I’ve always been someone who loved a good treehouse, a secret clubhouse, or a secluded writing nook. About the time I started reading Trixie Belden books, and wishing I had a secret clubhouse like the one in those books, we moved to a house with a tree that already had a kind of crow’s nest treehouse. It fit one person well, two if all you were going to do up there was talk or read, but it became one of my favorite spots of my childhood.
When my daughter wanted a treehouse, my husband got right on it. I think he was creating the kind of kid’s retreat he always wanted growing up. He put the platform within some tree branches, but low enough to the ground that she could jump down if she wanted to, then double-reinforced it’s strength with posts. Truthfully, I think he didn’t want his little girl to accidentally fall and hurt herself, but I played along with his thinking. It was about five and a half feet off the ground, and besides the rope ladder to climb inside he recycled a bunch of railroad ties to make a long, easy climbing set of stairs so her dog could go up there with her. I was ready to move in immediately, but my daughter stubbornly insisted the treehouse belonged to her.
Now, I’ve moved on to the idea of tiny homes. A few years ago, I tried to talk hubby into selling out completely and moving into a fifth wheel and just live wherever we wanted. He wasn’t gung ho about the idea because every one we liked had showers he felt were also too tiny, but lately he is coming over to my way of thinking a little more. I’ve been sending videos to his Kindle so he can see some of the amazing tiny homes available now with custom designers. If you haven’t seen these videos, you might truly be surprised–he was. And if you already like the idea, these two are my current favorites. I think I could be happy in either one.
The first is designed and built by a husband and wife team in Alaska who truly understands function. I love the way this woman thinks!
Here’s the link to the short video tour — Open Concept Modern Tiny House with Elevator Bed
And this next one is as artistic as it is functional. This tiny house company is out of Olympia, Washington, so I guess there might just be something about the Northwestern US that inspires terrific tiny home designers. The kitchens & bathrooms in both of these homes floored me at their spaciousness in such a small footprint, but in this second one there’s even a full sized refrigerator!
The video for this home is Damselfly Tour – A Jewel of Functional Craftsmanship (Note: he gives a brief informational bit about the damselfly, the insect this model is named for, but the intro is very short, then there’s just pretty music and views of the interior of the tiny home.
So what do you think? Could you live in a tiny home?
Alas, I could not live in a tiny home, but I always envy those brave souls who can! I wouldn’t mind a tiny house for a second home, though. Hmmmm…. 🙂
My problem before was always they were so dark, but now the window options are limitless.
I love the concept and would like to see some of the ideas in our singlewide trailer (too old to have a fancier name). We had an RV and as long as the weather was nice and we were someplace we wanted to be out and about it was great but one day of rain made it claustrophobic. I guess I need room to read. I did not realize that we were junkers and collectors until we moved into this place for real. It was great as our summer retreat but we spread out and spread out and spread out. Thank goodness for my ebook! Now plant on in our side yard, and I would be in heaven, a guest house and a retreat!
You could have a tiny house retreat beside your regular home. Truthfully, I love the idea more for a single person than a couple. I’m not positive I love my husband enough to live with him in the same square footage as my living room all the time.
would make me go bunker….
I figure once I only spend time cleaning one bathroom and a very efficient space for a week or so, I’ll never want to go back to keeping an entire house clean. 🙂
I think the hubs would take waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy too long to get used to not having “stuff” around!I do want to downsize, once again, but when I brought up the much smaller size, he almost choked! But I’ll keep nudging. 🙂
Hahahahaha. I completely understand, Gale. I’ll let you know if I find any more successful persuasive tactics so you can try them too 🙂
I’d love to visit one or know someone who has one to show me but I could never live tiny. I have way too much STUFF! LOL (Books, fabric, you name it!)
I totally understand. Too many memories in our stuff 🙂
It’s a wonderful idea…but not for me and my husband. He could have one and maybe I could, but I’m not sure about composting toilets, teeny showers, questionable water pressure, smallish prep spaces, tiny closets, etc. The biggest impediment? My hobbies. Probably need a tiny house just for those. We have just finished downsizing however. We are quite pleased to have simplified to an extent that makes us happy. I’m still weeding things out. One never gets it quite right the first time around — one has to see how one will live in the given space first.
Congratulations on finishing downsizing. And, yes, the RV life with the small showers and all used to dissuade us, too. But with these types of custom designer homes, I’m seeing flush toilets available in all, most with larger shower options, and the kitchens have about as much space anymore as I had in the first non-tiny house we owned. It’s giving me some headway talking to hubby about it 🙂
Our house is a little less than 900 sq ft, and we could lose a few sq ft by getting rid of the dining room. I would love to add a four season room off the bavk, but otherwise, it’s good. We have two bedrooms, four closets and a full sized kitchen.
Yours is a good size for a couple, Pat. Our first home was 1200 square feet, and I always felt we had two rooms too much. Then hubby convinced me to move from there to bigger, and that has been the pattern ever since. I’ve been whittling down possessions the last few years, and one of these days I’m going to get him to try things my way 🙂
I love the idea of a tiny house, but I’m not sure I could get used to it. I suppose I would, but it might take a while. The best part of tiny houses, I believe, is that just by thinking about them, I want to throw away junk and stuff that I have lying around. I have seen tiny houses built in people’s backyards as in-law suites for in-laws who don’t mind small spaces, and I think that’s a lovely idea.
Exactly, Amy! Everytime I see how functional these new designs are built, they make me look around to see what else I have sitting around I really don’t need. I’d love one of these as my writing office, but I’m afraid hubby would never see me again. LOL!