny homes. It’s a fast growing movement (if you haven’t heard) and people of all ages, couples, families, singles, retirees, working professionals, etc… are joining in. We’d thought it would be something we’d might be interested in but like anything you see on TV, actually experiencing it first hand is a lot different then watching someone else do it.
Why Tiny Homes?
This movement is growing and for great reasons:
Simplicity: you downsize your life and stuff. You keep only the things you need and value the most.
Affordability: tiny homes range in prices but typically cost between $15,000 – $30,000 to build compared to a typical sized home that can cost well over $200,000. Also, because of the size, there are lower monthly utility costs for water and electricity. Finally, depending on your state and city, tiny homes have their own unique tax code. Some fall under RVs, accessory dwelling units, etc… which means they aren’t taxed the same as regular homes and properties.
Mobility: many tiny homes are built on trailers and can be transported with a standard 4×4 truck. You can take your home with you.
Intentionality: This is something we personally experienced. More on this in another post.
Challenges?
Every home and living situation has it’s challenges and tiny homes are no exception to that:
Space: Who would have thought, right? You have to change your lifestyle and learn how to adapt. For two people (or a family) living in a Tiny House together, you have to learn how to share the space and hopefully you like each other and can communicate fairly well together.
Convenience: Living in a tiny home you are forced to take care of things sooner rather than later or else things get cluttered and messy real quickly.
Location: Though tiny homes are tiny in comparison to bigger homes, only certain properties can actually accommodate a tiny home.
We’ve got another post coming about what it’s like to actually live in a tiny house but here is a picture tour of this charming tiny home (that we’ve come to love):
Have any questions about the tiny house we are staying in? What do you think about tiny homes or the tiny homes’ movement? We’d love to know. Leave us a note below in the comments.
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Want more tiny home designs? Links to other awesome tiny home designs that we like:
Great blog of amazing Tiny Homes
PAD – Portland Alternative Dwellings – Great info and resources
Simply Intentional 
That’s amazing! I’m so jealous. I’ve been wanting to stay in a tiny house for ages. ❤
Melis – they have some for rent on Airbnb. I think you, Dainon, and the dogs should check one out soon. They are awesome.
That’s a beautiful home! My partner and I have been looking into building one, but it would be nice to see what it actually is like living in one for a period of time. Looking forward to hearing about your experiences.
That’s awesome. I hope you get a chance to as well. Michelle and I are thinking about it at some point in our lives and this experience definitely is motivating us.
Hey guys! Oh man, I loved reading this post and that’s so awesome that you guys are all on the tiny house bandwagon! It was so fortuitous to read this message because I was just talking to my friend vina Lustado, my good friend and the tiny house architect I e-introduced you guys to when you got home. Vina’s work on her tiny house has been really getting a lot of attention over he past year, and she has a ton of project offers and ideas for her website and marketing, and she is perhaps looking for some help! She asked how you guys were doing (not even knowing you had all the web/design skills you do) and I thought it would be great to connect you guys again to exchange ideas, and maybe even collaborate on something, work wise! I am going to be down in ojai where she lives at the start of July for vina and her partner cliff’s wedding– not sure where you guys will be around that time, but if you are in California, it would be so fun to overlap!
You guys are such inspirations for how I want to live my life. Keep up the good work, and the wonderful dispatches!
Hugs, Alicia
Sent from my iPhone
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