What’s a Tiny House?
What’s all this then? What are you talking about!? What the f*** is a tiny house?!
Fair enough, good question.
After a year or more of meeting people, where I live often comes up in conversation, and then the question is asked:
What the F** is a tiny house? What are you actually talking about?
I learned quickly that a picture really is worth a thousand words and so I’ll usually take my phone out and say, “this. This is a tiny house on wheels. This is my tiny house on wheels specifically” and show people these photos:
Well… Maybe not all photos are worth a thousand words but sure, you get the idea: its that thing there.
There’s no exact definition for a tiny house other than the obvious: its a really, really, really small house when compared to a conventional house. Some might even say tiny.
Loosely the size of 400 square foott is bandied around (or 37 square metres for my metric (read: normal) people out there). For reference, 400 square foot is the size of:
20% of a tennis court
1 & 1/3rd of a Dublin Bus
About 7 times the size of the snug in Fallon’s (Shout out to the pints of G in Fallon’s)
6 Nissan Micras
About 1/4 the size of the pedestrian crossing at Gay Spar / Dame Street / George’s Street
My own house is far smaller than that at around 150 square foot / 14 square metres. When it comes to Tiny Houses on Wheels (THOW) this size would be more common. For some more spatial reference, 150 square foot / 14 square metres is roughly:
1/2 of a Dublin Bus
2 Nissan Micras
Fairly small
For some more comparisons and statistics (because I love a good statistic and doesn’t it make me sound real well informed and all) according to CSO planning figures from 2020, the average apartment and house in Ireland are 78.58 metres squared and 154.6 metres squared, respectively.
Averaging occupancy at 2.77 people for both, that’s 28.37 metres squared per person in an apartment and 55.81 metres squared per person in a house.
Per occupant, a tiny house is then 40% smaller than the average apartment and almost 70% smaller than the average house. Of course that also means considerably less materials used, thus considerably less energy cost as well as far less ongoing heating and lighting costs.
A tiny house on wheels isn’t really a caravan. They’re warmer, hardier and heavier.
They can have 100mm thick walls full of insulation, complex heat recovery ventilation systems and triple glazed windows. Think of them more like a house, only really really really small.
And on wheels.
They’re versatile, and generally speaking, they’re best when they’re tailored to the users’ needs. Make the kitchen big enough if you’re mad for cooking. Plan a second screen and desk in it if you plan to work from home. Keep an area open plan if you want to do yoga at home. Plan a massive TV on the wall and comfy lair if you mad for the films. Make it aerodynamic if you plan to move often.
They’re a specific tool for a specific job. Tailor made shelter perfectly fit to you and your needs. Lovely.
Obviously, my THOW and THOW in general are just a small glimpse into the tiny homes that are out there. Humans have been building their own shelter out of necessity since we started farming bloody ages ago, and while the richer and the ruling classes may have long had large manors and estates, small, efficient humble dwellings hand built by their occupiers have been the norm until recent history.
There are a myriad of beautiful and brilliant small homes out there, and for a deeper dive on what’s out there I’d recommend Lloyd Khan’s book ‘‘Tiny Homes Simple Shelter’’ and the YouTube channel Never Too Small. For a straight up look at more typical THOW style homes, you can check out the channel Living Big In a Tiny House on YouTube or the Netflix show Tiny House Nation.
Lloyd Khan’s book was bought for me for my 30th birthday by my neighbours and hosts Johanna, Conor, Ella and Alina, and I still haven’t finished it! Its an incredible photo book full of detail on and insight into the people’s live that built the unusual and often incredible buildings within. For me, its made living offgrid in handmade and simple shelter seem a whole lot less like a totally mental crusty thing to do and much more like a normal lifestyle choice about embracing what’s important to you, getting back to nature and enjoying the good things in life. Its great for seeking inspiration.
Never Too Small is an amazing architectural YouTube Show (they also have a book, haven’t read it but I’d love a gander) that’s very relaxing to watch, and often shows great examples of utilising small spaces and clever design. Its brilliant to see tiny homes in a context of a city, that are actually beautiful and intentional as opposed to a landlord cramming too many people into too small a space. Its great for picking up clever design tips.
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