Houzz TV: A Tiny-House Family’s Big Adventure
It’s not often you hear of a family with a young child taking on the tiny-house lifestyle. But Micah and Jana Whitehead had been dreaming of living in a tiny home for years, and learning they were expecting a child didn’t shake their resolve. “Once we found out Silas was on the way, plans changed some, but we decided we could make it work,” Micah says. “And giving Silas a childhood full of big adventures was something we wanted despite the challenges of raising a family in a small space.”
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This is really nothing new. A lot of us baby boomers lived in trailer houses when we were children because of the scarcity of housing after WWII. Of course, these are a lot nicer now!
We love this Tiny House! #tinyhousemovement
Designed and Built by American Tiny House americantinyhouse.com
Where do they sit and relax ? Up in the loft? I see there's a place for the baby to eat, how about the adults?
@culinarybabe I follow this family religiously and that's saying something being a humanist. They reside in the side yard of a family ( I too live in Northern California where u need permits and must be a caretaker of some sort unless you reside in Fresno and I think they help take care of their garden or child care or some sort I could be wrong but that's the gest I got). I absolutely love their tiny family it is my hope to meet them someday and take a gander my boyfriend and I are hoping to save up to go tiny after he graduates police academy. We want a big family ( 4 kids either through births or adoption , 4 is our number. That being said it is a bit harder finding tiny house builders who build larger homes but in my mind ours is 520sqft {40ᶠᵀ ᴸᴼᴺᴳ 10ᶠᵀ ᵂᴵᴰᴱ 13.5 ᶠᵀ ᴴᴵᴳᴴ}pretty sure that's road legal( two lofts 1 downstairs bedroom & one bathroom full tub and small shower like in the Monacle tiny house built by wind river tiny homes it's my bathroom goal and a main loft like that in the sprout by mustard seed tiny homes and the kitchen in Kelly Sutton's tiny home built by American Tiny House (( who unfortunately informed me they only do up to 400sqft :( ))... but I won't give away too many of my home ideas :) ). I love seeing different interpretations and designs of tiny living and from the people who actually live it and what they've learned so when I get there I'll have a little bit of knowledge ya know? love and light - M
Funny they mentioned the stair railings. That was the first thing I thought about when I saw the little child and those stairs! Other tiny houses I have seen are located in areas where the homeowner owned (or leased?) the land. How do they find space to just park the house? At the end, it looked like next to a house. Is that a friend's house? So nice to be organized and have so few things. Bravo to them. I can't seem to cut the clutter in my house. The more room you have, the more you find things to fill the space!
Several questions. I always wonder about...ahem..."privacy issues" with having children in a tiny house. As the children get older, they become more keenly aware of happenings around them. Awkward. Also, at $63,000, that's about equal to $1,500 per month for 3 1/2 years. What happens to the investment when it's time to expand? As children get older, they require bigger "toys" - a pull-along phone won't cut it for a 13 yr old boy. Not trying to nay-say, just looking at a bigger picture and long-term needs. Where best to put/invest $63,000? But then we've lived in our home for 30 years. It's seen 2 children, sleepovers, spouses/grandchildren visits, holidays, et al. Think I would rather invest those funds into something that will carry life changes and appreciate in value.
Super cute! Get those loft gates up now though. As a member of a pediatric trauma team, I can tell you toddlers fall a lot.....even over furniture and railings, and unfortunately sometimes with catastrophic outcomes.
@mrs_miagrey - Most states max legal height & width are 13'6" high by 8'6" wide. Anything wider or taller requires a permit and you have to follow the directions the permitting office tells you to travel. Double-check California road laws before pursuing this. Good luck :) P.S. design using a gooseneck trailer and you'll get some more square footage that way.
Loved this! Great job on the house and great job on video. What a pleasure to watch.
I love her comment that she wanted to spend her time with her child rather than spend her time managing their stuff. Lovely concept! Beautiful house.
Great Family feelings there...made me smile and happy to see the video. Seeing the child play with the cake was insane (what fun for them), all in all a great set up for them.
This would only really work for a 20 something person that just moved out of the bedroom of mom & dads house, that doesn't entertain or have hobbies. There is just not enough room to relax or work.
I think it is strange some people think children "need" large toys. They don't. They need their family, food, water, a roof over their head, to play outside, to dance, to run, lots of love...this family has a perfect grasp on their life and its refreshing to see. We are going to go tiny in the near future as well. Our home is being planned with the same builder. There are many things you can do to address privacy concerns if you get creative. I grew up in a pretty large home, and we were pretty aware of what our parents were doing when the door was locked for extended periods of time. What you are talking about is a rouse of privacy. Kids know whats going on, they are smart. If you have a toddler in your house--no matter how large, its pretty challenging to be intimate anyways. Our home will be welcoming to family, sleep overs and all normal events that happen in a home for years to come. You use your space wisely, everything serves a dual purpose. You entertain OUTSIDE... Sure you could live in an RV--but that is not the same as a HOME. The price probably does seem high to many people but when you look at traditional financing over 30 years in a conventional home---you could buy a tiny house with the money you just GAVE TO A BANK to finance your house. Mortgages are not free. Many need a stop gap measure (as we do) to get out of student debt that is crippling for young couples. Thats what this is for us, over $90k in student debt, we have been paying on for about 8 years that has literally GONE UP in balance due to interest rates set by Congress and income-based repayment plans. We were lucky to have enough equity in our home to buy a tiny cash and put a large chunk of money onto our student loans. We will pay almost nothing in terms of living expenses. In 3-4 years we will be completely student debt free (by funneling current living expenses straight to those loans)...in another 3 years we will have a VERY significant down payment on a "regular home" if we so choose....or a very robust retirement account...you can't tell me that is not a wise choice for someone in our situation. Society has drilled in us that any living situation that doesn't involve a minimum of 15-30 years of debt is not a good idea--its simply not true anymore. Our generation has inherited a horrible economic climate and gigantic amounts of student debt at very high interest rates. I will never again live with the current burden of debt that we are under...ever again....and living tiny for 6-10 years will literally change the rest of our lives and our financial future. Tiny living isn't for everyone, and thats ok..but to be critical of it seems pretty silly. Why do you care? No one is asking you to live this way.
This 60-something would like to know what these 30-somethings do for a living if they are moving around a lot? Otherwise....bravo to them. It is a cute house. They seem to know their current priorities.
I had a friend who traveled a lot with her son as she went from craft show to craft show. They camped in-between shows. That child had experiences that no other child would have. He grew up to be a runner up in one of Ellen's Design Challenge Shows.
How does this differ from an RV? It seems like a lot of work to pull down all those books, spices, etc when getting ready to hit the road. Is it easy to tow? What vehicle do they use? I'd love to see how they feel about this in 5 years. And yes, what kind of jobs do they have that afford them that type of "move-ability"?
I think these are a great idea for a single person...Personally I think I would go mad trying to cook or shift around my 6 foot broad shouldered hubby. Also, where I live we have serious winter. This would be a whole new interpretation of "cabin fever"! Kudos to those who love them but it can't work for everyone.
I suppose in winter they park it near the beach in CA. For them cabin fever would be irrelevant because they're mobile. Innovative careers in which people work at home blogging or anything online are becoming more common. I telecommute and haven't been in an office for 7 yrs. I love the shiplap and how light and bright the home seems.
I've been a fan of Tiny House Nation for a couple of years now, I do like the little houses. But, I have seen some that are much nicer than this one. At my age, I basically live between my kitchen, bathroom, livingroom and bedroom. I never use my dining room and have no use anymore for extra bedroom. I do like a big, soft, cozy couch to plop down on, to read on, to snooze on. A chair or two for guests. And, I think I'd like a small cozy house that is not on wheels. Good planning, good imagination, can come up with a cozy, well-appointed little home.
For me, a tiny house seems better than an RV because it is made of wood. And honestly, I'm not sure that RV's are cheaper than many of these tiny homes.
Wow congratulations, I do see a few things you might want to address. I say this from being a mom of 3, the stairs are going to be his favorite place. My sons greatest joy came from freaken me out. So have fun. Your place is awesome.
mikasmom01: you just described my house! Living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom. What I would give for a dishwasher, dining room & dedicated library & guest bedroom! Would be nice to have the space for the grandkid to stay. We always want what we don't have, eh?
buster, maybe you could arrange a swap!
I admire this couple and their determination. What a wonderful job. Now they just need to address that stair rail. I think it's great to limit your possessions. Who needs a multi-level, multi, multi-room house? And what child needs so many toys that they need their own playroom? We used to keep our toys in our rooms (shared rooms) and when a new toy cam in, a new toy went out to be donated. It's a good life philosophy to teach your child. One thing that bothered me, though totally unrelated to the tiny house, is that they seem to encourage Silas to write with markers on the kitchen cabinets and himself. What happens when he visits someone else's house? Lessons like this can be taught much earlier than you'd imagine!
capeanner: it's all about location, location, location. LOL. :)
Very cool. Everything in Texas is bigger. Consequently, out tiny house is 720 sq. ft. It’s a second home but we are finding out that we enjoying the minimalistic aspects of the house more than ever. So easy to clean & maintain. I can see myself enjoying retirement here and giving the kids the big house! Grand babies love it too! Our backyard is the lake. And cooking outdoors always taste better. And no mess!