I’ve watched more than a few episodes of “Tiny House Hunters” while half-assing my 30 minutes on the elliptical machine, and in each episode I am thoroughly taken in. I really enjoy watching people with perfectly good regular-sized houses search for the perfect tiny home. I love watching them visit a variety of tiny houses and remark, over and over again, that they’re “really small.” I live for the questions, “Is this really the size of the shower?”and “What do you mean it doesn’t have a dishwasher?” and, “Do you think we could squeeze a king sized bed in here?” Because the thing about tiny houses are they involve a certain amount of sacrifice. You have to heavily curate the few personal items you’ll move with you into a tiny house, and you won’t be able to easily acquire new things.
Now the tiny house movement has come to Cleveland, as two brand new tiny homes have been built on the Detroit Shoreway as part of the Citizens Tiny House Experiment. The two tiny houses were unveiled on July 1st – they are each 583 square feet, come with a 15 year City of Cleveland tax abatement, and claim to be able to keep your electric bill below $500 a year. One is currently for sale for $149,900 while the other is slated to become a sought-after Airbnb before going up for sale as well in September.
Tiny houses are appealing on a primal level. It’s like living in a dollhouse, or a tree house, or a fort. It’s like living inside of a childhood fantasy. It’s like living in the nicest college dorm ever. Tiny houses seem to exist outside of real life and real responsibilities. Sure you owe $60,000 in student loans and your health insurance is for shit and there’s cat hair on every pair of pants that you own, but all those problems will be way more manageable if you can just sleep in a loft above your fridge every night.
I can’t live in a tiny house right now because I have a child who requires at least 46 toy trains in order to live. I also currently require a living situation where I’m able to shut out the sound of my cat licking himself. But I still dream of tiny house living – a murphy bed and a pull-out cutting board and built-in shelves and a precarious ladder that leads to the guest room/place where the cat sleeps.
Tiny houses are hot right now because they’re a reaction against the 2008 housing bubble burst. Mega-mansions have been so popular for so long that it seems rebellious to opt for less. These homes push against the idea that a person’s worth should be evaluated based on the amount of square footage they own. Tiny houses maintain the American dream of homeownership while downsizing it to make it more accessible to more people. They’re aimed at people who are active, recent college grads or empty nesters, people who are interested in living most of their day outside and aren’t interested in dusting for more than two minutes.
But is paying $257 per square foot actually affordable? And why are we presenting tiny houses to the public as though they are a brand new, radical housing options? Trailer homes are the original tiny houses, but we don’t celebrate folks who live in trailer homes for being eco-conscious and savvy consumers. There’s a snobbery that causes us to romanticize the tiny house movement as we ignore those who are already living small, either by choice or necessity. Can we rename trailer parks “tiny house communities”? Can we have a “Trailer House Hunters”? Trailer homes aren’t included as part of the tiny house movement because they’re not hand-crafted, artisanal DIY-masterpieces. They are pure, mass-produced, drab function – no hidden nooks, no sunny bed lofts, no reclaimed wooden floors. Tiny houses are made to be looked at and admired, set among larger houses as a gleaming, showy alternative.
Tiny houses may catch on and become mainstream. In doing so, they may save the environment, and they may make home ownership available to those who otherwise couldn’t afford it. Or they may be a quick fad that allows the haves to re-brand and re-purpose a lifestyle that is, for many people, not optional. Either way, they have come to Cleveland.
This article appears in Jul 6-12, 2016.
It’s just another stupid yupster fad. And you don’t really want one, since you just got done babbling about the cool house you bought for a song in Cleveland…the one that would have cost you zillions in the place you came here from…Chicago.
You just needed something to write about, and watching this show gave you an idea for still another column.
My wife watches that goofy show, and gets a lot of laughs out of it. It’s a good time-killer for her, and a break from the unceasing flow of bad news we’re getting this summer. Some of these places are actually on wheels, like actual trailers, and one bunch of clowns almost, but not quite (more suspense for the camera), backed the thing over a cliff in Vermont.
Tiny houses are just the latest shtick for another dumb HGTV “reality” show. Years back, the same channel had some chick named Paige Turner (yes, seriously) who would bring a whole wrecking crew into someone’s perfectly good house–and seriously fuck it up. All in the name of style, doncha know.
They once tore out a classic brick fireplace…and put in a tiny stove. The owner burst into tears when she saw it. Another house had the walls coated with…are you ready…HAY. I kid you not! People still talk about that show.
Just another way of suckering youngsters with moolah, and draining their wallets, by giving them a whole lot less for a whole lot more. This, too, shall pass.
Chuckles the Clown
Truth is hard, huh? Well, reporting it doesn’t change it. Likewise, internet comments don’t change opinions. But just maybe a little truth will germinate inside that poor soul of yours such that someday you too can be a real boy.
No? Of course not. Because you are Fruckles the Frown. Oh look! I almost did it again! That was close….
Oh my. Do go on. We lived in a Katrina Cottage for two years after Hurricane Katrina. Here is the Mississippi Gulf Coast. After losing everything and being lucky that the storm surge leveled off just under the ceilings in our house, while we hid in the attic, we learned to live with less, in a smaller footprint. It can be done. Often there is no alternative. Watch the price of energy. When it goes up, small will be beautiful.
I think you wrote a great article Dana, I always found tiny houses very interesting. A few years ago I came across an article about a architect That was either laid off, or just couldn’t find a job in his field mostly due to the crash of 2008. He lived in NY and had a very tight budget to work with, long story short he ended up renting a closet for $200.00 and some change. What he did with it was amazing. He made a tiny apartment out of the large closet. His hard work and imagination played off a article got put in the local paper, and a architect firm hired him because of his talent. There are many people who build or buy a tiny home or even convert a old trailer in to a tiny home because of getting laid off. Even after they get back on their feet financially they decided to stay in it because they are no longer a slave to any payments.
Tiny houses’ are awesome No matter how old you are. The American dream of a big fancy house was just a ploy to drain you of your time and money so that you were all the better to control.
Well…I thought of tiny houses back in the 80’s. I’ve thought of several money making inventions but they never came to pass. And, although I thought of the tiny house movement way back, what did I do? Moved into a nice 1450 sq ft house in 92 but got gutsy in 2004, paid cash for very expensive estate land/lot proceeded with great espectations building huge custom home and planned on selling it for a huge profit. Guess what year? 2006 thru 2008! I’ve lost my entire life savings and filed bankruptcy. And because of this big, fancy house, I got followed home by three thugs bkz they saw the house and thinking I had A LOT of money, proceeded to invade my home, rob me then shoot me several times over a couple hundred bucks and my brother’s rifle. Now I’m a disabled, registered nurse with nothing but a big, fat mortgage payment. I’ve drooled over these tiny houses for years but where would I put it? In some of the smaller towns, even in the much joked about Alabama, there are restrictions on homes on wheels, i.e. mobile homes aka trailers. Shall I run out and buy more land, install solor, electric, water, etc. live off the grid or just roam around with my pups in basically a gorgeous RV. And for God’s sake, they are not worth $140,000+. SO, in an effort to remain a tad of sanity, but nit much, I think it would be so very hard to let go of Auntie Vi’s 1940’s bedroom suit, my mother’s precious Duncan Phyfe dining table AND go live in a 155 sq ft space. Downsize? Possibly. Am I proud? Yes and no…proud I did this all alone but sad that I failed. Builder problems, over budget and shoty work that had to be fixed cost me thousands. So whats a girl to do? RUN? Should I stop hoping and praying for a better day? No. Will I ever do the tiny house thing? Maybe but not sure if I can do tiny, tiny but I would if I had to. Bottom line is we should live within our means. There are many poor souls that would die for a tiny, little house. But yes, I do understand the 24 toy train thing. I have 4 dogs that I adore and have had more! So, like you, it won’t work for me right now. Deep down I know that’s all I really need. Do I deserve better? Not really bkz I come from a humble background and I’m lucky to be alive. Material things shouldn’t matter but there’s a little part of me that just won’t let go completely of my few treasures and my pups..just like you and the trains. Best to you, Dana. You wrote a great article definately debate worthy.
Tiny houses should have a comparatively tiny price but $150K for a tiny house in a bad part of town doesn’t make sense. Maybe if it went for $80K? Maybe…… Whoever buys that for $150K better not plan on having children and better not plan on making any money when they go to sell it. If people want an affordable small place to live a condo makes a lot more sense.
Just one little suggestion…. Original Tiny House goes way back in human history. Think of all the indigenous peoples throughout the world and even the homestead cabins of the westward movement in the US. Those are original. Tiny houses used to be the norm. Some of us are just heading back to our roots.
The day people like Al Gore and Bill Gates buy and live in one of these, instead of their 20K sq ft palaces, Ill get on board. Until then, I’d rather not sit on a toilet where i can touch every fixture without having to lift my cheeks off the seat. The sardine experience doesn’t sound appealing.
We had a Jayco camper for 8 years. We had it on a permanent site. Went there every weekend and I sometimes stayed for a week. It did have 2 slide outs to make it bigger. No loft,it was all on one floor. It was tiny living and I loved it! Also, much cheaper than a tiny house. I highly recommend trying to live in a camper before investing in a tiny home.
Tiny houses are not a new trend. They have been around for quite a few years now, but hipsters are just finding out about them from 30 minute shows.