NYT: What No One Ever Tells You About Tiny Homes

[anyastroud]

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[krystee]

I want a tiny house follow-up show on HGTV. The tiny homes look adorable and fun with absolutely nothing in them. But what is it like when people and their stuff are actually there? I want to see the reality of day to day living, and hear what the homeowners think after a few months of living there.

[pixy0stix]

The only problem I have with tiny homes is that they tend to be built on never before developed land, which makes them just as bad as regular sized houses.

ETA: Didn't read the article due to NYT always interviewing people who make me want to pinch them.

[anodyne]

Jun 5, 2017 5:15:22 GMT -5 karinothing said:

Jun 4, 2017 22:56:22 GMT -5 atexan said:

If you open windows to create a cross breeze, there's no way everything in your house smells for weeks from cooking once. Unless you don't wash or clean anything in the meantime. Nope, not buying it.

I lived in a 300 sq ft studio in grad school, and a 500-ish one bedroom on fellowship. Both place had ancient appliances and no venting. Yes, there were food smells, but my clothes didn't reek for weeks. I would open windows occasionally if I cooked something strong, and it might linger inside for a day or two, but that's it.

Doesn't a cross breeze only work if you have windows on both sides? I have never had more than one wall with Windows, or well on window. In new high rise apts, they also put safety blocks on window so they only open a few inches. Anywayx I figured she was exaggerating for effect.

Not necessarily.  If you have double hung windows you raise the lower sash some, lower the upper sash some and it creates it's own "cross breeze".  This is how double hungs were meant to be used but with the invention of AC it is no longer common knowledge.

[nessness]

Jun 5, 2017 8:34:35 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

The only problem I have with tiny homes is that they tend to be built on never before developed land, which makes them just as bad as regular sized houses.

ETA: Didn't read the article due to NYT always interviewing people who make me want to pinch them.

The author doesn't live in a tiny house; she lives in a small apartment in Cambridge. And yes, she is as insufferable as most people featured in the NYT.

[Mimi]

Jun 5, 2017 8:50:10 GMT -5 anodyne said:

Not necessarily.  If you have double hung windows you raise the lower sash some, lower the upper sash some and it creates it's own "cross breeze".  This is how double hungs were meant to be used but with the invention of AC it is no longer common knowledge.

I didn't know this. Good to know!

[KateAggie]

And aren't we going to end up with problems once this trend goes out of style? Small spaces no one wants to buy, in places where few people live?

[clairedunphy]

As I was reading I kept wondering when I was going to get to her point. But alas, it was just "apartments in highly sought after areas are expensive, I can only afford a small one. Poor me."

[penguingrrl]

Wait, living in a small space means that storage is limited? Who knew? What a ground breaking observation!

Seriously, how is it real that people didn't catch on that their small spaces would be, well, small? I hated apartment living, not for the space but the noise of living with shared walls and people above and below me. But it doesn't take a genius to realize that 200 square feet comes with limited closet space.

[wambam]

Does everyone not have their "spot" in their living room or wherever? Like, there is a noticeable wear pattern on my chaise because I sit there all the time? Sure, I could sit somewhere else on the couch, but I won't.

[pixy0stix]

I read the article - So basically the grass is always greener. That was a whole lotta words for basically nothing.

[amberlyrose]

Both H and I thrive in small spaces and feel like we're better people and a better couple in them. I adored our 450 sq ft studio and would happily have stayed in it, but our two dogs create so much hair that I felt like I was sweeping or dusting half the day. I don't think we could live in a space larger than our current home with 2 bed/1 bath without going crazy. Different strokes and all.

Apparently the author isn't doing well in her apartment, so she should probably evaluate if living in Cambridge is right for her and not complaining about her nasty sports bra. Or maybe don't cook 3 pounds of onions for hours, ya dumbass. I knew I had to bake bacon instead of frying it because of the smell, so maybe choose a different recipe. And get a better laundry hamper.

[wambam]

Also, what kind of recipe requires 3 pounds of onions?

[taratru]

All I thought during that was boo fucking hoo. What a bunch of navel-gazing privileged bullshit.

[pixy0stix]

Jun 5, 2017 13:51:33 GMT -5 wambam said:

Also, what kind of recipe requires 3 pounds of onions?

French onion soup?

[wambam]

Jun 5, 2017 15:06:19 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Jun 5, 2017 13:51:33 GMT -5 wambam said:

Also, what kind of recipe requires 3 pounds of onions?

French onion soup?

Ahh, probably. But man, if I lived in a 200sqft apartment, you bet your ass I'd be going to Panera or making chicken noodle soup at home.

[downtoearth]

As a spin-off from the NYT article, this updated Guardian article on tiny houses for homelessness was good for me to read. I kept thinking this was a win-win - small spaces with communal baths/etc. to help avoid homelessness, but the reality is that it may not be a good solution in a lot of places and is perhaps, just making things worse and less sanitary.

Depending on who you ask, moving homeless people into tiny houses is either a pragmatic means of rescuing them from the street or an alarming shift in urban planning that could pave the way for the creation of shantytowns.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/23/tiny-houses-solution-homelessness-seattle

[jigsy]

I hate the NYT "think pieces" - They take subjects that could be interesting and find the worst representatives for that issue.
I live in a small studio, there is a dining nook that I decided to make into a bed nook so that my living room can be just that. So, I essential sleep in my kitchen, lol. Food smells may linger a little bit, but if your clothes are smelling for weeks on end, you are just doing something wrong.

[GilliC]

Not just the interviewee, but what dumb examples. The laundry basket? Really? Just go buy a basket or box with a lid, and you can leave it right in the middle of your living room if you want. There's a reason that IKEA stocks so many varieties of boxes and baskets and bins. It's because the typical Scandinavian apartment needs to use a lot of its "living" space for storage too. I don't know anyone around here who doesn't have a few pretty boxes of unpretty stuff in their living room.

I think a more interesting spin on this story is how impractical a lot of typical products in the US can be for small-space living. A lot of things I brought with me from the US (storage bins, and yes, my laundry hamper and basket) have features like curved corners, tapered sides, and overhanging areas that eat up a surprising amount of space when every square inch is at a premium.

[pixy0stix]

Jun 5, 2017 15:15:16 GMT -5 downtoearth said:

As a spin-off from the NYT article, this updated Guardian article on tiny houses for homelessness was good for me to read. I kept thinking this was a win-win - small spaces with communal baths/etc. to help avoid homelessness, but the reality is that it may not be a good solution in a lot of places and is perhaps, just making things worse and less sanitary.

Depending on who you ask, moving homeless people into tiny houses is either a pragmatic means of rescuing them from the street or an alarming shift in urban planning that could pave the way for the creation of shantytowns.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/23/tiny-houses-solution-homelessness-seattle

They keep wanting to put one in here, but our building code requires certain things that the organizers don't want to do (bathroom for each house, etc.). So they keep painting the city in a bad light, saying the city is putting an undue burden on them and pricing them out of helping people. It's a mess.

[AJL]

Every time I read an article like this or about some other insufferable UMCWP, I always think of the Two A-Holes skits from SNL.