When we first moved out when we were 18, we moved into a very tiny house. Technically, it was not a “tiny home,” but to us it was.
It was extremely small home at around 400 square feet (less than that if you don’t count the basement), but it was cheap, had a backyard and was located very close to the college I was about to start attending.
Also, as a reminder, last year Jordann also posted about how she used to live in a 400 square foot house. I also recently published the interview I Live in a 175 Square Foot Tiny Home – Sailboat Living. I highly recommend you read these two posts!
I recently became interested in tiny homes again when I was watching a documentary on Netflix (we’re starting to find cable less and less worthwhile) called Tiny: A Story About Living Small. This documentary followed a man building his very own tiny home, and the documentary also showed others who lived in their own tiny homes.
I find tiny homes very interesting. They make great use of their space, they are usually very cute, and they are very affordable. Even with the positives below though, I don’t think it’s something I could do.
For me, the negatives greatly outweigh the positives. I think we could do something smaller than what we currently have, but a 200 square feet tiny home is just too extreme for me.
Below are the positives and negatives of living in a tiny house:
Pro: Your housing expenses will be cheaper with a tiny home.
The average tiny home costs less than $30,000 to build. You can also buy a tiny home for very cheap. That price before includes the exterior and interior of the home. That is very cheap! That is much cheaper than the average home.
However, I do think you have to remember about where you are going to place this tiny home. Yes, you can buy land for cheap, but land can also be very expensive in other areas.
Your home will also be cheaper in that your utility bills will be cheaper. It’s much cheaper to heat or cool down a 200 square foot house than a 2,000 square foot house.
Repairs, maintenance and replacements will also most likely be much cheaper in a tiny home.
Con: I think it would be difficult with children and pets.
We don’t have children yet, but we would like to have them in the future. With all of the people I’ve seen and read about who live in tiny homes, I don’t think there’s been a single one who had children or pets.
I think it would just be very difficult with a family. People need their space… Or, maybe that’s just me?
However, I think if it were just one or two people living in a tiny home, then it would probably be much more doable. When we lived in our 400 square foot house (let’s keep in mind that we haven’t lived there in a very long time), it wasn’t completely bad. The size didn’t really bother us at all at the time. I think it really helped that there were multiple small rooms to escape too, and there was also a front and backyard and porch.
Pro: You’ll spend less money on material items.
I am a bit of a hoarder. Just ask Wes and he will probably want to cry just thinking about how much stuff I have.
My closet is jam packed to the ceiling with stuff, and then I also have things in the guest bedroom and in our basement.
Moving into a tiny home would probably be a lifesaver in that I would be forced to think about each purchase I make. Since there’s only so much room in a tiny home, you will buy fewer items.
Con: Having guests over won’t be comfortable.
I remember watching in the documentary when the main person being filmed had guests over.
He invited his family over to see the home he just built and it was extremely cramped. It was almost like everyone had to bend over in order for their to be room for everyone.
Now, I’ll be honest, I don’t throw raging parties or anything, but I would like the option of having people over when I can. This is especially true since we plan on moving to a new state and we would like people to visit us occasionally.
Pro: You may be able to bring the tiny house when traveling.
Okay, this doesn’t apply to every single tiny house, but there are some that are small enough where you can actually travel with it.
You can bring your tiny home to where you want it to be, and you may even be able to do some road trips in it as well.
This makes the list of possible places to live pretty much endless.
Con: Not a lot of personal space.
This is no surprise. They are called tiny homes for a reason. According to the documentary, tiny homes are homes that are 200 square feet or less. That is extremely small.
That’s smaller than my bedroom, and my bedroom is not huge by any means.
Since I work from home 24/7 now, I would like to have more space since I’m at home more. I think I would get a little crazy if I was in the same exact room hour after hour, day after day.
Would you ever live in a tiny home? Why or why not? How small could you go? How big is your home currently?
Also, if you live in a tiny home (less than 250 square feet preferably), I’d love to hear from you and possibly conduct an interview for this blog. Please send me an email if you are interested.
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Great question! The ‘Guests’ con is often my weak point when it comes to choosing somewhere to live. But given we have guests round once or twice a month the benefit of a bigger place is rarely worth the extra cost!
Yes, we hardly have guests over, so I’m not sure why that’s even on my list haha!
I live in about 700 sq ft right now. Not tiny by NYC standards but not a lot of space. I would totally be open to living in a tiny house in my 20s, I’m always out and about and rarely home. But I think once we start to settle down and think about having a family, we’ll want to get more space.
Yeah with a family I would want more space.
There is such a thing as being too small I suspect and certainly to being too large because of the principle that stuff multiplies to fill the space available.
We have expanded until we have about 5,000 square feet on the main level and an equal amount of space in the basement as well as a 30 X 30 greenhouse/storage shed and it is all full. We have a lot of nice stuff, but as my dad always told me, everything you have is something else to fix or repair!
My thought, don’t crowd yourself, but don’t get more space than you need to be comfortable. It is too hard not to fill it up. We use our space for work as well as living and that makes a difference, but it is easy to have more than you need. It does detract from opportunities to live an enjoyable life.
Our space should be determined by what we want to do in life, not the other way around.
Wow 5,000 square feet is huge!
Yes, indeed. Guess how long it takes to vacuum!
We built ourselves with a purpose in mind or it would not be so large. We have been doing foster care for over 30 years so we have lots of bedrooms, three baths, a large 16X24 sunroom in addition to our large living room, and more.
For fifteen years we did respite care for handicapped children and now almost 18 years we have senior adults. So we have four or five extra plates at meals requiring a large dining room and wide halls for those with wheelchairs. If it were just my wife and myself we would downsize (probably–I would hate to give up all my flower beds!).
I lived in 120 and 200sqft when I was in college and it was ok as most of the time it was just me. With a partner it gets crowded unless you have a big plot of land around. If I had a barbecue area to receive friends outside, and a hammock or some other space to relax out of the house, and the weather was ok most of the year, why not. In a cold climate it makes it harder to both stay in.
Yes, in a cold climate it would be much more difficult.
Good luck! 🙂
i actually think i’d be too claustrophobic to live in such a small house
I agree.
I love the idea of the Tiny House movement! I think it would be perfect as a starter home option. The biggest concern, for me at least, would be entertaining people. I love having people over, and having a tiny home just wouldn’t cut it.
Yes, I think it would be near impossible to have people over!
Nope… I couldn’t live in a space that small. I love the minimalism idea, but it’s too extreme for me! This would work great though for a cabin or cottage assuming there is a lot of outdoor space instead.
Yeah, if there was outdoor space it would be a little better 🙂
My cottage is 340sqft, stylish and comfortable. While restoring the cottage I lived in a very small trailer, so moving into the cottage felt great to have so much space. Designing the cottage was quite difficult, as it’s long and narrow. I managed to fit in, bedroom, wet room, kitchen,living area and a mezzanine with a guest bed. Small,but everything I need to live a happy life.
Wow that’s awesome!
I think tiny houses sometimes take downsizing too far. I saw a video of a guy showing his tiny home, and it seemed painfully minimalist. Even his bath tub/shower could barely fit him. I think there are some things to be said about having a smaller home, but it’s not what I’m looking for.
I agree. Most of the time they are just too small.
Moving is a big deal, so I suggest you get a home that would work even if your family grows. A small house seems great, until you realize you need a step up and it is now possibly out of your reach.
Yes, I agree. They are best for people who know that their families won’t be getting any bigger.
Wouldn’t do it! I don’t like being cramped and having a kid, it is nice to get away to another room and decompress. I don’t knock anyone else for doing it, but it wouldn’t happen here!
I think it would depend on if I was alone or had my whole family with me 🙂 Alone I could probably do it but it could get crowded with a family .
I live on the Mississippi Gulf coast & lost my home in Katrina. Fema provided everyone with travel trailers & after two years they brought in the Katrina cottage that many people still live in today. I lived for over two years in the trailer & about the same in the cottage before my house was built. The travel trailer was fine but the cottage was poorly designed with no storage. Now that I am in a normal (1100 sq ft) house I miss the cozy feel & easy upkeep of the smaller places & if given the chance would definatly downsize. More time to be outside gardening, birdwatching, watching trees grow……
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