Tiny houses have been a growing trend for the past decade. Whether it be for Millennials not wanting to break the bank or go into debt, Boomers adjusting to living on a set income, or adventurers that are looking to move around, these homes are appealing to all different demographics. Charity organizations have even been formed around the idea of tiny houses to provide housing to people experiencing homelessness. The rise in popularity of these homes could be accredited to many things, but they have gained a particularly large following online. Through DIY influencers on YouTube and Instagram, ordinary people have learned to design and build these homes themselves on a budget. According to Business Insider, tiny houses can be built for as low as $8,000. But is it the smartest idea to do it on your own? Here are a few things that you should consider before designing and building a tiny home:
While many people opt to take on a Tiny Home project on their own, hiring an architect to assist you in the process is always the safer option. Architects are professionals with extensive knowledge in things like structural limitations, space constraints, physics, material stress tolerances, regulatory codes, state laws, and other governing body standards that must be met to pass inspections. Along with this, they also have experience working on construction projects and have relationships with reliable contractors, plumbers, electricians, and any other people necessary for your project. Anyone that has taken on a project like this will tell you that working with professionals will also save you lots of time and money. For those who are not familiar with design or construction, it is common to run into failed planning applications or have to re-start an area of the structure after it has already been built. Additionally, an architect-designed home will be much more appealing to potential buyers in the future and may increase resale value.
Some risks of not working with an architect:
Moving your life into a tiny home will change the way that you do everything. This is not a change that can be made the week before you move, it is something that you should begin to work on months in advance. Consider your daily routine: maybe you wake up, work out in your house, work from home, read in your living room, do some laundry and then cook dinner for 9-10 friends. Instead, work on finding ways to outsource parts of your routine. For instance, you can ditch your workout equipment and join a gym, work remotely at a local coffee shop, leisurely read and wind down at a local library, take your laundry to a laundromat and create outdoor space to host large groups outside of your house. Another facet of your lifestyle to rethink is your wardrobe. Decluttering and downsizing your wardrobe will save you tons of space and make it easier to avoid laundry piles or over-filled drawers. A great rule of thumb when it comes to mindful fashion is to stick to only practical pieces that can be worn in multiple different ways. Minimalism is the key here, keeping only a small palette of colors and patterns will make it easier to mix and match the few pieces that you have to work with. If you live in an area that experiences all four seasons, separate your clothes into each season and store the rest away when you do not need them. Making changes to your lifestyle can be challenging and you may not know where to start. You can kick off your downsizing process slowly by trying out the “Post-it-note Exercise”. This exercise is done in your house before you start designing your tiny home. Taking some pens and Post-it notes, go around to every room of your house and shut the door. Place a pen on the top of each door frame and a Post-it note on each door. Now before you go into a room, take a second to write down what you are going into the room to do and how long you think it will take. For your entry door, write down all of the activities that you will be doing outside of your house and about how long they will take. After a few days, you should be left with a comprehensive list of your daily activities and how much time you typically spend on each. This will give you clarity as to which rooms of your house are necessary and which you may be able to live without.
With all of the influences from tiny home content on social media and television, it is easy to fall into a lot of design decisions based on what is trending. Just like any custom home, you should be designing your tiny house to function the way that you need it to. In a tiny space, it is unnecessary to focus on aesthetics or resale potential. At the end of the day, you will be living in that confined space and will want everything to be set up in a way that is best for you specifically. If you spend a lot of time cooking, dedicate more space to the kitchen area. If you never cook, cut some of the bulky appliances out and make do with just a few. Don’t just create something like a living room space just because you feel that you should, if you mostly hang out in your bed- dedicate more space that allows for a larger bed. All that matters is how you function daily and what is going to work best for you.
Implement subtractive design; go through each area and item on your layout and decide, if removed, would it make the design better, worse, or the same? If subtracting it would leave the area the same, consider removing it. If getting rid of it would make the design better, you should take it out. A great example of this is a bathroom sink. If you already have a kitchen sink less than 3 steps away from your bathroom, there is no need to put in an additional sink. Multi-functional furniture like a couch that folds out into a bed or a bed that doubles as storage or a bookshelf that turns into a desk will save you space and money. If you have a lofted area, substitute a ladder for stairs. You can also consider making spaces more adaptable through the architecture itself, such as adaptable walls that pull out to become seating. And of course, avoid swinging doors that will get in the way and instead go for sliding doors.
General tips to know before designing or building your tiny house
Before you go off to start your tiny home journey, consider speaking with an experienced architect. You may also benefit from utilizing other professional services, such as 3D renderings, to visualize your ideas and give you a realistic graphic of what your finished project will look like.
Sources:
https://www.archdaily.com/891257/6-tips-for-designing-and-building-a-tiny-house
https://thetinylife.com/tiny-house-design/
http://yr-architecture.com/3-effective-design-strategies-for-small-modern-homes/
https://www.supertinyhomes.com/do-you-need-an-architect-to-build-a-tiny-house/