A Tiny House

In January, when my siblings were all together, my sister made the comment that she and Jim were building a tiny house. At the time, I had no clue what she was talking about. I had never heard of such a thing. However, according to Google:

 

"The Tiny House Movement is a growing group of people who are happy to downsize the space that they live in and enjoy simplified lives as a result. While the average American home is around 2600 square feet, the typical small or tiny house is around 100-400 square feet."

 

Lois ordered the book and the plans last December and the trailer in January. They started building it right about the first week of March. At the beginning they didn't work on it except for a couple of hours on Saturdays but in the last couple of months they have started working on it a lot more.

 

The little house sits on a trailer and so is moveable. At this point, they aren't exactly sure what they will do with it, but Lois has some ideas. She says maybe they will rent their big house out for weekends and then they will stay in the tiny house on the property or maybe one of their grandchildren will use it as a place to live someday.

 

Regardless of what they use it for, Lois especially is enjoying the project. Jim helped a lot with getting the floor right and studding the walls, but much of the work is being done by Lois herself. (She does enlist the help of her two oldest grandchildren sometimes.) About a month ago she was using a miter saw to cut a 2x4 board and it slipped and cut her hand badly enough that she required stitches. Non deterred, she was soon hard at work again--measuring, cutting, nailing. I can't even fathom that she can follow a plan and build a house (are we seriously sisters?), but I have been fascinated with it and today I stopped in to see the progress.

 

It is definitely a tiny house. It is a lot like a camper and yet feels a little different. The main room includes the kitchen, dining area, and a futon for a bed and then there is a separate, small room for the bathroom, which has a toilet, sink and shower. A loft also gives a little extra space where someone can sleep or just relax and read a book. It is very small and cozy!

 

It will be fun to continue to watch the progress. I'm not sure how much they will be able to work on it this winter, but maybe by next summer it will be finished. We will have to wait and see what they use it for and how often it gets lived in. Who knows, I might even rent it out some time for some rest and relaxation!

Here are a few more pictures:

Fascinating, isn't it?