Could You Live In A Tiny House?

Post by: Kelly Murphy

Due to recent life changes, I’m seriously pondering the above question-Could you (as in me) live in a tiny house? Okay, of all the questions I’m considering, here’s the first ……..

HOW TINY ARE WE TALKING?
I recently downsized from a home of 1308 square feet, which housed 3 people, a cat, and a dog, to… a one room studio @ my mom’s-which houses 2 people, and a cat and a dog.
So, I have moments that I think, “I can’t wait to move into  my own space,” and then other times I say, “If we can live like this then a tiny house would be a piece of cake!” So, my biggest question is.. what is the least and most square footage I can stand?  This isn’t a question I have answered for myself, yet.  In the tiny house movement there is such variety in square footage.   So, I plan to research that aspect and move on to the next question, which is…

WHERE DO I PUT MY TINY HOUSE?
This is another very important question? If I did have one, where would it go? Would I be able to rent some land on which to put my tiny house or would I have to buy land? Or do I have land, or do I know someone who has some land that I could rent, monthly? (I have a friend who lives on someone’s vacation property-which has an old house, and his presence gives them comfort. So, he inhabits the property, and does some renovations on the home-in his spare time, and they pay his utilities.)  This is a nice setup for him, but I haven’t found a gig like that yet.)
If I had a friend I thoroughly trusted, there could be a possibility of co-purchasing land. Sharing land with a like-minded individual could be very rewarding, and could be an awesome arrangement, but since I am new to the area,  trusted friends are in short supply. So, moving on to the next question…..
WHAT DOES A TINY HOUSE COST?
There are lots of builders out there, but I think in researching the cost, the location of the builder and his warehouse (and shipping costs)  must be considered. Depending on the budget of the project, most builders charge per mile for shipping, so, I plan to do some research on how much per mile.  I will get back to you on that. As far as Arkansas builders, I know of one who provides free shipping within 300 miles, of the area code, which could make a huge difference on shipping costs.  Upon my last communication with this particular builder, the initial “set up” for the house on wheels-which many tiny houses have, is free. After that, there is a charge, so I would need to find out how much that would be also.
And what is the cost of the  actual house? A ballpark figure is between $15,000-$90,000. So some specifics to what plan and what kind mist be researcjed/  The plans for a tiny house are fairly inexpensive, but…. the building of a tiny house is where the expenses can begin to mount. 
HOW TO GET STARTED? 
The way I plan to get started is by collecting pictures of different aspects of  houses that I like.  By that I mean, anything I have always wanted in a house, I will put in my ‘Idea File’.  An example is this… I have always wanted a spiral staircase. I don’t know if that is even feasible for my  tiny house plan, but I want to ask.   
A friend suggested I sketch out some plans on what I want to put where, so I think that is a good idea. I am no David Bromstead though, I can’t make those beautiful sketches of rooms like he does, but I could try to put something down, on paper, since I am specifically thinking of ideas for small spaces.
So, I will let you know what I find out in my research, but in the meantime….what about you? Is there anything you have always wanted to have in a house but never had, or something you had in a house that you had/have and you hate?   I’d love to hear your ideas!  Leave a comment, or email me!