Page 49 - The Hunt - Summer 2021

The
of
What would you do with only 400 square feet? In a tiny house, that typically means a single floor of living space that’s about 8.5 by
40 feet, with a ceiling high enough to accommodate a sleeping loft and/or storage space. For the claustrophobic, this may not sound that appealing. But these days, there are plenty of people who see such limitations as challenges.
At one end are young couples with a sense of flair or daring. Perhaps they’re also parents of
a new baby who are sick of living at home with their parents or in a small, noisy apartment. In that younger demographic, there are also the environmentally inspired who want to dwell somewhat off the grid.
At the other end are older folks—often single, elderly parents looking to live close to adult children and grandchildren. “I’m 65, so I can’t fix things around the house when they break, plus I don’t need all those extra rooms to fill up with stuff,” says Karen Eckard, who lives in a custom-built tiny home on her daughter’s farm outside West Grove.
Architect Sara Reisinger used to have a
small apartment. Now she rents a tiny house in Landenberg with her partner and son. “There’s no separation between areas, so it’s a challenge—a fun one—to furnish and to live in,” she says.
POWER
Tiny-home dwellers are an inventive bunch of people who come in all sizes.
BY ROGER MORRIS PHOTOGRAPHS BY JIM GRAHAM
Dan Weaver is head of sales and design for Greenwood Tiny Homes, a manufacturer outside Gap. After living with his wife and their 2-year-old in a geodesic dome “that was way too big for us,” he decided to manufacture his own tiny home, with
a sleeping loft and lots of windows. “Windows are very important in a tiny home,” he says.
According to iProperty Management, 688,500 tiny homes are sold monthly in the United States, many of them in California, Colorado and other western states. On average, each costs about $60,000. They’re attractive for resale, appreciating at a 19 percent annual rate, as opposed to 9 percent for a traditional house. They also have
a tiny ecological footprint, which means sizable operational savings. Yearly, a tiny home uses
about 7 percent of the energy of a regular house, emitting 2,000 pounds of greenhouse gases and using 914 kilowatt hours on average. For a full-size residence, the numbers are closer to 28,000 pounds and 12,773 hours. Even better, 85 percent of tiny homes operate at above-average energy efficiency.
iProperty Management reports that
78 percent of tiny-home dwellers own, compared to 65 percent for traditional homes. Almost
90 percent have less credit card debt than the average American, and 55 percent have more in their savings accounts.
SMALL
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