Tiny Houses: Problems Bigger than Where to Put Your Stuff
Many people looking for a simpler, more sustainable way of life have found their imagination captured by the emergence of small living. Whether your goal is a smaller carbon footprint or downsizing for financial freedom, tiny homes offer a pleasing substitute for conventional homeownership. Benevolent exteriors and simple ideas hide a complicated network of difficulties behind them though. Often, the issues with small homes go much beyond just finding somewhere to keep kitchen appliances or winter coats. From utility connections to zoning rules, the path to small house living can be anything but short. Those who are thinking about this way of life—especially in places like Colorado—have to go beyond appearances into the structural, legal, and social concerns influencing the reality of small living. The Appeal of Downsizing Living in a small house, usually less than 400 square feet, first seems to provide release. It represents a departure from consumerism, high mortgages, and the weigh...