“When I was a kid I was fascinated by the idea of Gypsy caravans. Now, I’m fascinated by Tiny Houses, and this converted bus is one of the best I’ve seen! My favourite part came almost a…”
Source: Converted bus #TinyHouse
I meant to re-post this the other day, but then completely forgot. The discussion was hilarious- so is the video. I’ve been reading real estate reports from the world over and it does seem the trend is to live in less space. Not just that, but single person households are on the rise while larger (family) groupings are falling dramatically. I wonder how this will play out in the long term. I’d always imagined we’d get away from the Victorian idea of isolated family life and move back to the way of living which existed before which was more communal (the link is worth following for a good history lesson). That’s certainly my plan for old age, if I get there. A house like number 42 is ideal for the experience. Four to six people could easily live here and make a collaborative life together without getting in each other’s way. I imagine that to be considerably more pleasant than living in a bus or a shed.
You’re starting a wrinklies commune, Pink? What are the rules? I could be in.
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Not yet! But yes, eventually. I’m still working on the concept, but the rules will be simple. One private bedroom and bathroom per person and then shared communal areas.
If I can figure out a way to get the house to pay for itself then things can really fly. At the moment I’m looking at this:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/3136738/sustainable-it/teslas-new-solar-shingles-could-be-the-spark-needed-to-ignite-the-industry.html
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I heard about those tiles, and it’s brilliant that they’re 98% as efficient as ugly panels, which would just be an abomination on a beautiful house such as yours.
Can we each have our own butler, or is there to be a shared one?
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A shared one 😀
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Professor Taboo might be up for that role.
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I’ve been drooling over those Tesla tiles as well. It just makes so much more sense to make the whole roof solar. You might want to expand the greenhouse too – home grown produce for the commune. 😀
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Me too, but only if I can bring my cats. :p
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This converted bus reminds me of Matt Foley:
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I enjoy my space and also my relative solitude, or at least uncrowded lifestyle.
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There’ll still be private spaces- otherwise I couldn’t do it either.
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Each this or her own, Pink.
It’s what makes the world go round.
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Our eldest daughter who is in her last year as a design student at Uni in the UK is fascinate by tiny spaces, she will spend ages studying the details of the tiniest apartment say 12′ X 20′ that manages a small kitchenette, sitting area, bathroom and a double bed. Now I would an could be fascinated too but with five children, that makes seven of us, not really possible! At least I am keeping the old fashioned idea of big families alive!!!
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Your daughter is going in the right direction. Understanding how to make the best of space is the backbone of interior design.
But you’re right, it’s not for me either. We don’t have children but we do have three dogs which would drive us insane in a small space.
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Woohoo count me in….oh wait, I forgot that I hate people. Never mind…. :p
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I’m not offering marriage 😛 Or even shared meals for that matter (unless people are particularly in the mood for that sort of thing). But especially in the case of LGBT people I think some sort of community is important as we get older. What might be a big task for someone on their own can become easy if the responsibility is shared.
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I agree about the shared responsibility, Pinky, but personalities would be key to making it work. Get the right mix and it would be wonderful. Get it wrong and it would be hell on earth.
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Absolutely. It could only work with like minded people. But remember a few years ago when we sort of experimented with it? It kind of worked.
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lol – I won’t ask what didn’t kind of work. :p
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A separation then divorce cast a shadow on the experience. Suddenly we were in the middle of a big mess.
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Oh…that is a huge ‘kind of’. 😦 I’m so sorry things went so pear-shaped for everyone because the idea of a ‘commune’ of friends is very appealing.
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I’m going to keep all of this in mind … We had three kids at home from two marriages and three dogs. We moved into a gorgeous (by Australian standards) 4 bedroom, two bathroom house with a pool. It’s ser up high, close to town with bushland at the back. I love the bush & garden, never really cared about the house. I don’t need much space for myself but I do need time alone. Now we’re half a million dollars in debt, with two high needs kids and we’re tearing out our hair working enough to keep on top of the interest. I dream of creating three tiny houses on this beautiful patch of land & selling/renting to like-minded people. I also want to have the means to provide safe harbour to an LGBTIQ kid or two 😊
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I think it’s a wonderful option that’s often ignored. When the crisis hit and we were, just like you, half a million in debt- a couple of our friends were in similar situations and they rented out their places and moved in with us. A year of that was enough to greatly imporve all of our positions 😉
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I like the idea of optimized, well-planned minimalistic living space, with minimum possessions (I hate STUFF). It’s also great to see when a couple has a shared vision of what their home should be. This is not how I live at all.
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This “hunter-gatherer” model strikes me as a huge stereotype. Was there nothing else to do except hunting and gathering? It starts all kinds of speculations from diet recommendations to wild explanations of various things and all kinds of sexist theories.
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lol – many of the worlds oldest cultures – e.g. the Indigenous peoples of Australia – lived the hunter/gatherer lifestyle until Westerns came along. Hunting and gathering really was a full time occupation if you wanted to eat. :p
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Reblogged this on David Hochfelder and commented:
interesting read about the tiny house movement!
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Personally, I don’t care for tiny homes. I’m a minimalist in most things, but I still have too much stuff to live in a converted bus or most of the other tiny homes I have seen. My idea of downsizing would be to move to a two-bedroom ranch!
Like you, I would prefer the idea of living with extended family or friends as I age.
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Imagine trying to use a walker in a tiny house!!! 😀
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That doesn’t bear thinking about!
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