By Dianne M. Pogoda
The “Tiny House” movement is as much about a state of mind as it is about a state of space.
Lots of attention has been focused on so-called “tiny homes,” often portable boxes of 100 to 400 square feet flying down the freeway. But living in small spaces is nothing new, and “tiny” isn’t necessarily limited to that size space.
Americans have lived smaller for many years. For instance, at the turn of the 20th century, the size of an average home in the U.S. was under 1,000 square feet, according to smallhouseliving.org. That size remained fairly stable for most of the country until after World War II, when the Baby Boom kicked in and a leap in the number of young families necessitated more — and often larger — homes. In the Fifties, the sizes of homes started to grow, and by 1960 the average home size had increased to 1,200 square feet.
Fast forward through 40 years of high-powered consumerism, and the average home had ballooned to some 2,200 square feet by 2000. By 2013, new homes averaged 2,600 square feet.
In the last decade or two, however, as Americans began to suffer from the financial strains of the recession and as the value of many traditional homes with burdensome mortgages plunged below what was owed (known as being “under water”), the desire — and need — for a simpler, less costly lifestyle started to become a reality. Economics, coupled with growing awareness of the environmental impact of a big house, has spurred a revival of tiny-house living. The National Association of Home Builders reported in August that over the last two years, the median square footage of a new single-family home has gradually decreased to 2,388 square feet. That’s not small by any stretch, but it shows a tendency toward smaller spaces.
Tiny houses also have multiple uses beyond primary housing. Zoning regulations permitting, some people put a tiny house in their backyard as a guest house, a home office, as a transitional home for post-college students just starting out, or to help aging parents remain somewhat independent while still being close to family. Tiny can also translate to “relatively smaller” — as in going from a 5,000-square-foot home to one that’s about 1,000 square feet. And small shouldn’t mean cramped. So, designers are challenged with how to manage projects that allow clients to live comfortably and efficiently in a petite space.
“First and foremost, people tend to think of this as a trend, which implies something that’s going to come and go,” said Paula Kennedy, CMKBD, of Timeless Kitchen Design in Seattle, one of the instructors this month of NKBA’s online courses on integrated spaces and tiny homes. “That’s not the case, and it’s not just about the tiny house on wheels. This is multi-generational, multi-regional, multi-cultural, and we are just at the beginning of this lifestyle change. Minimalism has become much more mainstream.”
Kennedy’s session on Sept. 21, “Micro Size Me,” discusses the movement, the environmental impact of small-space design, and strategies to implement in design and product offering. This one-hour course is free, starting at noon (Eastern Time) and offers 0.1 CEU.
There are many reasons for the phenomenon: some financial, some a desire to purge things, some a desire for more minimalist living, Kennedy added. Seniors are downsizing and want smaller spaces but also to be able to walk to stores and services, and this often means moving closer to a downtown — which usually means smaller spaces. Millennials who are starting out might opt for smaller living spaces closer to the downtown, it keeps then plugged in and close to the community.
“We are very much in a ‘sharing’ economy,” she explained. “People are renting out part of their homes – like Airbnb — or they’re adding or renovating an in-law suite, or a space for their college kids, or even older children returning to the nest. All these spaces need a smaller kitchen, and along with it, savvy storage spaces. Seniors, for example, may still love to cook and want a real range and oven, just smaller. They don’t need the big space any longer.”
Kim Lewis, best known as the lead designer behind ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and founder of Kim Lewis Designs in Austin, Texas, concurred, noting much of the motivation for this movement is financially driven, and that this movement is here to stay.
“After 2008, people became savvier and more financially responsible,” said Lewis, who offers set designs of tiny homes for clients. “We saw so many people become hostages to their own homes, and [the younger] generation doesn’t want that. There’s also very much a free-spirit mentality, they want to be free to travel and see and experience our country. We call our tiny homes ‘nesting for free-birds.’”
The industry is starting to respond, with smaller-scale appliances that fit tighter spaces but still offer efficient performance.
“All over KBIS last year, we started to see more and more manufacturers offering smaller versions of their appliances — for instance, a 24-inch range, or a slimmer refrigerator/freezer, narrow and tall at 18 inches deep,” Kennedy said. “This is a niche market that will grow. I’ve told the manufacturers that their big 36-inch range is never going away, but they need to add smaller sizes to their lines.”
Kennedy noted that if she were designing her own “tiny” kitchen, she would focus on essentials including a dishwasher drawer, an 18-inch refrigerator, a speed oven that includes a microwave, and an induction cooktop.
Lewis said her clients might also use the small houses as a home office to provide separation between home and work time. She is moving into a tiny home of her own — 560 square feet — and designed a “kitchen on casters” for it. It’s multifunctional, and can be an island or a dining table, and has storage. “I have a smaller, studio-size refrigerator, which can be incorporated into the island, but clients can have a refrigerator drawer and a freezer drawer. Many people want to eat fresh foods, so unless you have a big family, most people aren’t shopping in bulk as much anymore.
Along the wall of her home, she has a 24-inch stovetop and oven — big enough to cook a turkey — but she doesn’t have a dishwasher. “That was my compromise,” she said. “But I have a big apron-front sink that can accommodate washing all my pots and pans. When you’re in a tiny space, you don’t really want dishes piling up.”
She’s also a fan of open upper shelving: “It helps keep us organized and from getting too cluttered. I’m a big believer that our homes should be surrounded with things that tell our stories, and living in a tiny space makes you consider whether you really need something, and if so, where to store it.
Kennedy advises designers of tiny spaces not to overthink or overdesign: “Keep it very simple — the simpler the better, and the more monochromatic, the better. Designers can get lots of ideas from the RV and yacht market — go to a local boat show or RV show and see some of the ways that industry has designed for small spaces. Or, take a cue from the cruise ship stateroom — corner wall-hung toilets, compact sinks, ¾-size tubs — these provide great inspiration.
“Play with illusion and perception to make the space feel bigger. For instance, yes, you need to be creative with storage, but if you don’t put cabinets under the kitchen island bar, the space will seem bigger.”
Lewis, whose designs are travel inspired, also likes to bring the outdoors in, particularly in designing for small spaces. “I have a big pass-through window to a deck, so it really opens up the space and the view, and makes it easy to bring food in or out. It’s great for indoor-outdoor living,” she said, noting she also has an outdoor bath/shower combination. “I have everything I need for a bathroom inside as well — a closet tub, toilet and vanity — but bathrooms are places to relax and have quiet time, and having a bathing component outside requires us to get out and relax.”
Tiny doesn’t mean cheap, nor does it mean giving up on luxuries. For instance, instead of 40 knobs or pulls in a big kitchen, there might be 10, so splurge on really special pulls. “You can also spend on better surface materials, because you need less of it,” Kennedy added. “As a rule, it’s better to splurge on the things that you use every day, multiple times a day, like a faucet.”
Both designers agree that “multifunctional” is the key to successful tiny-house design and living.
“What this movement is teaching us is that there can be no wasted space,” said Kennedy. “You have to use every inch — for example, the couch and the bed need to have storage underneath — and furniture needs to be convertible and modular. It has to change and grow with us.”
Lewis concluded, “Our homes should not hold us back. I’m a believer in ‘less is more.’ I’m kind of a funny designer in that I don’t encourage my clients to spend a ton on their homes. I tell them to spend wisely, so they can live their life.”
