Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company designs and builds small houses ranging from 65 to 837 square feet. He’s spent the last 10 years living in his tiny houses. In this video he gives a tour of a 96 square foot house.
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Wow
on 05 Nov 09I love the idea. I actually really love small spaces. And I of course love the focus on quality over quantity. But… I really think that house is just too darn small. I mean, way too small. It’s crazy small.
Mike B
on 05 Nov 09It looks like a half-size trailer with an attic for sleeping. I do really like the design of this one, but let’s be serious: people live in trailers all over America. I’m all for attempting to remove some of the stereotypes that go along with that, but first you have to say what it is. Living within your means, being ecologically conscious, and finally portability: just some of the benefits of trailer living!
Jeff Slobotski
on 05 Nov 09This is amazing…have seen this video before and it really makes me question all the clutter I have laying around…
You should check out Zen Habits and mnmlist.com
Thanks for passing along.
kyle
on 05 Nov 09I love this. There’s few things I that bother me more than wasteful suburbs with huge, non-unique homes that take up way more space/energy than anyone actually needs. I’m a total city snob, believe most everyone should be living in more dense populations in order to conserve energy, space, nature, etc.
Brad W
on 05 Nov 09This is awesome. Thanks for sharing. Not sure I would want to go that small, but definitely makes me think about how much space I need. My current 750 sq. ft apt works pretty well, but I suppose I could actually do with even less.
Scott Perez
on 05 Nov 09I love this, I built my house when I was 22. It is 800 square feet which is the minimum allowed in my county. My mom and dad live in a log cabin we all built together which is about 900 square feet. We documented the whole adventure on my mom’s blog: www.beckyshomestead.com
—Scott
Dennis
on 05 Nov 09I was raised in 98 square feet house. 4 of us lived in that space for over 15 years. You can idealize it as much as you want but I can tell you it is not fun. This is grass is greener on the other side phenomenon.
I love my 2000 square feet house I live in today and would not go back for a fortune…
alan
on 05 Nov 09haha. i live in a pretty small space as well (nothing compared to this though) – but I agree wholeheartedly: making the bed is the worst part and we never seem to get round to it.
Pablo
on 05 Nov 09Well, if he and his wife have a fight, he’ll have a nifty “doghouse” to spend the night in.
David
on 05 Nov 09Worked for a year on the 850 sq ft house concept in the late ‘70s (nobody wanted them – at least not in the British Columbia interior). It’s appealing, especially if you leave open the possibility of building another one for the kids, yet another for your spouse’s studio, and yet another one as a workshop. Of course, that’s energy-wasteful (too much roof and exterior wall).
I get a kick out of their promotional literature being a $37 coffee-table book. I remember the old $2 Whole Earth Catalogs – b&w on newsprint – as if they really wanted to spread the idea among the masses.
mikelee
on 05 Nov 09i’ve got quite a few issues with this.
i’d really like to see how he fit 9 people sitting in there. it looks like you’d barely be able to fit 9 people standing. maybe he meant 9 people in the house and some were in the kitchen? still awfully tight with that desk. perhaps he moved it?
the fireplace also seems somewhat dangerous. hot exposed metal and glass right between your chairs? no thanks.
toaster oven? mini fridge? guess they buy and cook food nearly every day or eat out a lot. i didn’t see a freezer.
can’t own anything large. no tv. large sporting goods like skis or golf clubs would be a bit of a strain on space.
did you see any of his wife’s stuff anywhere? any space where that might have been? no clothes, no shoes, does she just stay in the house naked? is that why she’s not in the video except for the occasional glimpse of her bare legs up in the loft? you’d think there’d be at least a brief shot of the two of them so they can say “look we have two people living here!” maybe she doesn’t? he never does mention her until the end when he mentions the baby and needing a house. a house 5x the size…
Spencer Fry
on 05 Nov 09Love this video, although, the bathroom freaks me out.
Arik Jones
on 05 Nov 09This would be a tough sell for those with families already. Most males could honestly live in anything as long as they can eat, stay clean, be entertained and mate. lol. But a lot of women grow up dreaming about big houses and big families to reside in them.
However, I think considering how lazy our generation is, it would behoove us to build smaller and live leaner. But seriously, if I was a single man, I’d be all about this!
Dan Boland
on 05 Nov 09One of my favorite television shows was Small Space, Big Style on HGTV. I love tiny houses, particularly my 987 sq. ft. bungalow. =)
Alejandro Moreno
on 05 Nov 09If I were single, I think I would LOVE that house.
Married and with two toddlers as I am, I find that my 1000 sq.ft. house is quite sufficient.
Michael Janzen
on 05 Nov 09I think demand for smaller homes is increasing as people realize that less mean more freedom, time, energy, money in the bank. Not everyone can downsize to 100 square feet but every time we choose to live with less we earn back real value in dividends.
Less > More
Arvin
on 06 Nov 09Reminds me of the Loft Cubes: http://www.loftcube.net/
This discussion is closed.