Mountainfilm is always ahead of the curve. In 2013, Mountainfilm showed “Tiny: A Story About Living Small.” The doc about living small featured writer and multimedia project manager Merete Mueller, a writer laser-focused on environmental sustainability, and graphic designer and videographer Chris Smith.
A few FAQs about Tiny Homes:
Tiny Houses are popular across the US and Canada. Some of the regions with the highest concentrations of people living in Tiny Houses include the Pacific Northwest, the San Francisco Bay Area, Vermont, Texas, Colorado and North Carolina.
Globally, we’ve found high concentrations of interest in Tiny Houses in Japan, northern Europe, Australia and Great Britain.
What is a Tiny House?
Tiny Houses, as referred to by the media and in the documentary, “Tiny,” are typically less than 200 square feet, slightly larger than the average parking space.
Why are Tiny Houses Built on Wheels?
Tiny Houses are often built on wheels as a way to bypass building and zoning laws. Though codes vary by county, many counties in America have adopted the International Residential Building Codes, which state that houses must be at least 600 square feet. When Tiny Houses are built on wheels, they count as temporary structures and these laws do to not apply.
How do people make Tiny Houses?
There has been a proliferation of companies that custom-build Tiny Houses, but most people who live in these structures prefer to build their own. Some people purchase plans or kits. Others, like Christopher Smith in “Tiny” learn construction techniques on the fly from the many blogs, e-books, and YouTube videos about Tiny House construction that are available online.
Why do people live in Tiny Houses?
Most people who live in Tiny Houses are motivated by financial factors. It’s common for a “Tiny Houser” to own his home outright with no monthly mortgage or rental fee, which is appealing to many people in the wake of the housing crisis. Others are motivated by living simply to decrease their environmental impact. Whatever their reasons for choosing this lifestyle of minimalism, most “Tiny Housers” claim that their quality of life has increased as they are able to focus more of their time and energy on relationships and experiences instead of on home maintenance or their physical belongings.
Kris Holstrom, fast forward to the present:
The following blog about tiny homes that just appeared in EcoWatch was of special interest right now.
Last Sunday, Kris Holstrom had a gathering in the Program Room of the Telluride Library. The primary reason for her talk was to build momentum in the community to combine solutions locally for lower-cost housing, locally produced food, and a reduction in the outgoing waste stream.
Tiny homes could well be one of a number of big elements of Kris’s plan. There is building interest nationally for the practicality of small houses because of lower initial costs, lower carrying costs, and a dramatically lower carbon footprint.
Among the attendees at the first meeting were builders, school teachers, workers within the community, and a number of folks who are just interested in seeing that Telluride become the kind of place where the people who work in Telluride can afford to live in Telluride.
Check out this article by Cole Mellino, and consider being in the discussion at the next meeting, now scheduled for Sunday, February 8, 2:30 p.m, at the Program Room, Wilkinson Public Library.
For a long time in America, the dominant mentality was always “bigger is better.” Finally, “small is beautiful” is having its moment. Tiny houses offer a viable solution for people looking to reduce their environmental impact and live more simply.
“Micro-living,” as its proponents call it, is becoming increasingly popular. Tiny houses are even being touted as an affordable way to house the homeless. And nothing says these homes have to be boring and ugly. Don’t believe me? Check out these 10 beautiful tiny houses:
1. This tiny house, the “Wedge,” is designed and built by Wheelhaus. The “Wedge” features an angled roof which starts low in the bedroom and builds to 17 feet in the living room. The front is almost entirely glass, which gives the house an open feeling with plenty of natural light. The starting price is $89,000.
Photo credit: Wheelhaus
2. Don’t have that kind of money to drop? No problem! Macy Miller is just one of the many tiny homeowners who built her own house. It took two years, in which she broke her foot and her back, but also met her future husband (quite the rollercoaster!). It’s portable and it only cost her $11,000…
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