She has plenty of bathing options thanks to generous friends and neighbors, who all gave her the keys to their houses. "My possessions have grown exponentially small. Except for my keychain. I have this massive keychain."
When nature calls, there's the compost toilet that works without water. After use, the waste is covered with sawdust. Williams admits to taking advantage of shower facilities at her Department of Ecology office, too....
In fact, Williams has found that the smaller the house, the more she depends on the people around her, and neighborhood necessities like the local market and the public library. "I thought I would be so contained in this little house with no running water," she said. "The big surprise, of course, is the smaller you go, the more you absolutely have to lean into your community. It gets smaller and bigger. It gets to be this big, tiny thing, you know?"
"They Gifted me the opportunity to live with them. We have three households that share the same garden space..... I have learned a tremendous amount about what it means to live in community by letting go of my autonomy, you know something changes for you and fundamentally shifts for you when you have to ask for water every day. So that has been a tremendous gift. "
"... lean into the community"; gotta love it. Newspeak for leeching.
properly equipped micro residences
Those who perpetually leach off of their neighbors are beneath contempt and those who willingly allow themselves to be fleeced are idiots.
Why does she need a massive key chain? Why any keys at all? That means she believes in property ownership, and the prerogative to keep others out. Isn't that a rather regressive and reactionary mindset?
They aren't inexpensive. I have seen some with price tags as much as $100k!
It will never be more then a very small niche. A very small niche, when you consider zoning. The thing is, most people don't want to live that way, even when living alone.
If you've ever watched Portlandia you know what Olympia is like. Granola Junction. I'm there once or twice a month and am constantly amused by the mutants I come across. Generally they are similar to the Seattlunatics but much mellower - they must have access to better pot.
One of the most frequently asked questions that we get at Q&As when we show the film is, “Are you living in the tiny house now?” Since we want the film to be a standalone story, depicting one moment in time (the way that sometimes it’s nice just to experience a painting without knowing the whole backstory of the artist’s life or how it was painted) we’ve hesitated to post too much online about our lives post-film, so as not to spoil the experience of seeing that story unfold on screen. But for those of you who have already seen the film or have been following us online for quite some time now, here’s an update on where we’ve been and where we are now, as of May 2014
After completing the house in May 2012, we drove it up to the South Park Valley and parked it on the plot of land outside of Hartsel, Colorado that Christopher had bought one year before, the land that the house was designed and built for and which had set this whole project in motion to begin with. That’s the location where you see the house at the very end of the film.
Now that building the house was done, we headed straight into our next project: editing and completing the film. We packed up and moved out of the apartment we’d been living in throughout the construction process and spent the next few months traveling to film last interviews and capture the footage we needed to expand the documentary into feature length.
In August 2012 we went to New York City. If you’ve seen the film, you know that I was toying with the idea of moving to New York throughout that year of building and that helping Christopher to finish one of his big dreams (building the Tiny House) helped give me the confidence to pursue this dream of my own (moving to the Big Apple). It actually worked out perfectly, since our composer and sound designer were also both located in NYC. We found a consulting editor in the city and were able to tap into a really creative and talented community of documentary filmmakers. I found an apartment with a friend in Brooklyn at the end of August. Christopher went back and forth between New York, staying with me while we edited, and Colorado, where his work was still based. In March 2012 the film premiered at SXSW and we spent the next few months on the road again, traveling from film festival to film festival. Throughout this whole period of time the Tiny House was up on the land in Hartsel. We visited it whenever we could, for a few days or a week at a time, when we were back in Colorado for work and in between film festival travel. Though it had been finished for months we were still getting to know our little home and relishing the experience of actually seeing it completed.
In June 2013, almost one year after completing the house, the frenzy of film festivals began to wind down and we both began thinking about what would come next. I stayed in Brooklyn and Christopher decided to move back to Colorado. After showing off our Tiny House at a film festival in Telluride called Mountainfilm, we moved it back down to Boulder, Colorado, so that Christopher could live in it full-time.The land he’d purchased near Hartsel was stunning but was too remote to be used as anything more than a weekend getaway. When we’d first begun building we liked the idea of having a cabin to visit up in the mountains but after pouring so much of our energy, hearts, and money into building the house it seemed silly for it to be sitting up there empty so much of the time.
Christopher lived in the Tiny House full-time from June 2013 through March 2014 (minus the month of January, when we was in Los Angeles helping a friend with a film project). When asked whether it’s what he expected, he always laughs and says it was surprisingly easy to live in such a small space. The only big challenge was living without running water. Because the land in Hartsel didn’t have access to water, we didn’t build plumbing into the house and hauled water in. So he showered mostly at the gym (an excellent motivation to work out!) The house is still located in this spot, in a very generous friend’s backyard on a rise just east of Boulder, Colorado, with an incredible view of the Continental Divide. Though my life is mostly rooted in New York these days, I’ve been back to visit quite a few times and stayed in the house for a few weeks when Christopher was out of town this winter.
Christopher decided to move to Los Angeles in April, in order to continue pursuing film work there. So as of now, May 2014, I live in NYC and Christopher lives in LA and our Tiny House sits in between in Colorado, a home-base that we can always go back to, surrounded by a landscape that is dear to both of us—pretty close to what we’d originally imagined actually, even though life has taken us in unexpected directions. Though we both live in urban apartments at the moment, our experiences in the Tiny House community have taught us so much about the power of living simply and prioritizing meaningful experiences and relationships over stuff. Though neither of us owned much stuff to begin with, all of the traveling and moving over the past two years has certainly kept our possessions to a minimum! Here in the city, I love how the idea of living in a small space and externalizing the features of home is commonplace. On public transportation, in parks, in libraries and cafes I’m constantly encountering the community around me in unexpected ways.
We still have no idea what the future holds for each of us, and for the house that we built together. I know the Tiny House will continue to be a part of my life and I do plan to have a more full-time relationship with it at some point, when I’m ready to be back in Colorado. But right now I can only plan for the immediate future, focusing on my here and now in New York.
When telling this story, we’re often quick to point out the many people in the Tiny House community who have been living in their homes full-time for many years (many of whom are featured in our film), who are more stable examples of life in less that 200 square feet. Even though our own story is complex and still in flux, we do think it demonstrates the ethos of flexibility and freedom that Tiny Houses represent – the ability to “live life as an experiment” as Ann Holley, one of the subjects in our film, so articulately described.
Dear Christopher and Merete,
What an inspiring, moving,beautiful piece in the story of TINY. You demonstrate acutely what spontaneous thought and planned action can create, and also how profoundly you are each living your lives.
I don’t know if you remember us or not, but we are that random couple that met up with you guys for coffee in Boulder about 2 summers ago for my (now) husband’s birthday.
Thanks for your honesty about the complexities involved in building a tiny house :) We are also experiencing many of those same interesting life changes as we continue to build our tiny house. Turns out we actually have to make a living doing SOMETHING, and sometimes that requires decisions that are… well, complicated :)
Hope to catch up again someday with you guys!
delightfool
So love the idea of a tiny house. What are the chances of house sitting, while you are in NY & LA? Looking for an opportunity to experience whether I could live so small? Will have to move and looking at a tiny house as a chose.
- kod
Bryan Chapman
I LOVED this movie. I wish I had the courage to move into a tiny house. Again, I LOVED this movie!
However, I’m sorry I read this article. It was crushing, in many ways.
We thank you for inspiring my husband and I. We’ve been living in apartments with roomates and living with our parents from both sides of the family since we’ve been married for four years. It’s been rough and we were desperate for change and a place we can call our own. So we recently tried buying a house, but couldn’t cough up the money for a down payment and such, so we were bummed and planned to budget better to buy a house a year from now. However, when we watched Tiny together last night we both knew this is exactly what we wanted. We both don’t need much to live. Just each other and a roof over our head. Thank you guys for showing us the guidance we needed.
Why do they call it a house?? At best it's a shed or a small hunting cabin.House never.
If I see it still on the list this year ( Liens not bought at auction are re-auctioned the next year, providing taxes still haven't been paid) I may have to go up there and gamble a few hundred just to make this liberal cry.
QuoteIf I see it still on the list this year ( Liens not bought at auction are re-auctioned the next year, providing taxes still haven't been paid) I may have to go up there and gamble a few hundred just to make this liberal cry.
Will you be expanding the tiny house so that it will be useful for something - like a rabbit hutch? ;D
It just gets better and better - There is one Property in Park County listed as owned by a Christopher Smith. (http://www.parkco.org/prop2.asp?ScheduleNumber=28952) It it 5 Acres and the home address for the owner is in the city of Boulder.
The address?
489 MOONBEAM DR. (if you want to see it in Google Maps or Bing you need to use Lake George as the city, NOT Hartsel.. )
Moonbeam.
No Kidding.
The yearly taxes are a whopping $100. Does he pay them?
Of course not (http://www.parkco.us/DocumentCenter/View/1482)
877 014
28952 R $241.93*
SMITH CHRISTOPHER C
MOONBEAM DR 489 HRT
T11 R74 S09 NW4
SOUTH PARK RANCHES
FILING 58 LOT 25
So that is at least 2 years in a row he hasn't paid taxes - that list was compiled in Oct 2013. In theory someone could have bought the tax lien against the property at auction and in 3 years they will own it, all because Chris isn't smart enough to pay his taxes. If I see it still on the list this year ( Liens not bought at auction are re-auctioned the next year, providing taxes still haven't been paid) I may have to go up there and gamble a few hundred just to make this liberal cry. Actually they are paying 10% if he does pay his taxes, so as long as I don't pay over 10% in premium at auction it gets paid back.. of course for 3 years I have to either pay the taxes or attempt to acquire the new liens --so I may end up out $300 -- or I may get a property he spent 16,000 K for. Liberal tears are so sweet.
QuoteIf I see it still on the list this year ( Liens not bought at auction are re-auctioned the next year, providing taxes still haven't been paid) I may have to go up there and gamble a few hundred just to make this liberal cry.
Will you be expanding the tiny house so that it will be useful for something - like a rabbit hutch? ;D
Local governments have taken notice. New York City, for one, has waved its minimum 400-square-foot housing requirement for a pilot project with units between 250 and 370 square feet. Last year, Pocket Living -- which makes 400-square-foot units for those who earn less than around $100,000 a year -- received roughly $36 million from the mayor of London to build approximately 400 units for first-time home buyers. Small units are seen as an affordable way to make cities accessible to more people.
But it was the design, she says, that she sealed the deal. The tiny space -- all enamel-like white cupboards, foldout tables, and wall-mounted design hacks -- was not only smart, but stylish.
"I wanted something that looked pretty modern. The use of space was really good," she says. "I didn't feel like I was living in a jail cell or anything."
Her friends marveled. Her place was officially cool.
Maxwell Ryan, the New York-based founder of home design website Apartment Therapy, isn't surprised that micro-condo developers are pushing design and utility as their major selling points. To him, it shows an awareness of how generational priorities have shifted.
"As a culture, there's been a renaissance of interest in design -- design as a lifestyle choice, design as a way of life," he says.
Ryan believes young people will happily accept smaller spaces, but only if done properly.
A number of elements, like a bathtub and oven, have been left out. But even these omissions are meant to cater to the millennial lifestyle.
"This generation wants to live within the city," says Peter Clewes, of architectsAlliance.
When they aren't working, they're eating out with friends and enjoying city life, not spending time at home. For a unit that offers elegance on a budget (Smart House units, which have yet to go on sale, will likely start at $285,000), Clewes thinks they'll be willing to make a few sacrifices.
"Five years ago, if you suggested units of 258 square feet, people would say that's mean, that's immoral. But that's starting to flip the other way," Clewes says. "It's become a moral cause. We need all (income) groups to make a healthy city."
For Wong, the initial novelty of micro-living wore off as time wore on. She started to resent not having space for her screen-printing and acrylics projects, or an oven for cooking. When it came time to renew her yearlong lease, she decided to move to a 620-square-foot unit across the street, even though it cost almost $400 more per month.
Today, Wong lives with her boyfriend in a 900-square-foot apartment in East Vancouver. Now 35, she's more focused on settling down. But she doesn't regret giving micro-condos a try.
"My lifestyle has changed a lot since I lived down there," she says. "I liked being there at the time, but I like the space I have now."
Boom Boom Boom (http://www.zillow.com/blog/20-somethings-living-tiny-157186/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=emm-0814_millennials-tinyhousecta)
Just dropped my boys off in their tiny college dorm yesterday.
No f***ing thank-you. There's a reason you live in a dorm for a year or two and then never do it again.
LOL.
A San Antonio, Texas couple had build [sic] a 'tiny house' to commit themselves to 'green living' but the entire home ended up being stolen. (http://www.myfoxny.com/story/27760342/thieves-steal-house)
So....this thing gets stolen and the thieves decide to leave it in an empty lot? Really? That bad?
What gets me is how he managed to spend $35k on that little thing. Granted its easy to spend a small (or large) fortune on fancy finishes, but you can get a much larger double wide mobile home for not much more (granted it won't have a standing seam metal roof or nice windows but yikes).
"The interiors of the homes are designed to look like a cross between modern and rustic. The corrugated sheathing gives the modern feel."
A trailer park. What will they ever think of next? ::)
Entire sections of town must reek of sweat, butt and old bong water...
::puke::
They employed the assistance of architect Matt Garcia to make their dream come true.
QuoteThey employed the assistance of architect Matt Garcia to make their dream come true.
They actually PAID an architect to design that piece of crap? ::hysterical::
Just last night, the local news station ran a teaser for a feature on a family living in a 200 sq.ft. tiny home. Of course, according to the 15 second spot, it was a wonderful thing, and everybody was just so darn happy and smug about how little space people actually need.
So, ramblers and condos getting popular again?
The former is fine, the latter is OK but facilitates faster population concentration, which isn't necessarily good...depending upon the location/demographics.
So, ramblers and condos getting popular again?
The former is fine, the latter is OK but facilitates faster population concentration, which isn't necessarily good...depending upon the location/demographics.
Well, condos are what get built to fill the market for the most part (since you can build more units per acre). However, even most people who end up buying condos would still prefer a single family house if it was possible. For many its no longer possible, the choice was taken from them. Condos are still generally better then a rental.
Generally single family houses are better investments too. When the market goes down, like it has over the last couple of years, condos get harder hit, as cheaper single family homes come on the market. Then the pool of buyers of condos goes down faster as they can get a single house instead, and most people do. Towards the end of my RE sales people who would have probably gotten a condo a few years before, ended up with a house because they had come down in price.
Many places will never see a ranch house again, lots are either too expensive or not big enough for a single floor house. There is a reason why so many new neighborhood are garage door city, lots aren't big enough to put garages in the back like they did in the 1950's.
I once wanted a tiny house. I wanted one desperately! The reason I wanted one was because I needed a place to live. I had none. Big houses were out of my fiscal league. Why not a small one? No house is too small when the alternative is sleeping in your car. (Yes, I slept in my car among other oddball solutions… sometimes it’s nice but usually it sucks.)
Then came the “tiny house” movement. I was delighted! Except it all went wrong. Eager trustafarian pinheads made tiny homes into a “green” thing, a “political” thing, an “it’s not an off grid/straw bale/geodesic/yurt but it’s just as impractical” shining example of snobbery writ small. They managed to push the idea that a tiny house ought to cost a fortune and backed it up with photos of free standing closets that were as utilitarian and attainable as Faberge eggs. All I could think was “what’s the point”? I had a concrete need. They had an ethereal agenda. I never forgave them.
There’s room on this earth for someone who can’t or won’t float a mega-mortgage. Room for someone who doesn’t want fifty windows to wash. Tiny homes killed the most recent iteration of that idea. Killed it with delicately arranged spice racks mounted next to wicker seats beneath stained glass windows where plywood and benches might serve in good stead. All the good intentions in creation stink of bullsh*t when some hippie turns 180 square feet of “roof over your head” into the Whole Foods organic kale of the housing world.
I don't get it. Why not just buy a Minnie-Winnie? They have everything the tiny home has, AND you can roll the thing wherever the f*** you want. You could live someplace new every week. One week Berkeley, one week San Francisco, one week Eugene, one week Portland, one week Seattle, one week Boulder, one week Madison... You could sample the weed from every region of the country (North of the Mason-Dixon Line, of course) all from the comfort of your tiny home on wheels. And they're so small, you could pull it with your Prius.
I don't get it. Why not just buy a Minnie-Winnie?
They could always spruce it up with a Che Guevara mural and an upside-down cross.QuoteI don't get it. Why not just buy a Minnie-Winnie?
Too off-the-rack/typical American consumer materialist/making Big Corp. rich.
These people feel the need to express their individual artistry and that can't be done with 'see above'.
Tiny houses in Des Moines? (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-16/micro-apartments-are-coming-to-the-midwest)
Not everyone loves it. The ULI study collected completed surveys from 110 micro-apartment renters, finding that they were less likely than traditional renters to be satisfied with the value they got for their money.
They could always spruce it up with a Che Guevara mural and an upside-down cross.QuoteI don't get it. Why not just buy a Minnie-Winnie?
Too off-the-rack/typical American consumer materialist/making Big Corp. rich.
These people feel the need to express their individual artistry and that can't be done with 'see above'.
And so on
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/us/live-in-boxes-in-oakland-redefine-housing-squeeze.html?_r=0 (http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/us/live-in-boxes-in-oakland-redefine-housing-squeeze.html?_r=0)
Yeah, good catch.
So, where are these clowns going to toss that stuff? ::speechless::
May I be so bold as to inform the uninformed as to what a "self-contained" toilet and shower is?
It's like a mini-porta-pottie. IOW, your grey water and black water is saved for you in some sort of container. IT'S NOT CONNECTED TO THE CITY SEWER. So when it's full, you have to 'port' it out. In the container. And then dump said waste into an appropriate waste container.
You are welcome.
No matter what you do, someone on the Left is going to politicize it and attack you. So just go on doing your thing -- let them be miserable and move on.
I didn't work all my life to end up in a glorified shed.
Why . . . them units be but just a li'l bit bigguh then a sh*thole. With all the Febreeze y'all be using in there...you're gonna eff up the ozone!
Awesome, love the "use friends house" and "build a freaking house" lines, I never tire of using similar.
Solargon looks interesting...but all would need a small wood burning...
In winter, temperature difference between inside and out is commonly 35 degrees or more, even with no internal heat source.
Well, if it is one of those nights that is -20...+15 isn't exactly comfy...+35 not so much either...so there can never be anything true 24/7/365 green...
MSRP for the 20? model is $ 22,500
Included:
All walls R28 and roof panels R42, micro-lam headers, wall to wall connecters, aircraft grade octagon operable skylight, compression ring w/header, screws for assembly and owner’s assembly manual. Walls cam-lock together in seconds and the typical erection time is 4 to 5 hours.
MSRP for the 30? model is $ 39,900
Included:
All walls R42 and roof panels R42, micro-lam headers, wall to wall connectors, glue-lam super structure and rafters, operable skylight,compression frame w/header and assembly manual. Wall and roof panels cam-lock together and the typical erection time is 2 days.
Some will say that they sound expensive but you save time and money on assembly, very little waste or theft, and no expensive contractor needed. When your home is up you have the walls, roof, insulation, and rough electrical with boxes ready to go for about $55.00 per sq. ft. You then choose the interior and exterior finishing of your choice. An average home will cost about $125 to $150 per sq. ft. to finish so Solargons are very competitive.
And I agree designs like the above make more sense for those truly off-grid with land to put it on or replace something that is garbage sitting on it...
And depending where you are it is the variance clowns and bldg inspector rodeo that is a pain for most any endeavor...