The Joy of Tiny House Living. Chris Schapdick
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Название: The Joy of Tiny House Living
Автор: Chris Schapdick
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Дом и Семья: прочее
isbn: 9781607656418
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Now we are in the midst of the modern tiny house movement, and it’s picking up traction. Since it’s such a significant shift away from the prior notions of building ever-larger houses, it has been somewhat difficult for certain aspects of the movement to keep up with the times—or, perhaps more accurately, it has been difficult for the times to keep up with the movement. The most noticeable aspect in this regard is that the legalities of living tiny are not in line with the existing models of government and structures that are in place. For example, many towns and municipalities have minimum size restrictions on living spaces. This means that for you to be able to build a house, it has to have a certain number of square feet for it to be recognized as a house. These kinds of policies were put into place for a variety of reasons, some of which have to do with safety, some of which have to do with taxation, and some of which have to do with towns wanting to have uniformity in the look and feel of their housing.
We’ll go into the current state of tiny house legality later, in chapter 5. For now, though, I hope you can see how the tiny house movement isn’t just a newfangled fad—it’s actually a logical reaction to how housing has been changing over the years, and a callback to different eras with different standards. The modern motivations for going tiny are as varied as the people who do it; read on to learn more.
The originator of the modern tiny house movement: Jay Shafer (right). It was an honor to meet the man who has inspired so many others to downsize their lives.
With the right amount of activism and pressure, the world will make room for tiny houses. Thanks to people within the movement, like Alexis Stephens and Christian Parsons, co-founders of Tiny House Expedition (whose house is pictured at right), progress continues to be made.
WHY ARE PEOPLE GOING TINY?
Tiny represents different things to different people at different points in their life. Here I’ll define what it tends to mean for different age brackets and demographics.
Tiny houses have a specific appeal for younger people, people who are coming out of college or maybe just starting off down a career path. Going tiny represents an affordable accommodation during a period when financial stability might not yet be established or possible. Younger adults coming out of college may be in debt from paying for their education. Taking on additional debt in the form of a 30-year mortgage does not appeal to these young adults. This younger generation is gravitating toward smaller, more affordable housing, given that the large urban centers in the United States and elsewhere are experiencing affordable housing crises.
This small, towable home would appeal to many members of the younger generation, who are often motivated to go tiny because the cost is considerably cheaper than a 30-year mortgage.
Tiny houses (and other alternative structures such as buses, yurts, or vans) therefore become a natural and clear alternative to traditional living for young people. When you combine the affordability with the ability to easily relocate a tiny house—to move it wherever the work is—it is an appealing proposition. More and more professions and jobs can be executed remotely, and this is another reason why living in a tiny house is a good alternative. According to a Gallup survey, more than 43 percent of workers did some of their work remotely in 2018. This trend keeps going up year after year. That tiny house can be situated virtually anywhere, as long as the person has access to the Internet and to power and therefore can perform any number of different job functions.
Tiny houses are an opportunity to rethink what it means to have a home.
For people who are middle-aged, tiny living represents many of the same benefits. But there are also certain life situations in middle age that make living tiny more viable. People in the middle of their lives often go through major life transitions, like the dissolution of a marriage (according to Pew Research Center, divorce rates consistently hover just below 50 percent), or a new career with different needs. There are many reasons why someone might be looking to downsize and save money in their thirties and forties. Plus, the same benefits of mobility and remote work that apply to the younger generation certainly hold true for middle-aged folks as well.
When you get to the older generations, many people may be looking to downsize or travel more. Their children may have moved out of the house, and now they’re living either by themselves or with a partner in a house that has outgrown their needs. Downsizing, the empty nest phenomenon, saving money, and being able to relocate are main drivers for folks in their fifties, sixties, and even seventies.
Cutting across all of these generational aspects is the element of people rethinking what it means to have a house. The standard notion of traditional housing doesn’t really appeal to everyone anymore. You may be living in a space not really designed for your personal needs. The tiny house movement is founded on creating a personalized space and building only what you need. When you build according to your vision, and not someone else’s, you invariably create something that is uniquely your own. Homes have always been an expression of who we are; we decorate them a certain way, we fill them with certain furniture, and we paint them certain colors. Tiny houses take it a step further: not only can you personalize the decoration and the fixtures, but also the entire design. It’s your vision, not someone else’s, and this element of customization is a really appealing notion for people of any age.
One of the other benefits—and some people’s main goal—of going tiny is that you are lowering your carbon footprint. We all have an impact on this planet, and being able to reduce that in some fashion can be appealing. Another great by-product of the tiny movement is that people who have gone tiny tend to have more disposable income. For most tiny house owners, this disposable income will not be spent on acquiring more consumer goods, but rather on gaining new experiences. (I cover this in more detail on here.)
One reason that anyone, at any age, may be motivated to build a tiny house is that, unlike in traditional housing, every aspect of it is customizable. For example, I made these unique mock shutters to decorate the windows on one of my houses.
Solar panels and other forms of renewable energy can help reduce your carbon footprint in a tiny house.
IS TINY RIGHT FOR YOU?
You have to ask yourself many questions when you are considering going tiny. The main one that I want you to answer for yourself is, “Why am I doing this in the first place?” If you don’t have a good answer to this question, you need to find one, because it is important to have a clear answer before you start down this path. Beyond this essential question, there are a host of other somewhat philosophical, somewhat practical questions you should ask yourself as you consider if going tiny is right for you. Feel free to use the space at the end of this СКАЧАТЬ