I am fascinated with the new Tiny House movement. In case you have no idea what I am writing about there are a couple of new shows on TV called the Tiny House Nation and a documentary on building your very own Tiny House.
Most of these homes are built on a semi flatbed trailer so they are movable and you do not need to have a building permit. Of course building on a flatbed limits the amount of space you have to build your home. Most are only eight feet wide by 22 feet long, giving you less than 200 square feet to build an entire house! It is amazing how clever these designs can be. I think that’s why I like tiny houses. They have to be creative and inventive to cram everything a person needs to live into such a small space.
From the time I was small I loved playing house. I would line up dolls and pretend pots and pans and get busy making a home. At one point I had a playhouse outside, until my parents turned it into a chicken coop. My dad set out to build me a bigger playhouse but it never got beyond the flooring. I didn’t care. I drew lines on the floor to mark the door and you could only enter there, never through the invisible “walls.”
It was my very own tiny house. I had a kitchen, a dining area and a bedroom. It felt cozy. I am sure it reminded me of my favorite books like the Boxcar Children or the Little House on the Prairie. Living both rustic and small.
One summer my brother Gary and his friend Karl decided to build a tree house. They picked a grove of trees and started nailing boards all around, then they put in a floor and walls. I still have a small scar on my side from catching it on a nail as I fell off the ladder. It’s a wonder we survived all the escapades but I have to tell you it was about the view. Standing in the tiny tree house you could see all around and the view was amazing. There was nothing better than having a sandwich in the tree house and feeling like you owned the world.
Maybe it’s a thought that we have built big enough. Maybe the time has come to think smaller and smarter? After all, the best thing about a house isn’t all the stuff it can hold; it’s about the view isn’t it? Good things come in small packages.
Taste of Home columnist Sandy (Anderson) Holthaus lives on a farm in South Haven, MN with her husband, Michael, and their children Zoe, Jack and Ben. Her heart remains on the North Shore where she grew up with her parents, Art and LaVonne Anderson of Schroeder. She enjoys writing about her childhood and mixes memories with delicious helpings of home-style recipes.
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