Building a tiny house (or having one built, as I am doing) might be the easiest part of going tiny! The big issue - particularly for a tiny house on wheels - is where to park it. There are very few places in Canada that it is legal to park a tiny house. Some RV parks allow them but it is not easy to find anywhere on private land (a backyard, a farmer's field, a business property, etc.) that they are allowed. In fact, at least where I live, you can't even live in one if it is your own land. It seems just a little bit crazy to me!
Town councils and city planners are only now starting to discuss and consider tiny houses as viable housing. A mere year ago, I contacted all thirteen of the local municipalities and received continual no's when I asked about zoning bylaws for tiny houses. Most said changing the bylaws was not even something in discussion or on their radar. Things are shifting though - we now have several municipalities discussing or working on this issue as well as one municipality interested in working with our group to develop a tiny house community if we are able to find land and work out all the details involved in such an ambitious project.
I am optimistic that by the time my home is ready (May 2017), that there will be legal options of places to park it. If not, I will have to make the choice of whether to put the house into storage temporarily or take my chances and find someone willing to accommodate me and my little house in spite of the laws. I wouldn't be the first to do so - there are countless tiny houses across North America that are living illegally. As long as the neighbours don't complain, it is not usually an issue. However, I would much prefer to be living within the law and without the constant worry of being discovered and evicted by municipal officials.
In preliminary research of potential locations, I have already found several possible properties. All but one have not worked out for different reasons. Two of them would have been, although not the perfect location, wonderful spots to live. Both of those fell through due to the owner simply changing their mind about either sharing their property or breaking the law and having a tiny house on-site. Both of those were big disappointments as I could have easily visualized living there quite contentedly. One of them was a great location but the owner was judgmental, outspoken and racist. Just a phone call with the owner was enough to make me know that I did not want to share a property of any size with that person in spite of the prime location. The one that is still an option is not in an area I want to live. Essentially, I want to live within a 30-minute commute from my workplace and in a place that I am not nervous about driving home to on a dark rainy (or snowy) night. Any of the other things on my wish list (near good off-leash dog areas, close to the ocean, surrounded by nature, privacy, fenced yard, etc.) take a back seat to those priorities.
Thursday 29 December 2016
Designing Happinest
My design for Happinest has been revised at least a hundred times since I started. I have countless computer variations, hand-drawn variations and, since finding my builder Jamie, Sketchup variations. I've even drawn the layout and cut out little pieces of furniture cut to scale that I could move around on my blank model.
Even now, in spite of the fact that I have signed the contract with the builder, I am quite sure there will be minor revisions to come once the build actually gets underway.
My tiny house will be built on a 28-foot trailer. It features plenty of windows and french doors as plenty of natural light was my top priority. It will have a shed roof and cedar siding (with a bit of a decorative flair on one corner). The interior walls will be white tongue-and-groove. This is an early Sketchup version but will give you an idea of the design.
Although my original concept was for a loft bedroom, the layout will now feature the bedroom on the main floor. This is going to be my forever home and my knees will not be happy about climbing ladders and crawling around in lofts as I continue to get older. There will still be a sleeping loft (for visitors and - hopefully someday - grandchildren) with a railing at the front as well as a smaller storage loft over the bathroom. The loft ladder will be detachable so that the same ladder can be used on the rare occasions that I want to access the storage loft. The bedroom will have a small cubby for jackets and shoes and a larger closet to one side of the bed. The mattress will be on a raised platform to allow for extra storage below.
The bathroom will have a low-flush toilet, small vanity and a shower and will have a barn-style door that will be custom-made to include an artwork print.
There will be a galley-style kitchen with cupboards, counter and a seating area on one wall and counter, double-sink, and refrigerator on the other wall. There will be a backsplash against this counter and big long window on each side of the kitchen. I will have a convection microwave and a plug-in 2-element stovetop but no range. There will be a combination washer/dryer hidden under the counter with the sink (it may have to wait for a while as it is a big expense but there will at least be a spot for it).
The living room will feature a full-size sofa, small bench seat (with storage underneath) and a fold-down end-table (expandable for extra dining space when I have guests). There will be a wall-mounted electric fireplace and television. There will be a half wall between the living and bedroom area with shelves/storage on either side. A curtain on the bedroom side can be drawn across for privacy if I have houseguests. There will be dog-friendly vinyl flooring throughout that will be easy to clean and that will resist clawmarks from Nova chasing a tennis ball the length of the house.
I had hoped to incorporate some off-grid features such as solar panels and a composting toilet. However, the project is already coming in well above the budget that I'd hoped for so these will have to be put on hold. As much as possible, we are building with the options of adding off-grid elements as money allows.
One of the best things about tiny houses is being able to custom-design your space to meet your tastes and needs. It has been a fun project that has occupied a great many hours. It will be thrilling to watch my design come to life as the build unfolds!
Even now, in spite of the fact that I have signed the contract with the builder, I am quite sure there will be minor revisions to come once the build actually gets underway.
My tiny house will be built on a 28-foot trailer. It features plenty of windows and french doors as plenty of natural light was my top priority. It will have a shed roof and cedar siding (with a bit of a decorative flair on one corner). The interior walls will be white tongue-and-groove. This is an early Sketchup version but will give you an idea of the design.
Although my original concept was for a loft bedroom, the layout will now feature the bedroom on the main floor. This is going to be my forever home and my knees will not be happy about climbing ladders and crawling around in lofts as I continue to get older. There will still be a sleeping loft (for visitors and - hopefully someday - grandchildren) with a railing at the front as well as a smaller storage loft over the bathroom. The loft ladder will be detachable so that the same ladder can be used on the rare occasions that I want to access the storage loft. The bedroom will have a small cubby for jackets and shoes and a larger closet to one side of the bed. The mattress will be on a raised platform to allow for extra storage below.
The bathroom will have a low-flush toilet, small vanity and a shower and will have a barn-style door that will be custom-made to include an artwork print.
There will be a galley-style kitchen with cupboards, counter and a seating area on one wall and counter, double-sink, and refrigerator on the other wall. There will be a backsplash against this counter and big long window on each side of the kitchen. I will have a convection microwave and a plug-in 2-element stovetop but no range. There will be a combination washer/dryer hidden under the counter with the sink (it may have to wait for a while as it is a big expense but there will at least be a spot for it).
The living room will feature a full-size sofa, small bench seat (with storage underneath) and a fold-down end-table (expandable for extra dining space when I have guests). There will be a wall-mounted electric fireplace and television. There will be a half wall between the living and bedroom area with shelves/storage on either side. A curtain on the bedroom side can be drawn across for privacy if I have houseguests. There will be dog-friendly vinyl flooring throughout that will be easy to clean and that will resist clawmarks from Nova chasing a tennis ball the length of the house.
I had hoped to incorporate some off-grid features such as solar panels and a composting toilet. However, the project is already coming in well above the budget that I'd hoped for so these will have to be put on hold. As much as possible, we are building with the options of adding off-grid elements as money allows.
One of the best things about tiny houses is being able to custom-design your space to meet your tastes and needs. It has been a fun project that has occupied a great many hours. It will be thrilling to watch my design come to life as the build unfolds!
My obsession with tiny houses :)
I don't actually remember what show or article sparked my interest in tiny houses. But I do know I have been charmed by them since I first saw them. I remember sketching a little village of tiny houses for single women of all ages. And I remember talking about them to my teenage daughter and saying that we could each have our own loft. We were living in a small mobile home at the time and going tiny didn't seem like that much of a stretch. Ironically, within a month or two of even talking about it, I was offered an extra position as a house parent at the international boarding school that I worked at. The job included a 2000 square foot apartment for a subsidized rent of $400. Needless to say, it was too good a deal to pass up - and it was a job that I wanted as well. It is probably a good thing I didn't follow up on tiny houses at the time - my daughter's teenage years were challenging enough as it was and I'm not sure we both would have survived living together in such small quarters :)
I continued to watch any show about tiny houses I could find and read about them online. However, it was not until I moved back to the west coast (Victoria, B.C.) that I started seriously thinking about them again. I sort of had it in my head as a retirement project as I could already foresee that Victoria was going to be an expensive place to rent in once I retired and I wasn't quite sure how I would manage on just my CPP pension. On my 55th birthday, I arranged to spend an afternoon in a 100-square-foot tiny house (with an outside bathroom and kitchen). By the end of the day, I could definitely picture myself in a tiny home and realized that there was absolutely no point in waiting until I retired to pursue the dream. I was paying $900 a month in rent and the sooner I was living tiny, the sooner I could have a more affordable lifestyle and have extra money to retire early or travel more. The designing, planning and research stage started the very next day with the goal of making strides towards going tiny within the coming year.
It has now been about 14 months since then and - in spite of some obstacles and disappointments (which I'll revisit in other posts) - I have now found a builder, signed a contract and paid the deposit. I am involved with a tiny house meetup group that is working to make tiny houses legal in this area and another group that is hoping to build the first tiny house community on southern Vancouver Island. The trailer for my tiny home is on order and the build will start by the end of February 2017. It is a big commitment and there is some stress and fear about the finances and the not really knowing if a tiny house is for me ... but the overriding feeling is one of excitement!
I continued to watch any show about tiny houses I could find and read about them online. However, it was not until I moved back to the west coast (Victoria, B.C.) that I started seriously thinking about them again. I sort of had it in my head as a retirement project as I could already foresee that Victoria was going to be an expensive place to rent in once I retired and I wasn't quite sure how I would manage on just my CPP pension. On my 55th birthday, I arranged to spend an afternoon in a 100-square-foot tiny house (with an outside bathroom and kitchen). By the end of the day, I could definitely picture myself in a tiny home and realized that there was absolutely no point in waiting until I retired to pursue the dream. I was paying $900 a month in rent and the sooner I was living tiny, the sooner I could have a more affordable lifestyle and have extra money to retire early or travel more. The designing, planning and research stage started the very next day with the goal of making strides towards going tiny within the coming year.
It has now been about 14 months since then and - in spite of some obstacles and disappointments (which I'll revisit in other posts) - I have now found a builder, signed a contract and paid the deposit. I am involved with a tiny house meetup group that is working to make tiny houses legal in this area and another group that is hoping to build the first tiny house community on southern Vancouver Island. The trailer for my tiny home is on order and the build will start by the end of February 2017. It is a big commitment and there is some stress and fear about the finances and the not really knowing if a tiny house is for me ... but the overriding feeling is one of excitement!
Dreaming Tiny
My big dream is all about small things - tiny houses, simple pleasures (nature, birds, fairy gardens) and a little piece of the world to claim as my own!
It is exceedingly unlikely that I will ever be able to own land as I have chosen to live in Victoria - one of the most expensive real estate markets in Canada. But I am pursuing my dream of having a tiny house built and I am optimistic that I will be able to find a little corner of someone else's land to rent so that I can create my own little haven of coziness and serenity! And I am hoping that by the time my house is finished (May 2017), that it will even be legal to do just that!
I do regularly question my sanity for spending my life savings (plus an extra 15-20 thousand dollars!) on pursuing this tiny dream of mine, especially as I don't know where I'll be able to park and live in it when it's done ... but the idea of it just wouldn't let me go! I've wanted this since I first heard about tiny houses nearly ten years ago and I think any desire that lasts that long is meant to be pursued!
So, as the name of the blog says, I am officially in pursuit. And Happinest was not a misprint ~ that is the name of the house of my dreams! I am in pursuit of Happinest ~ a happy little nest for my dog (Nova - pictured below) and I that is filled with the things that are important to me and that is nestled in my little piece of the world!
I'm writing this blog primarily for myself (it is going to be a big part of my life story, after all). However, if I get any followers, I hope that pursuing my dream will help you reach out for your own - big or tiny! And, if you are reading this, welcome and thanks for dropping by! Feel free to follow my story as I move closer to making the dream real. There are already plenty of blogs, websites and videos with lots of technical advice on building tiny homes. If that is what you are looking for, I'd suggest looking elsewhere as I am not an expert on anything. My words will be much more about the emotional part of this journey ~ the highs and lows and doubts and delights of going after a dream!
It is exceedingly unlikely that I will ever be able to own land as I have chosen to live in Victoria - one of the most expensive real estate markets in Canada. But I am pursuing my dream of having a tiny house built and I am optimistic that I will be able to find a little corner of someone else's land to rent so that I can create my own little haven of coziness and serenity! And I am hoping that by the time my house is finished (May 2017), that it will even be legal to do just that!
I do regularly question my sanity for spending my life savings (plus an extra 15-20 thousand dollars!) on pursuing this tiny dream of mine, especially as I don't know where I'll be able to park and live in it when it's done ... but the idea of it just wouldn't let me go! I've wanted this since I first heard about tiny houses nearly ten years ago and I think any desire that lasts that long is meant to be pursued!
So, as the name of the blog says, I am officially in pursuit. And Happinest was not a misprint ~ that is the name of the house of my dreams! I am in pursuit of Happinest ~ a happy little nest for my dog (Nova - pictured below) and I that is filled with the things that are important to me and that is nestled in my little piece of the world!
I'm writing this blog primarily for myself (it is going to be a big part of my life story, after all). However, if I get any followers, I hope that pursuing my dream will help you reach out for your own - big or tiny! And, if you are reading this, welcome and thanks for dropping by! Feel free to follow my story as I move closer to making the dream real. There are already plenty of blogs, websites and videos with lots of technical advice on building tiny homes. If that is what you are looking for, I'd suggest looking elsewhere as I am not an expert on anything. My words will be much more about the emotional part of this journey ~ the highs and lows and doubts and delights of going after a dream!
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