A tiny home may be small, but building one is a huge project, and it’s easy to lose sight of the little details amidst all of the important decisions that need to be made.
Andrew Odom, founder of the website Tinyr(E)volution, walks through the seemingly small stuff that can make a big difference when building a tiny house.
Go rural – or go west
Where to build your tiny home may seem like an obvious step in the process, but many prospective tiny housers don’t realize how restrictive local zoning laws can be.
“In a state like Georgia, you can get away with it in the rural areas,” where you’re under less scrutiny, Odom said. “But the problem with that is then you're removed from being a contributing member of larger society.
"You're not going to Target, you're not sending your kid to ballet class, you're not going to eat at Chipotle... There's a give and take there.”
If you’re set on going tiny in an urban area, it may be better to move to a place where the concept is more readily embraced by government officials – like Oregon, Washington state or California.
“In the state of Georgia it's very slow moving,” Odom said – but he remains optimistic.
“Once we get past the fad,” he said, “I think we'll start to see some progress.”
Avoid trashy trailers
If you’re building a home on wheels, your trailer is a vital component – and one that a lot of tiny housers try to skimp on.
“When you're building a tiny house trailer, or a tiny house on wheels, the trailer is the same as the foundation [of a traditional home],” Odom said.
Saving cash with a less-than-great trailer off of the Internet means "you're building your entire house" on a bad idea, he said.
Be weather wise
Think of the climate you're going to be subjecting your tiny house to: hot and muggy, cold and dry; or somewhere in-between?
Ensure you've taken the right steps to protect your house – and its inhabitants – from the elements, wherever they may fall on the meteorological spectrum, Odom said. And...
Keep comfort in mind
Odom is quick to remind people that what’s nice to look at may not make a cozy living space.
Those adorable two-seater window seats on so many Pinterest posts are not so nice for actual sitting, he said.
“They're not comfortable, people” he said. “Sit on one before you go and add it to your house. It's not a couch – it's two pieces of plywood with some old van cushions on it.”
Stay socially conscious
Are you a social butterfly that loves to have friends over? Do you want to date? Do you plan on getting married or having kids?
You're going to need to make sure that whomever you decide to share your life with is down for the tiny lifestyle.
“If [my wife and I] were not on the same page from the get-go, it would have never worked,” Odom said. “You have to share a vision, plain and simple.”
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