Building Small Houses

There is a population group of people who want small (even downright tiny) houses. I happen to be one of them. People are intrigued by the idea of owning a really small home for many reasons including:

• small houses require less energy for utilities
  
• small houses require less maintenance
• more investment in land versus house
• being outside is better than inside
• small footprint/impact on natural settings
• the intrigue of owning fewer possessions
  

The Small House Society is an excellent place to start looking if you are interested in building a small house. From their website:

Defining Small Houses. People often ask what defines a small house. To our knowledge, there are no set guidelines to determine when a house is considered tiny or small. A space that might be considered small for a family of four would be large if only a single person were living in it. The goal is for each person to find the right size space that fits their life and comfort level.

There is a category of small homes which are under 500 square feet. A house of such small size might be referred to as a micro house, compact house, mini house, tiny house, small house, or little house. As you will see from our Resources page, our interests are broad and include all sizes of homes - not just the miniscule house. However, these miniature houses are what seems to grab the attention of the media. So, that is why they are often associated with our organization.

Benefits. There are many beneficial aspects to the small house movement and the trend toward living in smaller spaces. There are benefits to individuals and society. People who live in smaller living spaces generally own fewer possessions, consume less, and have lower utility bills. Smaller homes require less building materials for construction and smaller land use - therefore costing much less to purchase, maintain, and live in. Construction of smaller homes can utilize more efficient, natural, healthy, high-quality materials that might not be affordable in a larger dwelling. All of these benefits result in healthier, more cost effective living, and a better environment.

Defining Small Houses. People often ask what defines a small house. To our knowledge, there are no set guidelines to determine when a house is considered tiny or small. A space that might be considered small for a family of four would be large if only a single person were living in it. The goal is for each person to find the right size space that fits their life and comfort level.

There is a category of small homes which are under 500 square feet. A house of such small size might be referred to as a micro house, compact house, mini house, tiny house, small house, or little house. As you will see from our Resources page, our interests are broad and include all sizes of homes - not just the minuscule house. However, these miniature houses are what seems to grab the attention of the media. So, that is why they are often associated with our organization.

You can find more information at sites such as TreeHugger, Sunlight Homes blog, and this article on great small homes from the New York Times.

Small House Plans

There are a hand full of companies that sell small house plans and even small house kits or pre-built small homes that are delivered to your land or site. The range of styles is almost unlimited and, of course, you can always have one custom designed by an architect based on your specifications. Here are some suppliers of small home plans and kits:

• Tumble Weed Houses Plans, Kits, and Pre-Built Tiny Homes
  
• Sunlight Homes Small Homes
• Country Plans Small Homes and Cottages Plans
• Ross Chapin Small House Plans
• Cool House Plans
• Tiny Texas Houses Pre-Built Small Home

Small Home Communities

I would like to see a small home community. So far, I have only seen small homes used by individuals as temporary or permanent living on acreage and only a few in actual neighborhoods. What I have never seen is an entire community built with small or tiny (micro) homes. It is easy to imagine an entire community of small homes with lots of green space, trees, a pond, decks, and a social population of outdoors-minded neighbors. If anyone knows of such a community, please let me know.


This is an update to this post - July 19, 2007. PopSciBlog wrote a post about tiny houses on July 17, 2007. I really hope this means small homes are coming on the mass' radars. The tiny-homes communities are becoming clearer to me.