By Alyse Nelson
The tiny house movement has grown dramatically as the housing crisis and economic recession has hit the US. There are many reasons tiny housers have selected less square footage: some hope to save money on housing; others are trying to “live green” in a smaller space; some are trading living space for a neighborhood they love; and others want to live closer to family or friends.
The view of Ruth’s Cottages from the street. Photo credit Mike O’Brien, used with permission.
Jay Shafer, a co-owner of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, told the BBC: “People are thinking more about what really is a luxury now. Is it a 30-year mortgage, or is it just living simply and having the time to do more of what you want? And I think a lot of people are starting to really change their idea of the American Dream.”
But the question remains. Does living in less space mean giving up on a larger life? A small home can save you cash, but if you don’t have room for your hobbies – playing a musical instrument, baking cookies for your child’s classmates, creating furniture with your tools – the monetary savings might not seem worth it. This may limit the appeal of tiny houses.
Cohousing provides a solution that allows many people to select tiny houses and not sacrifice living a larger life. Cohousing couples smaller individual homes with shared community spaces, which might include a shared kitchen, laundry facilities, bicycle storage, and a tool shop. Tiny houser Lina Menard writes: “People who lived in a tiny house community would have access to all these things, but they wouldn’t have to own all these things themselves.”
Tiny house communities are starting to become a reality in Portland, Oregon. Eli Spevak, owner of Orange Splot, LLC, has developed several innovative housing projects in Portland. “My goal is to keep modeling new ways of providing affordable, community-oriented houses,” Spevak told The Oregonian. Taking advantage of Portland’s accessory dwelling unit regulations, several interesting developments have combined elements of small-home living with community – creating intentional, small-home developments.
The two cottages were built to the side of the main home, allowing the front yard garden to be preserved. Photo by Eli Spevak, used with permission.
Ruth’s Garden Cottages sits in a neighborhood in Northeast Portland.
The project blends into the existing single-family neighborhood. The development took an existing 50-foot by 100-foot lot and added two small accessory structures to the side of an existing 800-square-foot home. The home has an attic bedroom and a full kitchen on the main floor that is shared among the site’s residents. There is also a courtyard, covered bicycle parking, and a 50-foot front yard garden.
Natural light permeates the cottage in this view up to the sleeping loft. Photo credit Mike O’Brien, used with permission.
The cottages may be less than 200 square feet, but they provide the necessities for residents – including a shower, micro-kitchen, sleeping loft, and a well-proportioned front porch.
The main house contains a full kitchen for all Ruth’s
Cottages residents to use, but the cottage residents can take advantage of a small kitchen area for quick snacks. Photo credit Mike O’Brien, used with permission.
Front porches and a common courtyard provide outdoor living “rooms.” Photo credit Mike O’Brien, used with permission.
Small living in a community means that the site’s residents get to share some special amenities. At the Ruth’s Garden Cottages, that includes covered bicycle storage, a rainwater harvesting system, a courtyard, and an outdoor fireplace.
The Ruth’s Cottage development includes a variety of community amenities, including covered bicycle storage. Photo by Mike O’Brien, used with permission.
Another Portland development, Sabin Green, features four homes built on a 75’ by 100’ lot. The lot had a single-family home and detached garage. The single-family home remains, but the detached garage was converted into a 600-square-foot cottage. A second home and a 600-square-foot accessory dwelling were built as well. The four homes face onto a central courtyard, but they also have access to shared gardens, a community room with space for visitors, and a bike storage shed. The sharing doesn’t stop with physical improvements: residents also use just one Internet service, share a newspaper subscription, and meet for weekly dinners.
Sabin Green before its transformation. Photo credit Eli Spevak, used with permission.
The new view from the street. Photo credit Eli Spevak, used with permission.
The project is home to a diverse group, including a young couple, retirees, a single woman, and a small family. Residents Laura Ford and Josh Devine paid just under $150,000 for their 530 square foot home. They downsized from a 700-square-foot apartment, but see the loss of square footage as worth the cost. “If you live by yourself, you might not be able to afford the brick plaza, the teahouse, the gardens,” Devine told The Oregonian.
The detached garage was converted into a separate residence. Photo credit Eli Spevak, used with permission.
Back deck from one Sabin Green home shows the view into the shared courtyard. Photo credit Steve Hambuchen, used with permission.
Tiny house communities like Ruth’s Garden Cottages and Sabin Green make a lot of sense. When you share the tool shed and tools, the kayaks and bicycles, the art and music studio, and the laundry room, houses can be smaller without much sacrifice. When residents come together to share these facilities, they grow close relationships while they save cash.
The recession and housing crisis, combined with changing demographics, have led many of us to reevaluate what we want in a home. More and more folks are looking for homes within walking distance of jobs, stores, and transit—and have proven willing to trade square footage for a vibrant neighborhood. At the same time, millennials increasingly look for alternatives to the car; baby boomers have reached the age where they don’t need a big home in the ‘burbs; and more and more families are choosing to live in multi-generational households.
Tiny houses are a great solution for all these needs. There are many reasons to choose tiny-house living. And living small doesn’t have to mean sacrificing. As Marcus Barksdale, who built his own small home in Asheville, North Carolina, said in this interview: “It would be really neat if more people sought to have smaller spaces, because it would free them up for a larger life.”
Bio: Alyse Nelson is an urban planner for a small town in Kitsap County, Washington. She is a Writing Fellow for Sightline Institute. This post is adapted from a full article published here.