Tiny Houses .... Yes Please!

I've written in older posts about the explosion in the sizes of houses in North America during the past 30 years, and how the blight of McMansions has led to the consumer's over-consumption of land, energy, consumer products and debt. This has definitely been a contributing factor to the current economic crisis, where the over-extension of leveraged debt has caused a massive meltdown in liquidity, equity and net worth.

This has led to a return to (hopefully permanently) more sensible proportions of homes, a renewed emphasis on the environment, and a diminishment of rampant materialism. As I have mentioned before, my first home was my largest, and I have been downsizing ever since. I have always been intrigued by small space living - when reading design magazines and books, the issues that always excite me are not of sprawling mansions, but compact living spaces.

I have once again contemplated living in a small cottage or a boat. If I lived in a warmer country than Canada, I may just have made the jump already. However, with the Canadian winters, a lot more thought needs to be given. I have just finished browsing through a fabulous little (appropriately) book called Tiny Houses by Mimi Zieger. It profiles 36 unique abodes that are 1,000 square feet or less. What I love is that it proves that space can be used far more efficiently, a unique home need not be only for the rich and that these spaces are far more interesting than your cookie-cutter, suburban monster-home.