In my quest to find a tiny and architecturally sound house somewhere nice in the world, which I could replicate in the US, I trawled the Internet with great hope and excitement. I was delighted to discover that tiny houses are becoming more and more popular, as many homeowners want to live in a more self-sufficient way through downsizing. And of course, it also helps the environment and the growing housing shortage – something that is rapidly rising due to the population explosion.
The tiny House Movement
The housing industry is being rapidly transformed as the tiny house movement is making a stance, with little houses being built worldwide. Their popularity can be found in both urban and rural districts, as the demand for an eco-conscious and low-cost answer to the ever-dwindling supply of affordable homes takes center stage. Twenty-something professionals are the main group who are looking for a tiny house, as the staggering prices and difficulty getting a mortgage for more than their salary allows makes buying a standard house virtually impossible.
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So What Kind Of Tiny Houses Are On Offer?
I found that tiny houses are available in a broad range of sizes and forms. Moreover, various factors can be considered, such as local building codes and if these houses are constructed as private home solutions or commercial products. Many people have the courage to buy a small plot of land with building permission and then design and build their micro homes themselves. Provided you know what you are doing and have done the necessary research, this can be great fun, and ultimately, highly rewarding. It is especially great to cover the project with your own savings, thereby avoiding the misery of having a mortgage around your neck for many years to come.
But if you do not have any available funds, then the good news is that several small house manufacturers promote payment options in-house. In addition to this, there are also a few other routes to your mini dream home, like crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, and RV loans.
Auburn University's Rural Studios
Anything rural draws my attention, and the rural studios, which are a product of an architecture school that uses natural building materials, certainly piqued my interest. The small size makes them perfect for experimenting with different typologies, testing the market, and learning about the construction process. The undergraduate program at Auburn University launched Rural Studios - a tiny home line that can be constructed for just twenty thousand dollars! These tiny houses, which result from the students' collective cutting-edge ideas, are constructed via the twenty thousand dollar house project - a fabulous academic program for designing and building that is aiming to provide people living in the neighborhood with the housing they can afford. How great is that? Everyone should be entitled to have the security, happiness, and safety that one's own home provides. In fact, the university's project is so successful that it is now transforming into a commercial endeavor. The house cost breakdown is eight thousand pounds for-profit and laborers, and twelve thousand pounds for all the materials. That would give someone such as myself a monthly mortgage of just over a hundred dollars.
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The Slim House, London
This is an amazing 5 foot (1.52 m) wide home built on an unused alleyway space belonging to a regal 19th-century residence that was never used. It was constructed using Alma-nac Collaborative Architecture. This tiny architectural miracle is in a perfect location, and there are stunning windows and a red door behind the traditional façade. It also boasts an eye-catching slate-clad sloping roof, which is sprinkled with skylights in strategic places to let in lots of natural light and sunshine to give the mini home a contemporary artistic feel. This is a great example of how small space can actually make an amazing liveable home.
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The French 18th-Century Garage
Found in the rolling countryside of magnificent Bordeaux, this former wrecked garage, which derives from the 18th century and sits in a quaint cobblestone alleyway, has been totally transformed by Fabre/de Marien Architects. It now boasts a fabulous micro home of 441 square feet (40.9 square meters), and the old worn-out garage door now features a pine façade with a sliding door into a wonderfully welcoming little habitat.
The Japanese Fujiwaramuro Version Of A Tiny House
It is interesting to compare the different architectural ideas across different nations. It is clear that innovative ideas are shared by universities and architects and engineers alike due to our collective interest over the Internet - and this is a wonderful thing. This particular tiny house, which is mainly constructed of wood, is found on a small urban land parcel, which has approximately the same diameters as a space for parking a car. Just like the Slim London house, this design also boasts several skylights, which, along with the windows, make the tiny abode wonderfully bright and light.
Woody
This is a mobile mini home and creates two aspiring homeowners and architecture college graduates, Jodi and Brian Buzard. They wanted to be free to set roots wherever they wanted to go, which meant taking their house with them. And while portable homes are not a new thing - portable tiny houses are. And, as you can imagine, they are a lot easier and cheaper to move from state to state. After spending a year on construction, they have named their amazing little 236-square-foot wooden home "Woody," and they are now really living the good life.
They spent around seven thousand dollars on a flatbed chassis measuring 26 feet (7.9m) long to make it transportable. They joined on interior cladding made from pine and structural insulated panels. Their little palace on wheels is simple and contemporary, featuring plywood made from birch veneer for the cabinets, ceiling, and floor.
The enterprising couple had to ensure that the mini house was no higher than the maximum limit for a house highway travel permit.
Great Tiny house interior solutions!
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