I don't want a "tiny" house. I think i'd go crazy. Not because I want a lot of stuff, or

[Flaxbee]

even have a lot of stuff, but because I like a little space and I don't want to live right on top of the cats' litter boxes (we have 5 cats, must have 3 litterboxes, minimum).

I get pissed off quickly if I'm crowded, cracking my elbows on door frames, etc.

Now, we currently rent a small house, about 760 livable square feet (basement is not livable for humans - the ceiling is so low my husband can't stand up to his full height (6'4&quot nor can I if I'm in heels), but the cats are happy to play there and visit two of their three aforementioned litter boxes).

However, I think that if we had use of both the upstairs and 'downstairs' (basement), that would be AMPLE space. It's just the two of us and our five felines. Huge amount of space, if used correctly / designed well. If we even had a full 1000 square feet, it would be comfortable. We'll probably end up with a little more because it'd be nice to have an annex office there... but again, if we had about 1250-1500 sq. feet (including the office) it'd be perfect.

Even if we could afford a super giant mansion, I don't want one. I want a very energy efficient, extremely well built, convenient home that doesn't take weeks to clean. And that has only a few functional, regularly used items be they furniture, clothing, home appliances, etc.

How about you? Could you live in a "tiny" house? One of those tumbleweed ones ( http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/ )? What space do you think you need to feel personally comfortable but not extravagant and wasteful?


(First posted in Frugal and Energy Efficient Living Forum).

[NYC_SKP]

1. I live in less than 1000 square feet, which is a lot by tiny house standards.

And yesterday put a deposit on a 360 square foot home on 0.42 acres as a retirement place.

I don't need a lot of space but my tools do, I need to get rid of some stuff.

[Flaxbee]

2. hm. that sounds nice. if we didn't have our kitties, and if my husband's work

didn't require certain equipment, we could probably be fine with the 760, IF it were designed better (not the best use of space in the house layout).

However, since we'll never get rid of the kitties...

The 0.42 acres sounds lovely. Do you garden?

[NYC_SKP]

5. I only have some herbs and a monster tomato plant this year.

It's a hot climate, and I'm gone to much to properly water.

The new place, however, is in a cooler climate and a garden should do nicely!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Hey Flaxbee,

thought about you the other day when I posted this:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018453976

[Flaxbee]

4. hey, I missed that. How cool!

If you're on your own and have one or two low-key pets, that kind of space can be perfect.

A married couple sometimes needs a little more space. lol

[Tuesday Afternoon]

12. I am, right now, considering putting my 1800 sq ft house and the 10 acres that surround it on the

market. It is time for a drastic change in my life. I need to move on and move away. I will, of course, be in a much smaller place with no land ... an apartment of some type ... on the coast ... considering several locations at this point.

HGTV used to do a series on small spaces and one time they showed a fabulous little house with a sleeping loft above the kitchenette space. I wish I could find it again. The woman had decorated it in a style that really appealed to me. The scale of things she used seemed out of proportion and yet it worked beautifully. I would really like to study how she did it again.

I have searched to no avail

Anyway, I remember how you like to look at alternative living spaces so, I thought of you when I posted the dumpster house

[Flaxbee]

13. 10 acres sounds wonderful, though. But I also understand the desire for

more simplicity.

Curmudgeoness and I both discussed (in the F&EEL forum) how that kind of design with a sleeping loft is nice, but having to go down steep stairs or a ladder in the middle of the night if you have to pee isn't necessarily appealing. I love the whole idea, if I could just have a half-bath upstairs. No chamber pots allowed.

I've also thought that if it were just me - I could envision a small studio apartment on the top floor of a building with ocean views in La Jolla, Ca. I worked in downtown La Jolla through college, and I saw a few spaces like that; has forever stayed in my mind. Probably cost a fortune, though.

But a clean, simple open space with views of the Pacific? And of course, a small balcony for some flowers and a cup of tea? Heaven.

I've requested emails from tinyhousetalk; here are three articles/pins I got today from one email:

http://tinyhousepins.com/cozy-small-cottage-the-pink-house/
http://tinyhousepins.com/barn-shed-to-kick-ass-tiny-house-in-the-desert/
http://tinyhousetalk.com/two-shipping-containers-turned-into-a-small-house/

[Tuesday Afternoon]

14. That last one is absolutely fabulous! -

It is time for me to admit that my dream here is over. I have accomplished all that I am able. Now, it seems more like the land owns me than I own the land. There is really nothing left here for me to do. I am stagnating, spinning my wheels and getting frustrated with the inertia. Time to dream a new dream and walk another path.

[Flaxbee]

19. I know - the two containers? It's just gorgeous inside... and so cozy with that little deck.

Sort of perfect.

I can see feeling that way about land.

I think I could be happy with half an acre just so I could plant some veggies (and have a separate cat/stray animal halfway house/shed. Lol). But I'd want to be around others with the same, or more land -- we've been in unzoned areas and while I understand what people who are against zoning are getting at, things can get shitty / trashy real fast.

I just like privacy and quiet, I guess. Wherever/however I could find that, would be great.

[RebelOne]

16. I am on my own with one low-key pet, a Chihuahua,

and I live in a 10-foot by 40-foot mobile home, but it has become very crowded. I have accumulated so much stuff since 1997 when I first bought it. So it seems that I am going to have a garage sale soon, as I am moving in with my son and his wife at the beginning of next year. They have a fairly large house, but it does not have enough room for all my stuff and theirs too.

[Flaxbee]

20. we've gotten rid of a lot of possessions lately - easier for me than my husband in a way

he has lots of equipment and tools that he's loathe to get rid of and I can't really get rid of some childhood mementos.

Will you have a "mother in law" separate space, or be in the same house? Will it be hard living with others?

[MiddleFingerMom]

6. I'll tell you how spoiled my cat was. I was considering buying an RV to live in...

.
.
.
... and I KNEW it would be more than enough space for me, but I worried that it might be
too confining for her (an indoor cat -- though she took to a 15' leash/harness at once and
would trot along with me on almost-daily "adventure-walks&quot . She ended up being just fine
with it.
.
It was a 31-footer, so it probably had about 220 sq ft of living space. We lived in it for
about 3-4 years, I think.
.
I knew a man in SE Pennsylvania (a career student) who lived in an Indian-style tipi that
was 15-feet around at the base (all year-round... and he was off the grid!!!). A little more
than 175 sq ft of space.
.
.
.

[RebelOne]

7. I live in a "tiny" house, a 10-foot-wide by 40-foot-long mobile home.

Fortunately, I have an attached garage, which the car has never been in because all the junk that I don't have space for inside ends up in the garage.

[Throd]

8. I'm claustrophobic, so I prefer big spaces and big cars

[marzipanni]

9. Small personal space, large communal space

I've always thought I'd like to live on some land that has a main structure for a communal wood shop, various art-related things like a dark room & a pottery wheel, some musical instruments, a kitchen with a big stove, a large table and chairs. People could cook and eat together there if they wanted to. Then nearby would be little houses that would just be for sleeping, reading, having a quiet space, but they'd each have a little food storage preparation corner, too for light meals. There would be a solar-heated outdoor shower for warm weather, something I always liked at beach houses.

http://tinyhouselistings.com/

[In_The_Wind]

10. After moving into a smaller home last year ... we have finally accepted that we goofed.

Translation ~ We'll be moving again.

[Corgigal]

11. Im considering something drastic

Selling the family home, 1600 sq feet because our youngest is now a junior in college. Then taking those funds and buying a 5 wheel, with 5 slide outs to live in full time. I'm just not sure if I can live is something so small, it's just like living in a long hallway. The RV I want really is beautiful, but it is space that will be the problem.

[hobbit709]

15. I have a 950 sq ft house

About 25% is taken up by books.

[Wait Wut]

17. I agree.

I'm claustrophobic, but also don't like cavernous places. I'm like Goldilocks. Need something 'just right'. The house we're renting now is close.

[Phentex]

18. I want a much smaller house once my kids are gone...

this house did not seem like enough house when we bought it but it will be too much for just the two of us and a couple of dogs. For the neighborhood, this IS a small house and most definitely a tear-down. The charm is the lot itself with lots of privacy and a little buffer of trees.

I could live in tiny if I were alone but not with two of us.

[mnhtnbb]

21. We bought a small house after our fire in 2007

Did a 10 x 30 ft add on across the back to make a total of 1850 sq ft.

Turned out to be too small--given hubby using the downstairs for his private office seeing
patients.

So we rebuilt on the lot where the house burned down. We now have 2600 sq ft--but
we live in about 80% of it--with one room for a guest room and a lower level second space intended
for live in help to keep us out of assisted living. Hubby is 70--so I think that space will
be occupied before 10 years is up.

We built a studio apartment above our detached garage--which didn't burn--years ago--
it's 484 sq ft--and rents to college students (walking distance to UNC Chapel Hill) practically
as soon as I put up the ad. I designed the space: full kitchen, w/d, 3/4 bath, stained glass
windows, 9 ft ceiling. I think I could probably live there--if alone--and it certainly is adequate
space for one person.

I do think it is easier to live in a small space if it is for only one person.

[hunter]

22. I've lived in a 96 square foot place...

... smallest not counting the time I lived in my car in a church parking lot.

It was an illegal backyard shed. No shower, but I could do that at school.

Sometimes I miss that simple life, but it was a bit lonely suffering an on-again-off-again-almost-sexual Relationship From Hell.