Downsizing to 100 square feet of bliss

[Liberal_in_LA]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/10/22/tiny.houses/index.html



Downsizing to 100 square feet of bliss

Californians have begun building 100-square-foot homes for minimalists

Couple says you don't need to keep up with the Joneses to be happy

One designer's home is so tiny, there's no space for his wife

"I like the idea of showing people how little a person could need"


From Thelma Gutierrez and Traci Tamura
CNN American Morning

CALISTOGA, California (CNN) -- Bill and Sharon Kastrinos practice the ultimate in minimalism. They've squeezed into a 154-square-foot home that looks more like a kid's playhouse than their previous 1,800-square-foot home.


The Kastrinos moved into this tiny home from an 1,800-square-foot place.

With the economy crashing, the Kastrinos traded in their spacious kitchen for one that stretches barely an arm's length.

It hasn't been without its challenges, but Sharon Kastrinos says it's exhilarating to no longer feel compelled to keep up with the Joneses. "There's a tremendous burden that's off your shoulders," she says. "Small is OK, and it might even be better."

Her husband adds that most Americans "want to be seen in their big house with a big car." But not them, not anymore.

"I don't think bigger is better," he says.

Bill Kastrinos had been in the construction business in Southern California. But when the real estate market went bust, it forced the couple to reconsider their lifestyle. Watch what life is like in a home the size of a shed see video at link

Now, they live in a place so small, he and his wife use a ladder to climb into their bed every night. The downstairs has a sitting area, tiny kitchen and bathroom in a space that's 98 square feet. The upstairs loft has a bed in 56 square feet of space. They keep extra clothes in their car.

"It's a very simple lifestyle," he says. "The downside of it is it takes a readjustment. You can't have 100 pairs of shoes in the closet or 50 outfits."

[Muttocracy]

1. lots of small house photos here

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/11/garden/11tiny.html

NYT has done a couple of stories the last few years.

[NNN0LHI]

2. I am claustrophobic so I don't think I could do it

[Mojorabbit]

36. Same here

it gives me the heeby jeebies thinking about the walls being so close.

[XemaSab]

3. While the idea appeals to me

I'd need about 5 times that space.

200 square feet for books, 200 square feet for the kitchen, and 100 square feet for everything else. :D

[nichomachus]

4. In New York City

that would be listed as a "spacious, but cozy two-bedroom efficiency" that would cost you $3,500 a month.

[Ian David]

6. You could put these on the rooftops of large Manhattan buildings. n/t

[Ian David]

5. I think this would be good as an "in-law apartment," vacation home, or emergency shelter.

If I had a hillside on my property, I'd dig a hole in the side of the hill and turn the thing into a sort of storm shelter.

[Ian David]

7. Oooh! Put hundreds of these inside multi-level parking garages to create high-rise trailer parks! nt

[siligut]

47. I think you have something here!

Would love to see this, people could ride their bikes up and hang them on the front of their houses.

[lynettebro440]

8. Love it

I have downsized too but would love to buy one of those. It would be so easy to heat and cool....Have to look into it.

[Lifetimedem]

9. The estimated price seems high to me

you can buy a well made wooden shed the size of a single car garage for a few thousand.

The expense would be the plumbing set up and wiring it for power . All the rest is cosmetic .

I would guess one could do it for under 10k

[seemslikeadream]

17. Yes you can do it for just about $10,000

The trailer alone is about $3,000

[Oregone]

24. You can do a much larger post beam for $10K

And be done in no time. Ive built and unfinished 200 SQFT post beam for $3K, which was massively overbuilt for hurricane winds.

[Lex]

10. It has a toilet and shower, I presume?

:shrug:

[seemslikeadream]

13. There are pictures of the bathroom in my post below

[seemslikeadream]

11. Here's what I want!

I just don't know where to put it

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. So cute! And a as a bonus if you live in an area that would eventually be overrun by the rising sea

you can just pick up and move inland. (Well, maybe not you. But your grand kids or great grand kids perhaps.)

[JohnyCanuck]

65. Why move. If it's made of wood, just turn it into a houseboat. n/t

[TornadoTN]

15. That really looks very cool

It wouldn't work for my family, but it sure would have been nice to have while I was single or maybe even in college. Such a cool idea nonetheless.

[Liberal_in_LA]

48. I don't like sleeping up high. Otherwise, cute

[seemslikeadream]

49. One of those I posted has a bedroom downstairs

[Liberal_in_LA]

50. I saw it after I posted. The homes are really pretty.

[kestrel91316]

12. When I retire to IA or wherever, I could buy a piece of land, put up a

Home Depot garden shed to live in temporarily while I build a one-room cabin/guest house, then live in that while building the real but still smallish house. No more rent. Works for me.

[pitohui]

16. jesus that's depressing, live in a doghouse and be grateful for it??

is that what it has come to in this country?

[seemslikeadream]

18. look at my photos

I think they are beautiful

[pitohui]

19. i did look at the photos, sorry, shoot me now

ok that was mean, but let me put it this way, what happens when you are older than 20 and you have to climb that ladder every night?

it just ain't gonna happen, someone is going to get hurt

as it is, in the article, they admit the guy's wife don't live w. him, this is the unacknowledged death of their marriage

[seemslikeadream]

26. mine has a downstrairs bedroom

[galileoreloaded]

23. Totally missing the point. n/t

[pitohui]

28. actually that's exactly the point

we the little people are supposed to get used to living in doghouses and be grateful for it

i say fuck that shit

people have lowered their expectations every decade since reagan, result, the shitty fix we're in now where your children actually pray for you to shoot yourself so that they can afford to pay off their student loans and live in a freaking miserable condo not much bigger than this

we used to have a dream of living in houses...our own houses...real houses big enough to share with our own spouse! and sometimes even a kid and a pet! imagine that! we used to be able to get all these good things simply by working hard full time at a job!

[TommyO]

38. It's all about choices

If somebody wants to live in a 100sq ft structure, that's their choice. I live in a 1400sq ft townhouse, though will be downsizing shortly (really a move to my mother's house to help her out physically and financially), after that I'll probably go to a 6-800sq ft cabin which will best suit my needs.

[Hannah Bell]

43. I agree - that IS the idea. Plus, pay through the nose for the doghouse.

$97/sq. ft.

& he's designing a 280 sq ft one for his spouse, so she can live near him. how sweet. they'll both have their own toilet, sink, stove & fridge.

not very green - why duplicate all that - why not just build two bedrooms + 1 kitchen/bathroom, i.e. a HOUSE.

but this is the logical outcome of the nasty american "dream," a bunch of atomized "individuals," living in expensive doghouses.

[lumberjack_jeff]

52. I don't think lowered expectations are a bad thing.

I tend to agree that 100sf overshoots the mark, but people used to raise families in significantly less than 1000 sf.

An environmentally friendly lifestyle is of necessity a low consumption lifestyle.

[Oregone]

20. bliss my ass

Look, I understand that a lot of people don't "need" bigger than 1000 square feet. Some could squeeze by with 500-700 happily.

Now I mean, they don't "need" it....they could be comfortably happy in it. All we "need" is a refrigerator box sized house to keep the rain off of us, and the Refridge-House dwellers look and scoff at these 100 SQFT people living high on the hog....

But come on now...at what point does it get a bit extreme now? I think I can reasonably say what is extremely big and small, without cramping myself into a box and without buying a mansion. I think this might be going a tad overboard...I mean, what is wrong with a house twice as big (200 SQFT?).

[pitohui]

21. notice how the man's own WIFE doesn't live in the house?

that says all that needs to be said -- this bullshit is supposed to enough for us little people and we are supposed to stop having hopes and dreams -- but as for them, their wives will continue to live high on the hog...

[Oregone]

22. My own wife/child wouldn't live in it either with me. She would leave my ass.

If people want small and minimalistic, they can throw a timber frame (or post beam) home together in a couple weeks. This seems to be going off the deep end to make a statement. I truly feel they picked 100 square feet because it sounds good, and if they lived anywhere else, it would be 100 square meters.

[lumberjack_jeff]

53. Suffice to say, we don't know his wife. n/t

[KansDem]

25. What if you have a baby grand? Do you buy two of these houses and connect them?

Or do you downsize to a spinet? :shrug:

[lumberjack_jeff]

54. Sell it. n/t

[galileoreloaded]

27. Try ultralight backpacking sometime.....

you will soon find out that happiness has little to do with the size or affluence of your surroundings. CalPers pension funds are down between 20-30%, many others in the same boat as well, and ideas like this WILL be looked upon as a luxury consisting of a locked door and dry warmth.
Some of us are going to hit the ground so hard................

[pitohui]

34. certainly those who confuse hobbies (ultralight hiking) w. necessities will hit the ground hard

happiness in the real world has a great deal to do with how much you own, if you own more, you are allowed access to the medical technology, food, shelter etc. that allows you to live decades longer

lots of people who live w. "less" in africa, their life expectancy is in their 40s

i realize that a lot of people are weak and just go w. "whatever" and that a great many people will just give up and not push back when all the wealth is given to the rich and we're stuck w. these damn doghouses...but we should at least try a little bit to insist on better lives instead of just saying "yes master i'm so happy to be stuck w. less so that you can own a palace in every state"

[wolverinez]

59. lol. You are still grounded in a Type 0 civilization mentality

If mankind does not blow itself up over border and religious wars, and we graduate to a type 1 civilization, we will move on from things like mortgages, debt, credit and so forth.

Only a few things hold up over time:

1. how we treat other people
2. spending time with those we care about
3. treating our home (earth) and all it's inhabitants with respect
4. exploration of space

[lynettebro440]

66. People are going to have a rude awakening

the days of the more you own the better you feel are slowling leaving, forcing people to face thier inside selves and find out how to entertain just the mind and soul. I was forced to this realization many years ago, and instead of being angry I learned valuable lessons. And I agree, being homeless gives you a better sense of things like that. Many will learn the lessons or cease to exist.

[Hannah Bell]

45. yes, being homeless is great for the soul, too. you should try it.

[Mari333]

29. and since its on wheels

in some states its not considered a permanent structure, which means you wont be penalized and have to pay for putting it up on any piece of land you own. and then your property taxes are much less.
i like it, I have 900 or so sq feet in my house and its wayyyyy to large for just me.
brilliant.

[pitohui]

31. and since it's on wheels it must be removed from many neighborhoods and parishes/counties

we are having a big push in louisiana right now to have trailers removed from residential property

if it is not considered a permanent structure, it's quite likely a CODE VIOLATION

at least if you're going to live in a doghouse get the wheels off it and TRY to get it past the parish or county gov't

[Mari333]

40. pfft. Its a nice house.

and its cheap. I am not a residential snob, however.
:)

[wolverinez]

60. These things will actually force people to go outside and remember nature

rather than TV, and actually get their fat fast food asses walking around, which lowers health care costs.



Brilliant and obviously the future. Have a family? Everyone gets their own.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

30. That's bigger than my apartment.

And I'm not trying to take an environmental stand -- I'm just poor.

[debbierlus]

32. That is just stupid. There is something called a 'happy medium'...

It is this crazy concept of not going to the extreme end, one way or another...

[Terran]

39. Bingo

Homes are being built way to large these days, and in many municipalities they even impose a minimum size that would have disqualified most of the homes built 50 years ago. But this thing is ridiculous. There's no logical reason for living in such a small space, unless te mobility factor is that important. Even experimental prefab homes built specifically to house homeless people are 4-5 times that size.

[spoony]

58. Precisely.

Because whether one goes off the port or starboard, they wind up the same wet.

[Samurai_Writer]

33. You can get mobile homes cheaper than that

I have a mobile home that's 1,000 sf that I bought for $11,000. Put about $4,000 into it to update it. Here's the photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/maryblock/sets/72157603784506565/

The only thing I can't do with my home is attach it to the back of my car and move it. But I can hire someone who could move it, if need be.

[tjwash]

35. Luxury...when I was growing up, we lived in a hole. In a tree. And we shared it with a squirrel.

And had to pay the squirrel rent. And we were grateful for it.

People today are just soft.

[Greyhound]

69. LOL!

[SammyWinstonJack]

70. !

:spray:

[pinstikfartherin]

37. My SO and I thought those were so neat..

We were thinking that one of the bigger ones would be great for just us, but then we decided we would need more space and we don't want it on wheels. So we found a plan for a small house that's about 560 sq ft. It has just enough space for the two of us. Then we saw that it has the same house with a two car garage on the lower level and the upper level is the living area, so that's what we are looking at as a possibility. For two people that don't have many belongings, it would work for us.

[MadHound]

41. A guest house, sure.

But for me to live in full time, with my spouse and animals, no way in hell. First off, I'm a big guy, 6'5". A house this small would cramp me badly. Secondly, where am I going to put books, tools, a desk, computer, etc. etc. Sorry, I don't see it. Finally, this is not a good place to be in when the tornadoes or strong storms hit. It isn't tied down, it's on wheels, it will become twister food, so many matchsticks in a tornado, that is if it simply isn't blown away in the first strong wind.

Sorry, but there's no way I'm moving into something that small. I moved out of my first 900 sq ft house to get something a bit larger. I enjoy where I'm currently at, with room for my things, room for my animals, and room for my wife and I. Living on top of each other is great fine and romantic, but it gets old after a while and people start needing a bit of space.

I'm sure that this works out well for some folks, but I'm not one of them.

[NNN0LHI]

42. I am sure it would be fine for the Unibomber

[TommyO]

46. So, somebody who chooses to live with a smaller footprint is a terrorist?

[carlyhippy]

44. on the video it showed they are selling those homes for 15,000-45,000 each

my mortgage is 48,000.....so I think I will stay in my 2400 sq ft home, thanks.

[cemaphonic]

57. And that seems to be just the structure too.

The guy in the lead story is squatting on family land. If you factor out the value of the unimproved land of my lot, and just consider the value of the building itself, my house is only 5-10x the cost of one of these, while being 20x larger.

I can see the appeal of these for dedicated minimalists, but I agree that these seem to be overpriced for what they are.

*sigh* boutique yuppie hermit shacks - what is this world coming to?

[Generic Brad]

51. That's excessive

What's wrong with living in a van?

[alfredo]

55. Old cabins were no bigger than these places. My wife and I share a

1,000 sq ft townhouse. It's cramped, but not too cramped. The insulation is very good and utility bills are not too dear.

Small is good. It is anti consumerist. You can't allow yourself to collect a lot of useless shit.

[lumberjack_jeff]

56. we once owned a sailboat intending to live aboard. Mom, dad, two kids.

The boat was 41' long x 12' beam (wide). Considering that the ends tapered, there was probably 350sf. Packed in that space were two heads, a "workshop" and two staterooms. Consider further that a lot of that space was taken up with a waste holding tank, sails, an engine and enough water for a month and 200 gallons of fuel. The key was maximum utilization of space for storage, something the photos above notably lack.

Nevertheless, it would have been adequate for four. The third child kind of put a monkeywrench in that plan.

[RebelOne]

61. I could live in it. All the less to clean. n/t

[cornermouse]

62. I guess that would be one way

to let your spouse know that you wanted a divorce. I don't see anything that resembles a tornado shelter in this either. Something else to consider. People who have little or nothing will not find this size of house attractive or comfortable. For them it would be a physical symbol of more deprivation and no expectations. It was not uncommon for people who survived the Depression to become hoarders. This is a playhouse, not a real house.

[quercus palustris]

63. Our house is about 250 sq. ft.

We live in it with our son, dog and cat. We built it our self for cash on land that we bought with cash, so we have no payment. It's not always easy, but it's liberating having no monthly payment. We're saving up to build a bigger house. We'll use this one as an office/guest house.

[TommyO]

72. Can you post pictures?

It would be great to see what people are doing with small footprint living.

[quercus palustris]

64. Our house is about 250 sq. ft.

We live in it with our son, dog and cat. We built it our self for cash on land that we bought with cash, so we have no payment. It's not always easy, but it's liberating having no monthly payment. We're saving up to build a bigger house. We'll use this one as an office/guest house.

[kimmylavin]

67. I want one!

The company that makes these is called the Tumbleweed Tiny House company, and their website is www.tumbleweedhouses.com.

If you can get on the site (its been completely overrun since all this reporting started), the houses are pretty cool!

Could my obesssion with these houses have anything to do with the fact that I'm a dollhouse and miniature nut? :)

[SmokingJacket]

68. I could live that way ALONE

But with the three family members I live with, I need room to get away...!

Okay, but what is this "it's exhilarating to no longer feel compelled to keep up with the Joneses" -- do people REALLY feel this way? Do they feel compelled to get a fancy house that they don't really care about JUST to impress the neighbors?? That is so fucking weird.

[Maine-ah]

71. take the wheels off and put it on a full foundation

double your living space.

[OwnedByFerrets]

73. Well, its better than a tent.....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/09/19/tent.cities.ap/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,424881,00.html

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/23/2126284.htm&h=528&w=840&sz=99&hl=en&start=5&um=1&usg=__TMhwBuBNctHg6wdFVpwjDZSoN2s=&tbnid=zO5P8HXqCvL9BM:&tbnh=91&tbnw=145&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtent%2Bcities%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

[OwnedByFerrets]

74. The new amerikan dream, thanks to Monkeyboy.

[Beacool]

75. Downsizing?????

That's an understatement, that thing is a shed on wheels. I couldn't even fit all my clothes in it. LOL!!!!

[Captiosus]

76. In all honestly, Leonard Buildings makes some nice sheds that

could easily double as cabins.

Check out this one called "Retreat":
http://www.leonardusa.com/browse.cfm/2,50.html

You can get it in an 18'x30' version as well and there's a store off of US Route 17 here that sells the Retreat in 24'x40'. It would take some effort to insulate, wire it and set up your 'rooms', but all in all, it wouldn't be a bad little place to live, in my opinion.