Tiny Tumbleweed House Co: Small homes
October 7, 2007
How much living space do we need to live comfortably?
Quite possibly not as much as we think, as Jay Shafer is proof positive comfort can be found in a tiny hand built home. Shafer’s philosophy is best reflected in the quote:
“You know you have reached perfection of design not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away.” –Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Since 1997, Shafer has been living in small hand built houses. The first one, which he named the Tumbleweed house, measured a mere 100 square feet. When he sold the Tumbleweed seven years later, he built a 70 square foot house that he lives in today, named the Weebee, or XS extra small House. Shafer’s personal home might be a wee bit too small for the comfort of most homeowners, but the growing popularity in his designs of tiny hand built homes is a testament that others are finding this an appealing and affordable alternative in housing.
Shafer does offer larger small homes. Ranging from 40-square feet to 600-square feet, the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company continues to add to their catalog of small home designs. The company offers both the option of having a house built and delivered, or the option of purchasing a set of house plans for the more ambitious.
Shafer, who estimates he uses three dollars of energy a month living in his tiny home, explains that, “My decision to inhabit just 100 square feet arose from some concerns I had about the impact a larger house would have on the environment, and because I just do not want to maintain a lot of unused or unusable space. Both of these dwellings have met all of my domestic needs without demanding much in return. The simple, slower lifestyle my homes have afforded is a luxury for which I am supremely grateful.”
The small home trend is an innovative and attractive alternative to traditional housing best represented by the bigger is better McMansions. In addition to his Tumbleweed Tiny House Company business, Shafer is one of founders of the Small House Society, an extensive resource for the small house movement.
Available for viewing online, Eye on the Bay aired a feature story on alternative housing that includes an interview with Shafer and a tour of his tiny home.
