Simplifying your life through tiny living (Part 6)
Posted on June 23, 2020 by Ben Brown, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.
I'm really thinking about going tiny to simply my life, where do I start?
Before you even think about it, make sure YOU HAVE A PLACE TO PARK IT! Next, as
you’re designing or examining floor plans, pick a key feature or theme and STICK WITH IT!!!
The floor plan I went with was actually designed for a 16 foot trailer and ironically enough,
was built for thinking about a family in mind. Pretty crazy if you ask me. I’m THRILLED I went
with 18 feet. That extra 2 feet goes a long way. The feature that attracted me to this floor plan
was a wide open living room! When you walk in, you’re instantly greeted by a wide open
space with ten and a half high ceilings. The only other feature I really wanted in my house
was a full size shower. After that, it didn’t much matter to me. I had seen hundreds online and
had been inside a dozen or so finished tiny home models before I decided on this floor plan.
I’ve known others that love Japanese architecture who themed their house straight out of the
Ming Dynasty. So pick your theme or your feature and then be flexible with the rest of it.
Where should I spend most of my money you ask? Well, that’s easy.
THE BIG 3….(Obviously get a solid “ideally custom built” trailer!) Duh.
1. Climate control/Insulation is top priority (good floor, good walls, good windows)! I cannot
stress this enough! Spend the vast majority of your money on a top of the line climate control
system. They’re efficient, quite and function much like a normal AC system. DO NOT use a
window unit! PERIOD! They’re loud and incredibly inefficient to run! Once you’ve got that
down, spend lots of money on a good floor with a solid insulation within because the air up
under your house in the cold months stays there and it eager to creep in. Standard insulation
will do just fine. But the other really big thing to spend the money on is the best windows you
can find! We spent more on the windows in this house than we spent on the trailer itself.
2. Main Feature around the structure-As stated earlier, pick your key feature and be flexible
with the rest.
3. Measure 3 times, cut once! Every single nook and cranny in a tiny space must fit together
like a perfect puzzle. There is just no wiggle room for error when you’re building these things.
So measure, measure and measure again…then cut!
***If you’re gonna build yourself…plan on 6 months-a year longer than you think you’re gonna
need (It took my buddy Nate 4 months and he was a professional contractor who has built
every facet of homes for years and years. He originally thought it would take him 2 months.
So there you go.
