If I was a single man, never planned on getting married, or never wanted kids, I could definitely see myself buying and living in one of these houses from Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. The houses range in size from 65 square feet all the way up to a whopping 392 square feet, some of them are on wheels so you can take them anywhere, and the smaller ones don’t even need a building permit to put one up on your property. Before I say anymore about them, let’s take a look at a few pictures of them:
XS-House, 65 sq feet, Ready made: $36,997 Build it yourself: $16,000
Weebee, 102 sq feet, Ready made: $45,997 Build it yourself: $21,150
Weebee Inside
Epu, 89 sq feet, Ready made: $42,997 Build it yourself: $19,950
Epu Inside
Could you live in any of these? I sometimes dream of having something like that beautiful Epu home somewhere in the forest, serving as a “get away” cabin where I can be with nature and get some writing done. No phones, no TV, no noise, no nothing – just a nice home, with some nice things, and the outdoors. How much more simple can you get? Living in one of these houses, you would have to keep your possessions to a minimum, very organized, and live a very simple, purposeful life. The owner/builder of the company, Jay Shafer, has this to say about his homes and about living in one of them:
My name is Jay Shafer and since 1997 I have been living in a house smaller than some people’s closets. I call the first of my little hand built houses Tumbleweed. My decision to inhabit just 89 square feet arose from some concerns I had about the impact a larger house would have on the environment, and because I do not want to maintain a lot of unused or unusable space. My houses have met all of my domestic needs without demanding much in return. The simple, slower lifestyle my homes have afforded is a luxury for which I am continually grateful.
And I will leave you with this: a video tour of the inside of Jay’s home:
Pretty cool, right? Would you ever, or could you ever, live this simply? I dream that I actually could! If you want more information about them, check out the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company
These are really cool but there is no way I could live in one. Especially not with two kids and a husband. Sometimes my 1200 square foot house doesn’t feel big enough!
Yea, for four people it would be just a tad tight!
Except for the kid, I could probably do this.
It seems rather like living on a yacht in terms of space. I prefer to be outside as much as possible and find that when I’m inside, I don’t need much room. And I know myself well enough to know that my stuff expands (and contracts) to fill the available space. I don’t really need that much stuff and would be well rid of most of it.
Only problem is that I enjoy having friends over and this would certainly put a damper on that fun activity.
You would have to always have cookouts!
I’d love it, except that I’m one of those people who needs a bathroom every once in a while!
Cute home! It reminds me of a Norwegian hytte (cabin), but I think most hyttes are larger than this. Very cool idea, and props to him for making it work. Love the minimal cleaning idea and environmental aspect, but I would really need to make more process of my life simplification to fit into his home!
I have admired these homes for several years now. If I were still single I would do this in a heartbeat.
I love Tumbleweed and while these may be a little too small for many people, I challenge everyone to evaluate their stuff and see what is really needed. With a toddler, spouse (we both work at home) and two dogs, I definitely think we could function quite well within about 500 or 600 SF if properly designed. We’re currently in about 1000 SF and I think it’s too big! Check out http://www.rosschapin.com for some larger but fabulously designed cottages.
I could definetly live in one of these houses but I am married to a Baptist minister who has to have many books to study from for all his preaching(so he says)!!
Definitely an awesome idea for the single nomad folks! Very tempting, I must say..