Tiny house movement

The Tiny-house movement (also known as the "small-house movement") is an architectural and social movement that promotes financial prudence, economically safe, shared community experiences, and a shift in consumerism-driven mindsets.

Dishwashers and fireplaces are pretty common in tiny houses... A common misconception is that all tiny houses use composting toilets. In reality, many tiny house bathrooms are completely normal. ~ Frank Olito

Quotes

• More than 120 people gave up a chunk of their Saturday to the second weekend of Youth Spirit Artworks long-awaited project of providing 26 units for homeless and low-income people, 18-25 years old, by July 1, 2020, the village’s scheduled opening date. Each 8-by-10-foot unit costs around $12,500 to build, and will have a loft bed, a living area, a closet, electricity, a desk and a chair, and a heating system. The village will have a communal kitchen, a communal living space, an art space, and bathrooms... **Tiny houses for low-income youth popping up in Oakland, thanks to Berkeley’s Youth Spirit Artworks, Tony Hicks, Berkeleyside, (11 September 2019)

• I stayed at the Orlando Lakefront, a tiny house community in Florida. During my time there, I slept in a 350-square-foot tiny house and chatted with some of the residents. Over the course of three days, I earned a greater understanding of the downsizing movement. Some of the things I learned surprised me. While most people think tiny houses are cramped, most of these houses actually felt quite spacious... The tiny house I stayed in for three days was only 350 square feet, but there was more than enough space to move around in. In fact, the bathroom and kitchen were larger than those in my apartment in Brooklyn... Amenities like dishwashers and fireplaces are pretty common in tiny houses... Windows are arguably the most important part of tiny houses because they make the space feel larger... A common misconception is that all tiny houses use composting toilets. In reality, many tiny house bathrooms are completely normal. Because the movement is still new, there aren’t any building codes, which causes headaches for homeowners.
  • I visited one of the first tiny house communities in the US. Here are the 8 most surprising things I learned, Frank Olito, Business Insider, (30 Sept 2020)

• I recently stayed at... A Tiny House Resort in the Catskills in New York for three days, and the mother-daughter duo who run it pinpointed three reasons why millennials love tiny houses. Tiny houses are more affordable than suburban mansions, offer a unique experience, and enable millennials to work remotely... Their three answers made it clear just how different millennials are from their parents. 1. Millennials can actually afford tiny houses...2. Tiny houses are all about the experience...They prefer convenience and quality over size...3. Tiny houses offer a nomadic lifestyle for millennials working remotely. One of the biggest experiences that tiny houses offer millennials is the ability to be on the go. Margie said more millennials could work remotely or move with a company — opportunities that weren't as plentiful for baby boomers at that age.
  • Millennials are obsessed with tiny homes, and the 3 reasons why highlight just how different they are from baby boomers, Hillary Hoffower, Business Insider, (2 Dec 2019)

• When a family in Queensland, Australia, suffered the loss of a loved one, a tiny home became their ticket to financial freedom. "After the death of my father almost two years ago, we realized we were in constant fear of losing our jobs—and so we decided to work toward financial freedom," says Amy, who lives 304-square-foot home in Queensland with her husband Greg and their two children Zack and Jayda. "We were so dependent on our jobs to pay for our high rent, large bills, and all the stuff we needed to fill our big house," Amy says. "If we’d lost our jobs, we wouldn’t have been able to make ends meet. We were working long hours and not spending time with our loved ones... Increasing your income is more difficult than reducing your expenses... We decided our best option was to reduce the footprint of our home."
  • An Australian Couple Downsize to a Tiny House and Discover an Idyllic Lifestyle, Laura Mauk, Dwell (11 August 2020)

• Tiny houses are a conundrum. They were designed to look like, well, tiny houses, but they were built on chassis to recreational vehicle standards so that they could slip "under the radar" of building codes and zoning bylaws. Except the radars got better, and a tiny house without land was all dressed up with no place to go... There are many converging trends that I thought would make tiny homes a big thing; lots of aging baby boomers downsizing, the increasing ability of people to work remotely, the insecurities of the gig economy. Then the coronavirus hits and boom, everything is happening at once.
  • A 'Fundamental Shift is Occurring' as People Flock to Tiny Homes, Lloyd Alter, TreeHugger (5 August 2020)