Senior Thesis Project

Thesis: I will examine how tiny houses allow for more freedom based on their functionality and design.

Table of Contents

Research

Tiny House Companies

Interviews

Documentaries/Movies/Shows

12/11/2017

I like the longer and more narrow poster best.

12/10/2017

How designers organize space vs. how architects organize space

Examples of modern minimalist posters that helped me gain inspiration……

12/9/2017

12/6/2017

2 Posters — one with My Tiny House general layout another with top and side view.

Create small icon to bring attention to research — basically my thought process between my choices for my tiny house. Why I think this design fits all my needs and why I chose to design the house and specific details the way I did. Connect this to smaller illustrations that are like map insets to help organize the information.

Come up with name for the second poster. Punny like “Tiny House Big Living”.

12/3/2017

12/1/2017

2

Thesis Project Ideas —

1.***Think of ways to most efficiently organize the space inside a tiny house (since storage is a big issue for tiny houses). This incorporates elements of design to establish practical ways to most effectively use the available space and how to make the most of living tiny without being restricted by lack of personal belongings. The goal of tiny houses in many way could be to avoid large amounts of debt, or free up your life from issue of having too much junk, but also being able to do the things you want in life or even just to live a more simple down to earth lifestyle. In many cases, tiny houses could actually prevent you from doing things like camping, hiking, kayaking or anything similar to that because you have no way to store all the equipment. So in this case, my goal would to be able to solve the problem involving lack of functional storage so that one can effectively live simply in a tiny house without having to get rid of essential equipment for your hobbies. (This is different from getting rid of junk you have been hoarding in your room for ridiculous reasons).

2. Design a series of posters showcasing the different types of tiny houses tiny houses, trailers, mobile homes, cabins, micro apartments, yurts, RV’s, caravans, campers, row houses… etc. It compares all the different variations but they all have similar functions and goals.

3.

Research

10/24/2017

Reconfigurable Rooms
Micro Apartments
Seattle Mirco Apartments
Tiny House Design — Design a More Resilient Life
Tiny House Movement

There’s a movement in housing that’s getting a lot of attention that rethinks the American home and the lifestyle of the people who live in it. It’s called the Small House movement and the name describes it well. Compared to the average size of an American home at around 2600 square feet, these diminutive dwellings typically have only 100 to 400 square feet of living space. The Small House tenant is going to have to live a little bit differently than the average person (pun intended!). Luckily, it turns out that a lot of these lifestyle changes are for the better! Here are five reasons why these mini-homes make sense.

#1: 78% of Small House residents own their home. Since about 26% of an average household’s budget is spent on housing this means you’ll either have a lot more money in savings or maybe just enjoy working a little less.
#2: Buildings contribute to an estimated 1/3 of greenhouse gas emissions, so with a Small House your carbon footprint is drastically reduced.
#3: The average cost of building your own Small House is $23,000 compared to $272,000 for a conventional home (which most people would have no possibility of building themselves). You can probably imagine saving up $23,000 (even if it is a lot of money). On the other hand, saving nearly $300,000 is completely inconceivable to most people. Thus, big mortgages, mortgage insurance payments, interest payments, endless payments for years and years to come.
#4: 28% of U.S. dwellings house only one person. If the average home is 2,600 square feet then that’s a lot of space for one person! Just like all the cars with one person in them that can’t use the carpool lane during rush hour, one person living in a big house all alone just doesn’t make sense especially when you think of the future of energy use and environmental sustainability in the U.S.
#5: Beyond saving money and helping save the planet, there is one more priceless thing you’ll save with a Small House: TIME. Nearly everyone you ask will say they’re too busy and modern life for many seems like it’s constantly accelerating. A Small House means less time spent cleaning, less time on maintenance, and less time having to earn money to pay for the house.
With all the time you’ll have to actually enjoy the world around you, it seems a Small House may be a reduction in square feet, but it leads to a bigger life.
Tiny Houses and the People Who Live In Them
What It’s Really Like to Live and Travel in a Tiny House

Tiny House Companies

10/24/2017

MitchCraft Tiny Homes

Tumbleweed Tiny Houses

River Ridge Escapes

Liberation Tiny Homes

Interviews

10/24/2017

Responses from Heather

1. Square footage is roughly 360 ft. It’s close to 20 x18
2. My husband owns it. We didn’t know it was a tiny house until recently. It was a old home that needed some love. He has been accustomed to living in a small home that he never thought anything about it.
3. After my sons graduated and moved out of my trailer I was able to finally live with Bill. We had lived separated for my boys because he’s in a different school district and I wouldn’t move them.
4. I like to travel and try to go some place new every few months. Bill has never really experienced visiting city and places because he worked all the time. Recently his company shut down and now we have the time to go places. I also am involved in the boys lives still very much. They are my hobbies lol! I go to soccer or swim or help with music and homework. Bill’s son is only 11 so I’m reliving middle school events.
5. No the structural design of our house does not reflect my lifestyle, however, it somewhat does for Bill. I like to live life and be on the go. I like to shop and eat out. Where he is more simple and less flashy than me. He likes staying at home and working on the yard or messing with his truck.
6. Yes, there is an issue for storage for me. I have had to consolidate and store stuff in my parents attic for the time being. He lived simple and I didn’t so I am trying to adjust. Honestly it isn’t working for me and I want to build a basement or addition. Only time will tell.
7. Yes, it is restricting and it has been an eye opener to me. I have seen how materialistic life is and that it has been refreshing to let go of some things. It was hard to let go of some stuff but I didn’t realize how much unneeded items had. Like I still had a box of first grade papers and drawings from my son who is now a sophomore in college. Moving here has helped me to uncluttter my life.
8. In general I wouldn’t change anything because our home fits us. But having adult children and looking at the future I know that realistically we need to add more space.
9. We have city water and electric. No solar panels or rain collector. There is a spring in the woods behind our house but I’m leery of it.
10. Other info. Bill had the house for almost ten years. When I met him I was shocked at how little he owned. At first I though maybe he was poor or something. Opposite though! He had a wonderful job making big money and worked like a mile from home. He was one of five boys growing up and didn’t have much. So he never felt the need to have a big house or lots of stuff. He is simple and modified. I on the other hand grew up an only child spoiled beyond belief. Even to this day my parents are very good to the boys and me. Moving here showed me that a simpler way of living is nice but difficult. I have a greater respect for people and life now. I find that living smaller doesn’t mean you go without. To me it means you appreciate more and understand better. After living here these last few months has really helped me to clean out the clutter and unwanted things that I’ve been holding on to. I know I mentioned early about adding on and that isn’t the norm for those who want a tiny house. Although I love my home I want bigger than this. I have adjusted to a point but I want more space and need more in the future. My boys will eventually marry and have families and a small house isn’t comfortable for that. I want parties and holidays and there just isn’t the room. You know how involved my parents are and how active I am with the boys that a small home won’t cut it. Luckily, I still have time to think about an addition.

Responses from Bri

1. Our Tiny House is about 130 square feet. (Very tiny!)
2. Tom built the house himself (with the help of friends) about 6 years ago. He read some books on Tiny House designs and chose features he liked from those designs and implemented them into our house. He started with a trailer and built everything on top of it. I don’t know the exact design plan at the beginning, but knowing Tom, I’m sure he changed the design a bit to accommodate his needs/taste.
3. Tom built the house before we met. He spent his 20's traveling around the world and was tired of trying to find a place to live when he did come back home. Owning a large house for just himself (especially when he spent half of the year elsewhere) didn’t make sense. His friend told him about Tiny Houses, and that got him hooked. He liked the ability to lock the door, park it at a friend’s house while he was away, and come back to everything in the same place that he left it. When I met Tom, he told me about the Tiny House and I was fascinated. We have been living in the Tiny House together for about 3 years. If I had not met Tom, I probably would not have ever lived in a Tiny House,but man am I glad to have done it. It is such an experience.
4. We are involved in a lot of activities, mainly outdoor activities. We are both whitewater kayak instructors, river guides, backpackers, campers, rock climbers, mountain bikers, motorcycle enthusiasts, and whatever new activities we can try. We like to be outside, which means we aren’t actually in our house very often. Tom is also a professional photographer and runs the business out of our Tiny House.
5. The design of the space definitely reflects our style. It is a quite efficient space to live in. The kitchen is small but extremely functional. The main part of the house is 3 rooms combined into 1 (office, dining room, living room). All lights are LED so we are not drawing a huge amount of power. Overall the Tiny House is not meant for spending lots of time in, but functional for daily life. Tom has created storage space for the business as well as personal items.
6. We definitely struggle with lack of storage in our home even though every inch of the house is built in the most efficient means possible. When Tom lived in it alone, he had a place for everything and he didn’t bring anything into the house that didn’t have a place. When I moved in, it became more challenging, as he did not build the house with me in mind so essentially, I was a thing brought in that didn’t have a place! (I must be special or something!). We have made adjustments in the house so that I have space for my everyday items, but it has not solved all storage issues. We do own a lot of gear for our activities and it does not all fit in the Tiny House. Most of it does require to be housed in a shed or garage to keep it nice so a Tiny House can’t do all of that. Living space wise, I feel like there is PLENTY of room to live in. We are able to do daily tasks, run the business, and entertain friends with no issue.
7. We both really like living in the tiny house. The one thing we do struggle with is having a place for all of our gear. We buy what we need to pursue our outdoor desires, but it all can’t live inside and we live to be outdoors. We spend more time away from home than we do in it. Tiny House living for us is more about enjoying what we love outside, rather than spending time at home. We have friends that live out of RV’s (some full-time, others for about 10 months out of the year). They have families that are active in the outdoors and travel all over the place. When I think of the way they live, I think it is amazing, not because the space is restricting, but because they are able to see and do so much. Tiny living does mean you may not have as many material things, but the things you do have mean that much more to you as do they experiences you gain from getting out and doing.
8. We have talked about building another Tiny House in the future. Our next design would include a slightly larger trailer which, in turn, would allow for more indoor/outdoor storage. Tom also has some really crazy cool ideas for how we could tote around our whitewater kayaks he is always thinking!
9. Currently we are plugged into a household outlet on a friend’s property. We have run an extension cord from the Tiny House to an outlet. That is all that we need to power all electrical needs in our home. We did just purchase a Goal Zero Solar Charging Generator that could run the basic needs of the house. To heat the house (as well as for our gas range/stove), we use a small 25lb Propane tank. In the summertime, we could go for a month or so without needing to refill. In the coldest point of the winter, we refill the tank about once every 2 weeks. Many people think living in a tiny house is like living in a shed but it’s actually pretty cozy! We currently get water out of a hose from our friend’s home as well. We do have a water tank in the house which we can fill up. When winter comes, we fill the tank up in the house because running a hose in freezing temperatures doesn’t work so well. We use a composting toilet so we must empty that once in a while. Behind our house we have a compost barrel where we all of our compostable items.
10. Anything like that would help! Again, thank you so much! Living tiny is definitely not for everybody, especially in 130 square feet like we do. Living with someone in such a small space is not easy. We don’t have our own separate spaces to go to in the house if we need to have me time. You must learn to respect each others needs and problem solve. The both of us are pretty good at communicating and are up front with each other, so we haven’t really been at each others throats for any reason. The comment we get most from people is How have you not killed each other yet? I’d be so sick of my husband/wife! You also have to learn to put things where they belong once you are done using them. That was probably one of the biggest struggles I had moving into the tiny house. Since the space wasn’t designed for my things, I had to find a way to make my needs fit. Right now, I have a corner where I put some of my supplies that I do not have a permanent location for. Last year, Tom and I decided to buy a house with a nice plot of land (and a shed!!) so we could move the Tiny House to our own place. We realized that our gear was taking over our friend’s shed and they had twins! We initially purchased the property with the intention of using the shed for storage, living in the Tiny House, and renting out the main house after we renovated it. We began falling in love with the new house and decided to upgrade to the 800-square foot home. We are nearing the end of all of our renovations and plan to move in within the next few weeks. We do not plan to get rid of the Tiny House though! It will remain in our back yard, ready to go when we decide to take it on an adventure. Until then, we plan to rent it out on Air B-n-b or similar sites or use it as a guest house!
11. I hope this is what you are looking for! If you have any other questions that pop up, feel free to ask! There are photos of our Tiny House on Tom’s Photography page (sTOrM Photography). We did a photo series of what a lived in Tiny House really looks like. We hear from a lot of people that they watch the HGTV show about tiny houses (Sorry I don’t know what it’s called…we don’t have cable) and wanted to show people what lived in houses looked like rather than staged.

Responses from Brenna

1. 1,000 sq ft
2. Renting
3. Affordable rent for a house
4. Working on cars, being outdoors, racing, and sending time with my family.
5. Not really except i had to make sure i had a garage to work in.
6. Sometimes i find space if a problem when it comes to items that don’t really have a place.
7. Sometimes, but the less i have the better. Sometimes i need to sell things to feel like i can breath again.
8. Bigger bathroom and kitchen.
9. all utilities are city

10/18/2017

*Anatomy of Row House — Tyler School of Design

*Look into solar and wind power, generators.. etc.

Thesis Project Interview Questions

Thesis: I will examine how tiny houses allow for more freedom based on their functionality and design.

Eric, Nate, Andy, Amy, *Bri, *Brenna, *Heather, Westminster College, Butler Vo-Tech, MitchCraft Tiny Homes, Tumbleweed Tiny Homes, Carnegie Mellon University

1. What is the square footage of your house?

2. Did you build your house? Did you buy a kit or custom design? Prefab? Renting? Did you make any structural modifications? If so, why?

3. Why did you choose to live in such a small house? What influenced your decision to live tiny?

4. What kind of hobbies or activities are you involved in?

5. Does the structural design of the house reflect your lifestyle?

6. Do you find that sometimes you don’t have enough living space? Is lack of storage or hidden storage a problem?

7. Does living tiny ever become too restricting from having so little?

8. If you could change something about the design or capabilities of your house, what would they be?

9. Are you hooked up to city water/electric? Do you have solar panels or a rain collector?

10/04/2017

Thought process for writing my thesis:

Documentaries / Movies / Shows

Tiny is Beautiful (Netflix)

Islands of the Future (Netflix)

Watershed: Exploring a New Water Ethic (Netflix)

Killing the Colorado (Discovery Channel)

Tiny House Nation (HGTV)

Tiny House Hunters (HGTV)

You Live in What? (Netflix)

Treehouse Masters (Animal Planet)

Extreme Houses (Netflix)