Tiny Houses for Average People

by Libby Pelham | More from this Blogger

I was watching CBS Sunday Morning today and I looked up to see a house I thought was surely a child's playhouse. It was only 100 square feet, but it was the cutest little thing I'd ever seen, so I started paying closer attention to the segment.

Turns out, the tiny house that was so cute is not a playhouse, but a real house. Builder Jay Shafer thinks that everyone should have enough space to live in, but as homes get bigger and bigger, there is a lot of wasted space. Based on these ideas, he founded his company, Tumbleweeds Tiny House Company. He makes these homes starting at $30,000 and they include all the comforts of home - almost. There is no dishwasher, but Jay considers himself the dishwasher. There is ample desk space, a refrigerator, shelving everywhere, a bathroom that doubles as a shower, and an upstairs "master" bedroom that includes a queen size bed.

Jay says the movement for homes that are smaller, cheaper to maintain, yet provide just enough space is growing. Jay invites potential homeowners and the curious to stop by for a Tumbleweed house tour. He lives in Sebastopol, CA, about sixty miles north of San Francisco and a home will be open for tour one Saturday of every month. Check out his web page at Tumbleweed Tiny House Company for more details.

Now, this may seem a bit like a joke, but remember recently, we had thousands and thousands of people displaced from Louisiana and Mississippi due to Hurricane Katrina. I am sure most came from home much larger than this, but I actually liked Jay's concept. With so many people in America claiming they cannot afford a home, I wonder how many would be willing to consider one of Jay's homes.

It seems that Americans have become spoiled. The home I grew up in (we were a family of three) had one bathroom and two bedrooms. I think the footage was around 1,000 square feet. Most people today wouldn't even consider looking at a home so small and yet we were quite comfortable in it. So, I love Jay's idea of less is more - or at least just as much.

Learn more about Libby Pelham

Libby Pelham is a web designer/freelance writer located in Memphis, TN. She has a beautiful little boy, Will, born in July of 2004.

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