Little house for a little planet

It has recently been suggested in a national newspaper that we should all start thinking about “tiny house for a tiny planet”, an interesting concept. However, it seems like a very un-American concept, given that we are all used to houses twice the size of, say, our European counterparts.

How do they live in those little houses? Would we want to do it? Will we have to do it? How would we plan to reduce our own living space without giving up the ease and efficiency of our lifestyle?

These questions may seem scary, but less so when you consider the optimized designs of RVs and fifth wheels. The benefits of living in smaller houses are pretty obvious: less land, less property taxes, less building materials, less space to heat, less carpet flooring, you get the idea! The big picture indicates a life that costs less to live. More money to enjoy!

If you’ve ever thought about downsizing (and in these days of rising food and energy costs, many of us have!), One of the first questions that comes up is what could we do without? Or rather, what would we like to do without?
Any.
Correct!

So where is the wasted space that we can eliminate? This is best answered by considering the way each of us lives. The National Movement of Builders suggests that one way to optimize our living space is to become aware of what we use it for.

This can be done by writing a list of all the activities we do around the house, recording where we do them, and recording the exact part of a room in which we do them. You can probably already think of “unused” parts of certain rooms.

Once you’ve planned these activities, you may find that only certain parts of each room are required, and you could plan a home with the new ‘great room’ layout and incorporate all of your living needs into one area. While it feels very spacious, this idea could save square footage by eliminating hallways and doors (not to mention entire rooms!).

Two or three obvious areas represent wasted space for many designers, these are: formal dining rooms, bathrooms and garages.

In the case of the formal dining room, if yours is only used three or four times a year, visualize driving without one. Problem here: Many of us would still want to have a formal dinner setting from time to time.

However, it is possible to set up a kitchen / dining area in such a way that the atmosphere can be changed to “formal” but only when necessary. This would be achieved through intelligent use of lighting and a non-invasive system to separate the two functions of food consumption and food preparation.

The use of mobile or sliding decorative partitions is also an option that could be used only when a formal environment is required. In a new home, this could save up to 100 square feet and many thousands of dollars.

Then comes the bathroom and we realize that most of us use it as a reading room, dressing table to put on makeup, or to get away from the kids for a minute. If we had a more efficient bathroom, maybe we could get by with just one bathroom!

The European idea of ​​separating the bathtub / shower from the actual toilet means that people can get in and out of the smallest room in the house more quickly as there isn’t much interest there.

In the room that Europeans call the toilet there is no mirror (so teenagers don’t hang around!) And there is a small sink that protrudes about ten inches from the wall for superficial hand flushing. The room is very small, there is no point in lingering!

The garage, even if you have one, can be turned into a mother-in-law suite or a teen den with simple insulation work and drywall. A garage offers almost as much protection to a car as a garage in temperate climates. If the man of the house is upset, consider converting part of the garage into a workshop. A sturdy workbench and board-covered wall for hanging tools will free up plenty of closet space elsewhere.

Now that you realize how much space you don’t need, you’ll have to buy a new, smaller home, and with the savings, maybe book a cruise or two!