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Living Small - Living Simply - Living Better
Whether in a tiny house or a small house - Living Small also implies a degree of self sufficiency, but is this realistic - must we become Hippies from the 60’s to have a better lifestyle?!
You can simplify your life wherever you live - urban or rural; Lloyd Kahn the original small living guru wrote, rather comfortingly, in Shelter that
- self sufficiency is a direction, not an attainable goal. The idea is to do as much for yourself as possible - not ploughing your own fields with horses or growing your own wheat or making your own shoes but doing something within the context of your life: remodelling a house, creating a studio, building a table or bed, fitting in things like a productive garden or chickens or homemade bread, or lettuce and chives in pots on the window sill.
It’s a tightrope act, finding the right balance these days, between work for others and work for yourself, between creating things with your own hands and buying things from others. Just like finding a balance between sitting at a computer and physical activity.
Small is a path on a journey - houses evolve naturally to the needs of their occupants - this is ‘proper architecture’ in my opinion - see Stuart Brand’s fascinating book How Buildings Learn - if small facilitates young people achieving their first home then being able to add to it as needs and funds allow - then they will have a healthy regard for their own property and not be pressurised by having to aspire to some unachievable mansion lifestyle which is not only un-affordable but unsustainable.
Windowcill herbs - an element of achievable self sufficiency
Whether you are considering commissioning a build from Jonathan or would like to assess the suitability of a Tiny Lifestyle, why not book a private one-on-one visit to the NestHouse which includes a two hour consultation - it would be a great investment to benefit from Jonathan’s extensive knowledge and get a real feel for what a tiny house is really like.
I know you can’t wait to have a Tiny House but make sure you can answer the following vital questions BEFORE you contact me! -
1. What type of Tiny House do you want? -
(i)Road legal towable 2.55m wide and do you have a vehicle capable of towing 3500kg?
(ii) or a wider 3.4m wide like the NestHouse?
2. Where will you put it? - do you own land or are you buying a site? NB. for a NestHouse the site will have to be suitable for delivery access for a 20 meter Low Loader and crane.
3. What will you use it for and will that use require Planning Permission? - NB. if it is to be your permanent residence you will need Planning Permission.
4. Services? For permanent living, where will your water, electricity, gas etc. come from and where will your waste water and sewage go? (eg. do you really want to poo in a bucket?!!).
5. What is your budget? It’s not just the cost of the house but land, services, planning, delivery etc.
These are complicated and fundamental factors to consider before even thinking about design, floor plans, colour, size etc.