Small is not a new idea...
The foundations of the first true American microhouse—and of the philosophy that changed society's attitude toward personal freedom and man's relationship with Nature—were laid "near the end of March, 1845," when Henry David Thoreau, a Harvard dropout from Concord, Massachusetts, borrowed an ax, walked a mile and a half to Walden Pond, and began to build a ten-by-fifteen-foot one-room cabin of hand-hewn logs and recycled shanty boards fastened with salvaged nails and wooden pegs. In an era when a laborer earned a dollar a day, his total cash outlay for the house came to $28.12. He lived there for more than two years and from the experience wrote a book called Walden, which changed my life and the lives of many others. It can change yours as well.
A big part of the American dream is owning your own home. Too bad the mortgage crisis, inflation, and joblessness have put that out of reach of many. Or have they? Maybe you just need to buy a smaller house. A really small one. Like, 65 square feet of house?
A wave of interest in such small dwellings — some to serve as temporary housing, others to become space-saving dwellings of a more permanent nature — has prompted designers and manufacturers to offer building plans, kits and factory-built houses to the growing number of small-thinking second-home shoppers. Seldom measuring much more than 500 square feet, the buildings offer sharp contrasts to the rambling houses that are commonplace as second homes.
The houses vary in size, from teeny (65 sq. feet) to tiny (117 sq. feet), but most include the most basic things a person needs: a heater, closets, electricity, a bathroom, kitchen, and a sleeping loft. Some even have vaulted ceilings and others have stainless steel counters, for those durable-surface fetishists. The cheapest house, the XS-House, runs for about $37,000, and they can go up to nearly $50,000.
Times are tuff! Small affordable houses never made more sense for a lot of people. I have thought for a long time people shouldn't live beyond their means or take up more space than they actually need. I guess this way of thinking started back in my 70's hippy days. I haven't always lived that way, having bought and restored a number of old Victorian houses. But, those old homes are energy consuming monsters. They really make no sense in this time of ever higher energy costs and a weak economy.
This reduction of scale makes sense for a lot of people. Second homes are often geared toward outdoor activities, so for several months of the year interior space is superfluous. Minimal square footage means reduced maintenance costs, less upkeep and reduced energy consumption. Prefabricated and pre-built models can require little or no site preparation, which means no anxious weekend drives to the country to make sure construction is moving along. Add to this an element of instant gratification (once the planning stage is over, most houses go up in days, even hours, and many are delivered, turn-key, to the site).
The smallest, like Jay Shafer's Tumbleweed House, are technically classified as "travel trailers" so usually they do not require building permits, homeowners insurance, or a contractor to build them.
Hardly the slapped-together hunting camp that belonged to your uncle, these buildings even offer instant curb appeal. They are often equipped with airplane-size bathrooms and tiny kitchenettes. Styles include romantic, rustic and designer modern. Jeanette Andersen, an agent at Sotheby’s International Realty/Santa Monica, said that in theory this could contribute to an increase in sales of undeveloped land. “When the design is appealing,” she said, “buyers are more willing to buy one and spend the money they saved on land.”
PRICES for tiny houses vary by region, but in general reflect degrees of finishing, who does the building, types of materials and design options. In general, count on spending anywhere from $35 a square foot for a very basic structure to more than $200 a square foot for designer models built with specialized or luxury materials.
Manufacturers’ prices do not always include delivery fees, and there can be other costs, including site preparation, foundation work and installation of electric, water and sewer services. “You have to go into this with open eyes,” said Jay Shafer, owner of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. “Zoning laws, land covenants, building permits, restrictions and codes vary within states and across the country, and these impact what has to be done at the site, and how.”
Living tiny, however, does not require deprivation, thanks to modern technology. Gregory Johnson, president of the Small House Society, who lives in a 140-square-foot house in Iowa, noted that people once needed “a stereo system, countless LPs or CDs, photo albums and a small library of books.” Now, everything can take up no more space than a laptop or an iPod.
