When minimalism found its moment, now it's the turn of the tiny house movement. Beverley D'Silva explores why small is beautiful when it comes to living spaces.
In the world of home design, a revolution is taking place – and the future is small. The buzz around the tiny house trend – an architectural and social movement that advocates for streamlining living spaces – is growing.
View nearly 2.5 million Instagram posts with the hashtag "little house"; massive internet following and developing many documentaries and TV series, such as the Netflix show Tiny House Nation and a series on the topic by British architect and TV presenter George Clarke.
One of the most famous of the movement's many champions is Elon Musk, the multibillionaire CEO of Tesla. Musk upped the ante on the tiny house when he rented one in Boca Chica, Texas while working on his SpaceX venture. "Feels more homey to live in a small house," he tweeted.
In the same way that minimalism and decluttering captured the zeitgeist as a counterpoint to ostentatious consumerism, the tiny house movement also found its moment. The idea – having less space and stuff can create room in our lives for more important things – is interesting.
The roots of the tiny house movement can be traced to 19th-century US naturalist and essayist Henry David Thoreau, whose book Walden (1854) is an inspiring meditation on simple living in natural surroundings.
Jay Shafer, the "godfather of tiny houses", pioneered the modern movement when he built tiny houses on wheels and wrote The Small House Book in 1999. Shafer founded Tumbleweed Tiny House before leaving to focus on social justice and housing rights.
The idea – that having less space and stuff can create space in our lives for the things that are more important – is an interesting one
Tiny housing enthusiasts champion the living space's eco-friendly credentials: they require fewer building materials. They are energy efficient – using around 20 to 30% of the energy of most average UK homes, according to Tiny Housing Co, a UK company.
They can be equipped with solar panels or wind power, so their owners can live off the grid. Designed for mobility, they can be more easily placed close to nature. Economical, portable, eco-friendly, community-oriented, mortgage-free – what's not to like?
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| The Netflix series Tiny House Nation, which explores the small-home lifestyle, has been a huge hit (Credit: Netflix) |
Chris March is the founder of Tiny Eco Homes in Northumberland in England, and has lived for three years in one of his own designs, with pine cladding inside and a cedar porch. Measuring 7m x 2.5m, it has two bedrooms, two floors and high enough ceilings to walk around upstairs. It was equipped with "everything my son and I need," he said.
March's company produces about 15 tiny houses a year. Clients included David and Becky Westwood and their son Joss, who purchased the standard model for £50,000. Although the video they made shows Joss' head touching his bedroom ceiling as he stands up, they are happy with their tiny house, claiming it is "just like living in a conventional house".
They initially settled him in a campsite, where the monthly rent was over £500, and have since moved him to one of their parents' gardens to live rent-free.
The land cost can be a major consideration (or stumbling block) in owning a tiny house. March owns the land on which it is located; he has planning permission for permanent residence there but said: "I have no intention of building a 'normal' house. It could cost £200,000, but I could spend £60,000 on a tiny house, and have a new home for a third of the cost , so there's no need to think about it anymore."
The cost of a building and a tiny house can make it expensive. Some get around this by placing their homes on land owned by family or friends, while others rent land, from farmers, for example – all also ignoring the need for planning permission.
Another way to deal with this is to buy land and convert its use to glamping or a small farm. However, March said: "It is nearly impossible [in the UK] to get full planning permission to live in [the tiny house] full time and place it permanently."
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| In the US, the tiny house industry is growing fast (Source: New Frontier Design) |
Lifestyle and values are the main driving forces here: the tiny house area goes by rethinking what's important, like strengthening local communities or preserving the environment, or a desire to spend more time with family or in activities that allow for downsizing.
Some just love the tiny and sleek design of their tiny homes. Still, we're talking about a very small minority in the UK, where an estimated 200 people live in a tiny house – despite all the interest in it. "Everyone talks about living in a tiny house," admits March, "but very few do."
Small but perfectly formed
In other countries, the tiny house industry is moving faster. In the US, an estimated 10,000 people live in tiny houses. "The tiny house movement is growing," Amy Turnbull, director of American Tiny House, told The Spruce: "The more people advocate for their acceptance, the more areas that will allow them".
David Latimer is the CEO and founder of New Frontier Design, which was voted the best luxury tiny home builder at The Spruce Awards 2020. David spoke to BBC Culture from his Venice Beach, California studio – a serene minimalist design with lots of blonde wood and green plant views.
We've seen an explosion in demand [for tiny houses] from people wanting to reconnect with nature after being stuck in cities – David Latimer
Latimer launched his company – whose mantra is “live on purpose” – in 2015, at a time when interest in small living quarters, he says, “went viral.” He sells about 12 to 16 tiny homes per year, and his five models start with the Alpha, with large glass doors to let in natural light and double sinks – the "ideal couple's home." Then there's the luxurious Escher, which seats six, with a dining table for 10 and a full-size jacuzzi. The design was created with an architect and included full-size equipment wherever possible. Space-saving furniture – a vital component in any tiny home – is its speciality.
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| Compact, space-saving design is important for a small dwelling to be functional (Credit: New Frontier Design) |
In 2017, Latimer was selected to build homes for the victims of the California wildfires, which were presented to happy families on the TV show Good Morning America. He has incredible scope for a start-up, but he remains aware of the hurdles he continues to face in this nascent market. "One of the barriers is the fact that the government regulates no legal entity... and there are no credit facilities for tiny houses," he said. "And as we know, it's also strictly forbidden where you can legally place it."
Latimer's clientele is "all ages, and many are empty nests, retired or downsizing – but the majority are young professionals... they want to get out of town or at least have a place to retreat". About half plan to live in their tiny house full-time; others use it as a vacation home or leave it alone. "It's a lifestyle choice.
The tiny house moment is a value-driven world." Sustainability is high on many people's value lists – “tiny house has a very small carbon footprint” – driven by solar and wind power or composting toilets, for example.
And the pandemic is having a marked effect on markets, he said. "We've seen an explosion in demand [for tiny homes] from people looking to reconnect with nature after being stuck in cities." They want personal and physical, he says, feeling liberated after the confinement of an impersonal, online presence. "This way of life can be so intimate and comfortable, nice and warm." However, Latimer adds: "Tiny homes are definitely not for everyone. They can require sacrifices and lifestyle changes to make them work. But most of my clients do a lot of research before they commit."
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| A simple life in natural surroundings is more achievable with a small dwelling (Credit: Getty Images) |
Despite the potential drawbacks, the movement is moving quickly as small local projects are published and shared globally. Like Alan Dall, originally from Scotland, who got into a dispute with his council in Canterbury, New Zealand, over his tiny self-built house – the only home he can now afford in his late 50s, he says; after a high-profile case, a judge ruled in his favor, which could set a precedent for other owners in the country.
In the UK, exciting initiatives are also continuing. Tiny House Community Bristol, a not-for-profit housing project that benefits the community in the Sea Mills area, has won the mayor's support. The council has collaborated on writing planning legislation to make the project happen Rachel Butler, the organization's founder and director, said there are plans for a zero-waste local produce shop, an eco-friendly laundrette, plus workshop space for repairing and making things and a community dining area.
"The plan is to build between 12 and 15 houses and significant communal space, including kitchens, dining areas, eco-laundries, workshops, etc," Butler said. "We are committed to sourcing as much of our resources and workforce as possible from our bio-region. Only local traders will be hired."
Meanwhile, Tiny House Scotland is the brainchild of architect Jonathan Avery, who designs and builds micro-architecture. Avery's tiny home design is the essence of a "village" for the homeless in Scotland, Tiny House Village Edinburgh, launched in Granton, Edinburgh, in May 2018.
The Social Bite Village provides a safe, low-cost living environment for up to 20 people for about 12 to 18 months, supporting the transition to permanent housing after that.
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| Many small-house dwellers enjoy the sense of peace and simplicity afforded by the lifestyle (Credit: New Frontier Design) |
Avery's initial inspiration came from Japanese architecture, "where tiny apartments exude style and practicality in a small footprint". In terms of design, his first consideration was "limited sizes, of course. If it's a THOW (small house on wheels) – weight limit of 3,500kg (550 stone) and the maximum length of 7m (23ft) – to keep it towable and running." -legal rather than having to go on a low-loader."
The design – with eco-performance at the heart of their concept – has proven so popular that the company's building slots are fully booked by 2024. Avery helping create The Social Bite Village Project in Edinburgh was pushed even further when film star Leonardo DiCaprio got involved in fundraising. A small victory in the scheme of things, perhaps, but a huge leap for lovers of the tiny house movement.