Image From: http://media.npr.org/
Many of us aspire to owning our own sprawling and sophisticated mega-mansions, however recently we have seen a reversal of this trend with a growing number of people downsizing and simplifying their lifestyle by moving into ‘micro’ or ‘tiny’ homes.
This trend goes beyond the property itself and has developed into a social movement with a dedicated community of like-minded home owners. The main factors driving the movement are financial concerns, environmental concerns, aspirations of self-sufficiency and a longing for more time and freedom in a chaotic and fast-paced world.
A typical ‘tiny house‘ is a mere 100-400 sq ft a far cry from the 1000 plus square foot of Victorian terraces and the thousands of square feet you would expect to find in a countryside manor. Tiny homes come in all shapes and sizes as the small amount of space on offer requires unique and inventive living solutions to accommodate the demands of day-to-day life.
The tiny house movement is not confined to the UK and has won international attention as an environmentally sound and financially prudent style of living. For example, Sacromonte in the Granada region of Spain has a series of ancient caves lining the hills above the city that were once used as inexpensive housing for the city’s Roma community in the late 19th century. Today however, the long deserted caves have been re-inhabited by artistic nomads who have created a vibrant and varied community in the spirit of the tiny house movement.