INHABITAT: Were any recycled or salvaged materials used to build the home?
Hari: Yes. We first found the trailer, an old mobile home trailer. The kitchen sink came out of a remodel—our neighbor donated it. The shower stall has been sitting in another neighbor’s garage for years. We salvaged the oak for the interior from a local home being demolished. The lights, refrigerator, fabric, are recycled from our former restaurant. We found the framing material, insulation, stove, windows, flooring, on craigslist. I wrote this blog post about the stories behind our salvaging/recycling adventures.
INHABITAT: Leonardo Da Vinci said “Small rooms or dwellings discipline the mind, large ones weaken it.” Do you believe that to be true?
Hari: I know that small rooms/dwellings discipline the mind, and in my case, a larger dwelling did weaken my discipline. Through the creative confines of a small space, the mind has to work out a puzzle, which is certainly a discipline— especially when living tiny with a family. Everything has its space, and it has to be put away. It forces me to stay present with each moment. I wrote about how the tiny house has disciplined me in Digging Rocks and Tiny House Reforms a Messy Housekeeper.
There is also the discipline of communicating effectively, which goes far beyond stuff. When our family is in harmony, there seems to be much more space. Our relationships have been discipline by the space. We breathe deeply (try to) before reacting, and remember that our moods can clutter the space just like stuff.
INHABITAT: What is your favorite part of the house?
Hari: I love our kitchen with its simple tile/wood back splash, wood counters and shelves. I also enjoy having two small windows next to the sink. Having the items we use everyday on display makes me happy. We put most of our herbs and spices in canning jars and the flour and other grains are in clear containers—the apartment sized range fits the scale and performs the job perfectly. I love the floor to ceiling 4” shelving in the kitchen. It holds all of our glasses, mugs, small dishes and wine bottles. It also makes it easy to purge. Sometimes, I sit on the couch and notice something we haven’t used in a while. It ends up at our local thrift store. We put a restaurant ticket rail up to display the kids’ artwork. The pantry cabinet hides the unattractive pantry stuff; we also use the inside of the door to hang our family calendar. The glass-front bottle cooler from our restaurant works well as our only refrigerator. We don’t have a freezer.
INHABITAT: Do you ever feel cramped living in your small home?
Hari: On cold or rainy days, our house shrinks. With the option of going outside for space removed, I do feel cramped. I feel cramped when I am trying to write and the kids are playing with the dog and asking me questions. But, we’ve gotten used to it after living here for a year. When I feel cramped, I am fighting against what is happening in the moment. If I am edgy and needing space, I need to bundle up and go outside or climb up into my loft with a book. Sometimes, it means I just have to stop writing, put away the laundry, the dining room, pick up the dishes, put away the toys and 15 minutes later, I have my space back. The key to not feeling crammed is staying present – and putting things away!
This family of 4 has 2 youngish children and while admirable to see a family of more than 1 or 2 living in a tiny dwelling I am curious to know if a family of 5 or 6 with teenage children could make a go of a similar dwelling and if so what kind of configuration would be necessary to create private space for all family members. I imagine bunk bed nooks with sliding French frosted glass doors on each level for privacy would probably work well especially if the nooks have a couple of built in shelves and a bedside accessible nightlight. By the way, brilliant job on the use of salvaged material. It looks very warm and inviting.
I bet Archer will be a talanted architect
I honestly think this is fabulous! Where I live, I see these ridiculously sized homes that make my toes curl, and not in a good way. What is the need for these monster homes? I give this family a kudos! I hope more and more people will realize just how much more efficient this is!
I love this article, and I love this family’s bravery for embracing what most of North America thinks is an embarrassment. I agree with the comment about Hong Kong and the rest of the world – this space is a palace to most of the people on the planet. Plumbing? Heat? Waterproof? Safe?? Shame on us.
This maybe unusual in the USA but the average flat size in Hong Kong is just over 450 sq feet. With many flats for entire families being well below that. Traveling makes me reflect the size of homes people think is necessary, normal and expected is really created by culture not facts.
Good to see the benefits of efficiency and having a light impact being taken up by this family!
I had a 16×24 cabin on 5acres until the downturn. Your place looks great. Congratulations on living mortgage free!
The plant in image 5.. is it a sunflower or a young Paulownia tree? If it is Paulownia, they are highly invasive in the Southeastern U.S. Please look up information on it and remove it to maintain your area’s native habitat.
~~ lovely home, by the way, hoping to do something similar! ~~
Thanks for sharing this story!
Neither the photos nor the story are loading, it would be great to see and read this inspirational story….thanks!