Table Of ContentTiny House Living: The Best Guide to Make Most of Your House and Stay
Organized
Thanks for your purchase of the Tiny House Living
You might wonder how this book is different than the others I’ve published.
What you’re about to read is a compilation of two separate books on tiny and
small house living. I hope you enjoy it.
Book 1
Tiny House Living: Awesome Tips and Ideas on How to Stay Organized,
DeClutter, and Enjoy your Living space
Brian Knight
Introduction
With the recent changes in economy, housing and new trends emerging in real
estate and buying and selling of properties, there has been quite a bit of talking
about small housing the advantages of this kind of housing. Questions around
the environmental concerns, building costs, rising prices, debt management,
have forced people to think about how small they can afford to go. Future is
being defined in the context of housing and the related aspects.
The points to consider are numerous but starting with the big ones, don’t we
have a responsibility towards our planet? The national expenditure of building
average houses is quite big and it is important to think about it. The resources
being used are not getting replenished easily and it’ll take hundreds of years to
replenish what we have already used.
We have certain responsibility towards our relationships too. Large houses
absorb the family members in the nooks and corners of the house and there is
considerable communication gap. Small houses do not allow you to continue a
fight or a misunderstanding for a long time because you cannot be in the same
room and not talk for hours or days. There may be time when there is lack of
space and you need personal space in relationships too but the warmth enjoyed is
far more than the pain of absence of space.
What about the financial burden that big houses come along with? The most
common source of stress for any common person is the house loan or mortgage.
It is emotionally, financially, and mentally a draining experience and small
houses save you from a lot of trouble of this kind. It causes serious disorders like
insomnia, hypertension, and anger problems. The most frequent dying wish for
people is that they had a more relaxed and joyful life, and if debt is not the sole
agent to cause this problem, it is definitely one of the most important.
Now there are some practical difficulties associated with small houses and so do
the big houses. The problem is to have enough space for your comfort, to have
privacy, to have a relaxed environment, to raise children comfortably, to have a
good kitchen, a cozy bedroom, and a living room for all the time you spend with
your family. It is challenging to ensure a very comfortable living in a small
house and you have to be in the “creative genius mode” in order to do justice
with the space and comfort needs.
We have gone ahead and discussed some easy, DIY, and creative ideas for all
the major spaces of your house so that you have a great piece of help at hand
while you are designing your dream tiny home. This will come as a guide to
some common problems, some common mistakes, and the easiest solutions to all
of them.
A living room is supposed to bring the family together, a bedroom is expected to
work as your den where you relax, rejuvenate, and refresh yourself, and a
kitchen is meant to create fond memories and wonderful tastes, and above all, a
storage section and planning that can contain all your things big and small
without cluttering the space and making it look crowded or overloaded.
Approach the house joyfully and you are all set to have a great life in a small
space and make it home sweet home.
Tiny house living: Initial planning
Designing and planning the layout of a small house is something very different
from a large sized house. A conventional and large house has different layouts
and plans that are not going to be functional for a small one. The need of
planning efficiently and smartly is far more deep and desperate in a small house
rather than a large one or even a standard one. If you move in or design a large
home, it is quite likely that you would to do it after moving in, but you do not
have the same option open here because you cannot move in with all your stuff
and then plan. You have to acknowledge and register each and every small detail
here and make a list and go ahead. There are certain things to keep in mind while
you are making those strategies.
How you want your house to be. This factor is extremely important
while making plans for a small house. You have to know what kind of
person you are and the kind of house you want. If you are the partying
types and the living room space is very important to you, then the
designing going to be far more different from a person who wants a
comfortable and comparatively bigger bedroom. If you work from
home and like to have an office, then have a space that can work as an
office and make your living room and bedroom smaller to
accommodate it. The house has to define your personality, your
needs, and your comfort equally along with other requirements. If you
like to dine out in order to avoid cooking and post-party cleaning,
then a small dining area can provide you with a larger bedroom or
living space. Make sure that you’ve got this sorted and decided.
Honesty while assessing. You have to be honest while assessing your
needs. Whether you want a big bedroom or a big dining room, assess
your needs honestly, even if they are a little misplaced or weird. Be
open to ideas and spend some time thinking about all this.
Your belongings to be sorted. We are not talking about family
members and pets. There are some other very essential things like
bathroom stuff, kitchen essentials, cars and bikes, clothes, some
furniture, etc. In small houses there is a huge crunch for space and
storage areas and you need to be extra careful about what all your
essential bare minimum needs are what you can do without. Lighten
your burden as much as possible to live clutter free and move freely.
Create an actual list of all the things big and small that you need and
do not need. It helps greatly.
Use design apps. Start right from the beginning to design your house.
Unless you already have a design to suit all your needs, and you want
to keep things “as is”, it is better that you use some help. If you’ve
tried to use your conventional house design experience you are in for
some trouble. Changing one element will make a huge difference on
the other in a small house. So start with a blank sheet and design
according to your needs and requirements. If you get locked with an
idea then it would be difficult to accept the new ones. Once you know
the space and the area just go ahead and design your house around it.
Use designing software. Have you thought about using design
software from the internet? It is a great tool to have three dimensional
layouts and plans in standard measurements. It helps you in space
management and helps improve, change, and adjust settings in order
to arrive at a final layout that suits al your needs. Google SketchUp is
one such program and you can view tutorials on web and learn all
about it in a short time.
You have to know one thing for sure that every place has its advantages and
problems. There is no comparison between conventional or large houses with the
small ones and it is not necessary that big ones will make you happy. The key to
happiness is not the size of the house but the people who live in it.
5 small house designing rules you need to ignore
Modern designers have not cared about the good old rules of designing and
decorating small spaces and came up with ideas that were considered wrong for
such spaces till yesterday. They have come to sell ideas that may look absurd in
the beginning but end up really working up the décor, space, and storage factors.
Painting the space white
This has been an old belief that if there is a small space, then it is better to paint
it in white or some other very light shade, but the modern believers have ignore
this idea and have experimented with some very bright and shocking colors in
order to have a dash of color and excitement to it. White or such shades make
the appearance look dull, boring and quite a lot of styling has to be done to make
it bright. Try a bright color and use the same shade on walls and ceiling both so
that it does not look like a block of paint for really tiny rooms. Bright space may
just bring the look you wanted!
Avoiding patterns
This myth has been broken by some patterns that have successfully enlarged and
worked up the small spaces. Some tone-to-tone patterns, floral and spring print
patterns and wallpapers are quite a change from the conservative plain walls for
small houses. They even make the room calmer, fresher, and stylish. Big bold
patterns on the wall and small patterns in small spaces make it look like a piece
of art and not just a room. You just have to be cautious about the patterns you
choose.
Avoid small things for storage and decoration
Hotels look good in a sleek and formal finish that has a few pretty decorative,
but we want a homely feeling to the space where we live. Small knick knacks
kept in an organized way in a small space makes the room look homely and
warm. Get some fascinating stuff and co-ordinate on shelves, table tops or
fireplace. It is about making the right choices and even small-colorful knick
knacks can make the décor interesting. The picture here has some interesting
things on a table top.
Small room; small furniture
There is no rule any longer that small rooms should have small furniture only.
Very small couches, chairs, and sofas are not comfortable and they do not look
good to except just a few of them. Go for comfort rather than going for the looks
or the space only. You can think of some big and high rise table lamps, high
chairs, and big sofas. Big sofas are a real friend as a person can even sleep on
them in case of need.
Mirrors are the best accessory
Mirrors make the space look larger and brighter by reflecting light, that is true,
but things appear like duplicate on the opposite wall and that could be funny,
boring, and even irritating. Too small a room with mirrors can have a very
formal or even irritating appearance. Rather than trying to make room larger, just
try to make a beautiful small room.
10 Best kitchen options for small houses
The first thing to bother about in a small hose is to have a well equipped kitchen
that is spacious to work in and has all the modern facilities. The process of
designing a house could be challenging and enjoyable, and if the job is done
efficiently then a dream kitchen would be a reality. You have to keep your
cooking style, preferences, and needs in mind in order to have the best kitchen.
You need to be very honest about your material needs and learn to get rid of
things you do not need.
Planning the kitchen is a technical aspect and the trickiest of all the portions of
the house. Consider some aspects listed below and answer the questions
honestly.
Power of the cooking source is a great factor in determining the
design of your kitchen. If you are within the municipal utility
facility limits then you need different kinds of appliances. Do a
complete research about the space and advantages of a particular
option.
Number of people and stock of supplies if you have a family of
more than two people then you probably need cupboards and large
fridge to have all the supplies stocked up. If you are the kind of
person who goes shopping for grocery not very often, then you
need big storage space for bulk shopping. Have a fair and exact
idea about the storage space you need.
A cooking fan needs more space for the coking process and
around the appliances because the experience of cooking has to be
a comfortable one. Every person has a unique lifestyle and it is not
about being great or bad, it is about living your life the way you
want it.
Cleaning habits will decide about the size of sink you want to
have. If you believe in cleaning immediately after using your
kitchen, then a small sink will do the job. However, if you leave all
the utensils to be cleaned the next day in bulk, then get a bigger
sink that can hold all your things and still look clean.
Make a list of all the essentials you need to have in the kitchen.
This process can be fun and help you rethink and redesign your
kitchen completely. Be practical and honest while doing this.
Budget has been mentioned a bit late in this list but it is as
important as any other or probably more. We know what budget
can do to out plans. So decide the kind of funds you can invest in
your kitchen as this will be the first step in deciding your future
plans.
