If you lost both your business and your house and were struggling to make ends meet, how far would you go to regain some financial stability for your family? When this couple found themselves in that position a few years ago, they got to work and built a “tiny house” for their family of four.
They were on Anderson Cooper’s talk show this week talking about how the decision to downsize so drastically has changed their lives. In the photo above, they’re standing in front of the house they built to show how small it is.
They also marked out the footprint of the house on his stage–and it’s not much bigger than the couch they’re sitting on:
They built the house for about $12,000, and with the money they’re saving each month, they’re hoping to build a larger, mortgage-free home in the future.
If you missed their segment, here’s a clip (there are more on Anderson’s website):
I also enjoyed the post “Tiny House Reforms a Messy Housekeeper.”
They were featured on the Tiny House Blog, too, that has more photos of the house and details about how they make it work (laundry, food storage, etc.).
I think it’s inspiring to see how creative and resourceful some people can be in tough times. How well do you think your family would meet a challenge like this?
Hooked on Tiny Houses?
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
Very inspiring. Looks like it is set in a beautiful, wooded area. Even though there isn’t much space inside, they have a lot of space outside (unlike a city apartment of the same size.) In the summer, I bet they spend a lot of time outdoors. I would!
There is TOO small. This is it!
This is one of the best post I’ve seen in a while. The story touched my heart. So many of us suffered an still suffering with the economy in this world and seeing people creating and reinventing their lives and their lifestyle really inspires me.
God bless their beautiful home.
xo
Luciane at HomeBunch.com
My only issue with this is that they could have a bought a big trailer for that price. Since it’s just a temporary home for them anyway, I don’t get it.
Unless the utility bills are drastically cheaper for the shed vs. a bigger mobile home. Then I guess that makes sense.
I love the tiny house trend and I’m getting ready to build one of the Tumbleweed houses on Tybee Island. Hopefully next spring. Utility bills are definitely a huge reason to go tiny especially in this economy.
It would be interesting to have a break-down of their monthly costs and how it would compare to other alternatives – eg. a trailer and/or renting an apartment. I wonder how much the land cost as well. One thing they definitely don’t have room for is impulse shopping. That alone could save them some money.
Due to building codes a lot of places won’t let you put a trailer or mobile home on your property. Though this looks to be a rural setting it might have factored in. I can’t think of anywhere around here (CA), including property I used to own up in the mtns that would allow me to to park/live in a trailer on it. This might be tiny, but pass code.
I too wonder where it is, and how much the land cost -or if it’s on their own land.
What a smart family! We could all learn something from them in this tough economy.
I don’t know if I could do it! My kids might drive me nuts on rainy days.
But I admire their determination to start over!
I feel the same way. It is nice to see that they didn’t “just give up”. I am sure they will make their new dream come true.
I love it when people think out of the box. This is a very savy family who took action to do what is best for their family during such a slow economy. Love this story…it’s very inspiring and made me think about how we forget the basic neccesities of life, and instead we become so self absorbed by materialistic things. I will need to share this story with my children
… They’ve been asking for an I-Touch ;/ It’s not happening…LOL!!!
Good for them! They are doing whatever it takes to survive a bad situation. It’s only temporary for them because they are saving and planning to build a larger home in the future and pay cash for it. They are smart!
Feels surreal to read this very interesting post about drastic downsizing after just reading a thread on gardenweb’s kitchen site about a new trend towards people building two full kitchens — one for “show” and light cooking and one for heavy duty cooking. What is enough and what is too much and is there such a things as a happy medium?
I am really proud of this family. I wonder if they decided to build (as opposed to Katy’s mention of a mobile home) to make this tiny space really unique for their family life.
I hope you will come see my Annie Sloan Projects revealed!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
HA! Love that they managed to stick a cat in there as well.
wow, this is making me feel pretty crappy that i have a perfectly wonderful house and want more more more :-p
Blessings to them!!
Great story. I find this much more inspiring than a celebrity’s over-sized mansion. I’m full of admiration for this family. And I thought my cabin was small – it’s huge in comparison! And I don’t have kids at home any more. I hope they’re able to attain their bigger home soon. I, too, was curious where this was, and I didn’t see a reference anywhere. Looks like the southern mountains. Could be my neck of the woods.
I love their little house! When the kids are that age, it is an adventure and seems to bring the family closer together. Kudos to the parents for being so resourceful and industrious!
That’s so inspiring! And it makes me feel like a brat for complaining about the 1000 square foot condo that I shared with only one other person!
I’m always so impressed when people can make truly tiny spaces work for them.
I love hearing about someone who was impacted by this market didn’t just sit around complaining about it but did something to help their situation. Wish more people would take a clue from their actions and realize you can make your situation better without tons of money.
Because of forces beyond our control, my husband and I lost everything in the economic downturn too. (Our four children are college educated and out of the house.) It was painful! We moved from a large 2,700 square foot home to a home of about 900 square feet, so we are not nearly as small as this admirable family. After two years here, we have not intention of moving. We love it! We got rid of so much stuff and streamlined our lives. We ask ourselves, “Why didn’t we do this years ago?” Life is much less complicated in our sweet little cottage in the making.
NOPE…Could.Not.Do.It. I think it would end in divorce and selling off of my kids…just kidding….sometimes when we are all crammed into one hotel room, we think, why do we EVER need so much house space….but we promptly get the answer after the long car ride home…to keep our sanity!
Good for them and, yes I’ve had to make do, think outside the box, and find ways to become resourceful in order to survive–job losses, health issues and tight, exploitative work evironments and over-priced real estate markets. So yes, I could more than meet the challenge. I grew up in California, along the coast and had to relocate to another state in order to not only find work and a better quality of life, but because I also wanted to realize a dream of becoming a homeowner. I’m also adverse to taking on debt and living beyond my means, given some of my experiences, so I live in a smaller, older home that many I know would snub me for and also make condescending comments that my home is TINY, etc. The thing is older homes, with character are still being scraped off for McMansions near where I live. If a home is in bad shape I’m not opposed, but what they erect in its place doesn’t suit or fit the neighborhood and I don’t think this should be allowed.
What I find interesting too is that when I moved here real estate agents, once they learned that I was from Calif. tried to steer more towards a newer home development which would have meant a bigger house, but a larger mortgage and carrying debt that I wouldn’t have felt comfortable taking on. I find this kind of story inspiring too and I’m glad that you featured it.
Years ago PBS aired a show called “Frontier House” in which 3 families were sent to Montana for a few months to recreate life as it was in 1883. There was one family consisting of a couple, 2 teen-age daughters, and a son (maybe age 10?). They learned new skills, how to make do with what they had, and to also appreciate what they had. After their return to modern day life the same family was shown in a follow-up. They had just moved into their new McMansion. The girls were bored, and the boy was playing video games with a “Keep Out” sign on his door. The mother seemed lost in her huge kitchen and the father was working all the time. From my perspective it seemed very sad – as if they had lost the cohesiveness they had gained while on the “frontier”. There is something to be said for a cozier home and working together as a family towards mutual goals. That said, I think this Tiny House could have definitely used a few more square feet. Are the walls sound-proofed? I just hope the parents save enough money before their kids hit adolescence. Even the family in Frontier house had more space!
Bear in mind that the followup was very likely edited to make them look worse off than they were. The girls would still have been bored in a small house, and the boy would still have wanted some privacy.
That’s true. You never know with reality TV – even if it’s on PBS.
I remember that family too and was thinking of them as I read this post! They were memorable because they seemed to have a hard time adjust to frontier life, but came to really appreciate the closeness that it brought to their family. I think they were a little sad afterwards. I hope that since then they’ve made a move to a life that is more authentic to them.
I’m a big fan of the Tiny House movement. It’s a great way for young people to afford a home or create a private place for an elderly parent on a family property. Mostly when we have a lot of space we just fill it with items we don’t really need or use. We really don’t need much to be comfortable.
And I thought my house was small! I’m not sure I could stay there for a vacation much less live there. Kudos to them for being willing to do it and to make things more stable for their family.
This family got together and they make it work daily through love, hope, and a redirection of priority and view. Nothing but admiration and a tad bit of jealousy for them all! Form, function, and the humour to enjoy (not just get through) their circumstance.
In some parts of the world (consider some parts of this country!) this would be considered living “high on the hog”. It has a firm structure, running water, kitchen, bath, and a roof that does not leak. I think sometimes we in the U.S. forget that some of our neighbors live in extreme poverty.
We live in So Cal, and yes, *to some* we live in a “small house”; just 1200 sf. (The average for our area is well into the 3k sf) We reared 5 kids 3 cats and a dog (not to mention all sorts of critters the kids brought home), and almost always had a stray friend of the kids’ living on the couch. To us it’s always been just fine, but others, neighbors, have actually expressed to me that “your house is just too small for the amount of people who live here!” Now that all the kids and pets are gone, we feel downright spoiled and are considering a 24f mobile or travel trailer for retirement living. (Money not being a factor -now.)
The thing is, it’s what we could afford at the time. Our kids, now grown, understand that “things” are fabulous, but not at the expense of relationships -especially the family ones.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I would love to see more posts like this. People living within their means and prioritizing. Constantly looking at McMansions and people living unrealistic lives gives me the feeling that I’m broke and unfulfilled, it distorts my idea of norms. This was a nice reality check.
I give them a lot of credit, I wish we could do that! There are 4 of us and we complain that our 3500 sq ft house is too small! But I would trade it all if we had to, and it meant we could be together.
as a side bar I offer:
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Apartment Therapy is currently in “Small Cool 2012″, a contest where readers can vote for best “small cool” living, the rules? “For the 8th year, we invite you to wow us with photos of your wonderfully compact home and insider tips for living well in under 1000 square feet.” -today’s offer lives in 420 sf.
Thanks for the link!
I like how a tiny house forces the family to spend more time outdoors. When I was a kid our parents had to drag us into the house at the end of the day; my little sisters (20 years younger) almost never leave the house. A tiny house would definitely force you to really think about the objects you purchase and the way you spend your time.
I love how this family took action in their given situation instead of giving up. Great job to this family! This small of house wouldn’t work for me, but it works well for them and that’s great.
It’s really inspiring how trying times can really bring out people’s tenacity and creativity.
Amen!! These people should be an example to us all. There are so many like them who have been financially devastated and we need to be mindful that it could be us next. I wonder how people today would react to a life without their granite counter tops and huge master suites. HGTV would be obsolete if we all had to get back to basics. It really makes you realize that so much of life is nothing but vanity. We need to remember what is really important!
How awesome! I think it’s great that instead of blaming others and asking for handouts, they were responsible for themselves! Good for them!
I’ve always had a fascination for people who manage to live in small spaces and how they do it. It’s obvious they’re using the outside deck for much of what most of do in indoor spaces. I’ve long wished more houses were designed to better utilize open air spaces. I absolutely would no matter how much I spent building one.
Wade – when we bought our house over 20″years ago, the 2 decks (one private off,the master bedroom, one off the family room) really clinched the decision. We practically live outside all summer. Our house is average in size but the decks make it seem larger.
A real testimony to making the most of a situation that could have overwhelmed so many. But they found a way to make it work. I have a feeling they’ll save money and eventually move out of their adorable small home but their family togetherness and ability to stick together during a challenge should last.
I seriously admire folks like this. It’s a brave bold choice.
I think this is very inspiring. They have what they need, and not much else. What else is there?
You know what I love about this, they were allowed to build it in the first place. Here in the UK the planning departments would have gone mad, said they were living in a shed and then tried to have it destroyed. They people did a similar thing in Surrey, had to HIDE for 4 years and then were nearly prosecuted for it – just mad! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-17398342
Wow! That poor family. Thanks for the link!
looks kinda crappy to me
My aunt always says, “You don’t need a big house to raise a family!”. It’s true. I bet they are a closer family because of this, and that’s more important than square footage.
I dont this it was necc to downsize this much but it is there choice. Great that they are able to save all Mom’s salary and just live off Dad. However as the kids get older this wont work. Especially during puberty the boy-girl kids will want their own space.
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