If you are like me, you have probably never been up close and personal with a tiny home. So, I marvelled when I got the chance to stand alongside, not one but 17 different tiny homes on display, every single one unique in both design and style.
Tiny houses are a response to those who want to simplify their lives by reducing the size of their homes and their resource consumption without sacrificing the quality of their lives. I call this intelligent living because paring down your life to fit into 46 square metres of space requires a lot of thought, planning, and organisation.
Understanding more about this new way of living came earlier this month during an event I attended which was sponsored by Big Tiny, a Singapore based company and the Australian Tiny House Association (ATHA) which promotes sustainable living in Australia.
On the stage at the event were the American duo from the television show ‘Tiny House Nation’, John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin who help families design, build and style their tiny homes. The popular show with the duo is currently streaming on Netflix.
There was also the Kiwi environmentalist Bryce Langston of YouTube show Living Big in a Tiny House who has spent the last six years touring the world exploring the tiny house movement (he and his girlfriend actually live in a tiny house in NZ). Also on stage was Kim Connolly, president of the Australian Tiny House Association (ATHA) ,who works tirelessly to provide tiny homes as affordable housing especially for older single women; and Adrian Chia, CEO of the sponsors Big Tiny.
The panel debate and Q&A provided a fascinating insight into the ethos of these perfectly formed little homes and how they can be utilised to solve housing problems and improve the lives of both rural and city dwellers. We were then given a guided tour (if you could call it a guided tour of 46 square metres!!) by John and Zack of two of the tiny homes on display.
One of the most striking things is the amount of storage you can pack into such a small space – under floorboards, under a staircase (some tiny homes have a mezzanine bedroom), shelving in all sorts of places including over the cooker hood and even in the wall.
It’s all about quality over quantity. So you see, size really doesn’t matter!
The Carousel would like to thank interior designer Angela Bunt for her article. You can check out Angela’s own designs on her popular instagram page.
Her website is https://www.angelabuntcreative.com/
