Saturday we had the opportunity to attend the tiny home show at the fairgrounds. It cost way more than we anticipated and the lines were very long, but I enjoyed getting to see some of the options available.
Evidently solar panels (in lieu of electricity) are very popular, though many people who live in small homes eventually add an electric pole and tie in to electricity due to the unpredictability of sunshine and the amount of power you might need during the course of a 2-3 day storm or unusual situations. One house a had both solar and electrical options so you could use whichever you needed at the time.
As a child, I thought it would be cool to sleep in a loft like the Wilder children did on Little House on the Prairie, and there are many homes I've visited with a loft that I thought made a nice sleeping or sitting area.
But some of these lifts are so small you cannot sit up in them. There's enough length to lie down, but not enough height to sit up. That does not appeal to me at all. But I suppose if I were strapped for cash and needed a place to live, I can see how that would be a viable option for a person or family of 2 or 3 to survive. Homes range from $40k-$63k to build and place.
They did have one option that looked more like a half a trailer (single wide) that had all the living stuff downstairs and the upstairs were for storage. The inside of that one tied in my mind for personal favorite, but its outside had little appeal.
One of the most fascinating things to me was the boxcar options. We had read about boxcar apartment buildings in new York, and it was neat to actually see one in the process of transition to apartment, as well as many options available for their layout and design. Bobby and I both agreed that one was the most practical and homey-looking out of everything we saw. It was also probably the largest inside.
We were joking on the way home about how much stuff we've accumulated over the years. My sewing room alone would fill up a tiny house!!! We know there will come a day when we have to downsize, and I'm working towards not accumulating more. Using up what I have will take a long time, and the fact that I move at a tired turtle's pace will not help things any.
Perhaps it's from moving around as a child, or from visiting so many homes and towns when Dad "tried out" at churches before his first pastorate, but I always look at a home as "how would I like living here?" lens. I don't ponder where my toys and books would fit now, but I do look at the layout and its functionality.
If you've never looked at a tiny house, you should. If nothing else, it will make you think about how much space we consume and truly need to thrive.
As a child, I thought it would be cool to sleep in a loft like the Wilder children did on Little House on the Prairie, and there are many homes I've visited with a loft that I thought made a nice sleeping or sitting area.
But some of these lifts are so small you cannot sit up in them. There's enough length to lie down, but not enough height to sit up. That does not appeal to me at all. But I suppose if I were strapped for cash and needed a place to live, I can see how that would be a viable option for a person or family of 2 or 3 to survive. Homes range from $40k-$63k to build and place.
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| This girl could totally stretch out, but she had her body bent at an angle to sit up. |
One of the most fascinating things to me was the boxcar options. We had read about boxcar apartment buildings in new York, and it was neat to actually see one in the process of transition to apartment, as well as many options available for their layout and design. Bobby and I both agreed that one was the most practical and homey-looking out of everything we saw. It was also probably the largest inside.
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| Several had larger racks like this for holding dishes. This one appeared to be a spice rack, which is a great use of space even in a regular size home. |
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| This pic is upside down, but this is in the home that tied for one of my 3 favorite. It had more storage space than most, but the bathroom cabinets couldn't open all the way because of the toilet... |
We were joking on the way home about how much stuff we've accumulated over the years. My sewing room alone would fill up a tiny house!!! We know there will come a day when we have to downsize, and I'm working towards not accumulating more. Using up what I have will take a long time, and the fact that I move at a tired turtle's pace will not help things any.
Perhaps it's from moving around as a child, or from visiting so many homes and towns when Dad "tried out" at churches before his first pastorate, but I always look at a home as "how would I like living here?" lens. I don't ponder where my toys and books would fit now, but I do look at the layout and its functionality.
If you've never looked at a tiny house, you should. If nothing else, it will make you think about how much space we consume and truly need to thrive.
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