At the end of the day when dusk comes the dogs are brought out for the last potty trip. I like the way that Tiny House Ontario looks in the semi darkness now, with its LED lights on, shining through the windows. Like the paintings of simpler times in cozy little houses, not too different from my own.
I can’t help but be reminded of a section from the the new Tiny House Magazine that Kent Griswold has put out. If you have an iPad you can download a free first edition preview copy until October 31 here. Unfortunately, this is only available electronically for the iPad. The discussion that I found most interesting is about how the McMansions that are all going up now are a fad that will not last because of the sheer magnificent cost of upkeep.
Through history, you know, everyone except the ~1% rich lived in small homes. Tiny Homes are not new thing. My friend Donna who is from Jamaica, says that “people all over the world have been living happily in Tiny homes for hundreds and thousands of years”. Space is not a luxury, rather it is the great burden of our time. So much TIME goes into paying for it, filling it, cleaning it, fixing it, decorating it and then starting over again and again. We give away our lives one short increment of time after another… just to keeping up those big homes instead of doing what we want with our lives. The cycle of it is quite out of balance. One cannot ever get that time back, not ever.
For me, the space in THO is perfect but when my husband stays I have found it too small. He is a big fellow; about 6 feet tall and close to 250 pounds. Hj simply fills the house. We bump into one another, he is always in my way. I am of the opinion that another square foot in width would have been better for us as a couple – 12 square feet more (in total) would make this house far more livable. I am a bit envious of the people who are allowed 120 square feet, for us the interior 97.75 is it. Another Tiny room would be really great! Still, we have the space that we are allowed, so I gave it a lot of thought and found a simple solution to this and it feels so much more spacious. Remove the table and chairs. This opened things up a lot. Admittedly, one chair still has to be moved back to Hamilton so we will have to wait and see the full result of this. In place of those items came Vernie’s ingenious little table that is sofa height and this makes a huge difference in the openness of the place already. It allowed us to gain back ~10 square feet of open space. Once the last chair goes, we will have about a 35 square feet rectangular open space to move around in. I think one can easily waltz on a 5×7 bamboo area rug. More accurately I think we can waltz around one another so that we do not invade one another’s natural space.
Another space saving item that I have planned is a breadboard in the kitchen. These are an old idea coming from a time when homes were more appropriately sized and still useful in the context of the Tiny House. When this is installed it will help with the livability because it will add another ~3 square feet of counter space when I need it. Still I have to wait for this until I get the sink, stove and fridge in because I want to be sure what I notch in is correctly located.
Alas, dusk is falling early which means that the days are getting colder and the nights are getting nearly bitter. All the planning will have to wait for another year because now we must soon prepare THO for winter and tuck ourselves safely away in the heated house in Hamilton. Not really the best of both worlds as one might imagine – but rather, I wish that THO was finished and I could live there permanently.
Heat and water, heat and water, heat and water… So close and yet, so far… sigh…
Tiny House Ontario 
When I decided to downsize to a 300 sq ft apartment, the smallest I could find, everyone asked me why. No one around me got it. 300 sq ft is really still bigger than what I need, but it works. I pointed out how so much of the world and even in large cities like NY live in smaller spaces than I do. Around here, historically homes were large, but that was because families were large and multi-generations lived in one home. Your tiny home is gorgeous! I look forward to reading more about your adventures in your tiny home.
I fully understand the flack you get, as I get this as well. People have been totally brainwashed into believing that large is the only sort of space that can be nice or livable. They have fully forgotten the feelings that come with words like quaint, cozy, comforting, need and have attached themselves to overabundance, lifestyle, and debt. I wish that it was only in housing but across this beautiful planet the greed of the few on top is about the only thing that trickled down.
I am glad that you found my blog. I found yours just today myself when I read a comment about how little money you choose to live on.
I love your choices!
xo L
I like that pic too 😀 I feel you about being so close but so far away. LOL,I’m not that far yet,our smaller living (as we refer to it) is still a bit far away,as much as a couple years,sigh. Good idear on the breadboard,I hadn’t thought of that one either 🙂
Thanks!
I don’t know how far off we are. The truth is that my husband really likes his job – and it is 4-8 hours drive depending on Toronto traffic from THO… so unless I divorce him or leave him permanently then we might not get there full time until he retires. He is 45…
I am glad that you like the breadboard idea. My grandparents had them in their farm (grandpa built his own kitchen too) and they used these boards every single day over and over again. Very practical! It would be nice to see them catch on in Tiny Houses. Some of us do like to cook and the extra counter space is invaluable.
xo L
I love hearing friends talk about their past,stories of Grandparents and fond memories,thanks for that image-it made me smile! I remember the house that my own Grandparents once lived in when I was a kid (their doublewide mobike home sits a mere 100-200 yards from where it once sat),I remember it well. I often wondered why my Grandpa had built two kitchens in it (one up,one down-stairs),LOL,but with 3 boys and a daughter I can imagine it getting used 😉
I cringed when I read the comment about divorce…that’s been a subject hitting close to home for the last few years in my own home,and we very nearly did on several occasions these last 2 years especially (this Saturday will be our 20th anniversary). I’m assuming that was meant as a joke,but if not,know that we’re here if you need to talk. 🙂
No, no… don’t worry… it is like with most couples… There are places where you just don’t see things the same. Tiny Houses can be big issues because they are lifestyle related, as you know.
LOL, whew! It’s really not my place to advise or such, I was just concerned 🙂 Yes, there’s definately places that couples do not see eye to eye, trust me I understand that 😉 :P. When I first decided to buy that shed/turn it into a small home, it was actually intended to be my new home after a divorce I had thought was a “sure thing”…actually, it thought very intentionally, as I believed my Wife would neither be willing to live smaller like that, and most definately not be willing to move back there to do it… I had underestimated both her willingness to go anywhere to make things work, and her unhappiness with the current lifestyle we’ve been struggling to hold onto with much difficulty since my being put out of work on the “disabled” list. It’s a common expression,a s often said be her as me now, “I can’t wait until we’re moved into our small home and settled into that way of living”! 😛