The Fallacy of the One-Size-Fits All Tiny House

I love the synergy of the tiny house community. As I was hand writing this post the other day I discovered this Tiny House Listings contribution from Laura Moreland of Tiny House Ontario. However, I did not change my original text in any way based on it. I do encourage you to read her post as well.

When you decide to put your story up on the internet there are a few things that you come to expect. Unfortunately, one of those things is negativity. I've written about the "Yum Yucking" phenomenon before but there is an interesting variation on the style.

These master yum yuckers appear to believe that there is One Right Way (TM) to build a tiny house. And it seems as if, unknown to most tiny house dwellers, that there is a complex scoring system. It is clearly a competition to see who can tiny house better than anyone else who is tiny housing.

Even more curiously, these opinions come from people who are observers of tiny house culture rather than others who have built or are building their own tiny homes. In my experience, tiny house people from all over the world are genuinely excited to see the choices that others have made. We thrive on the diversity and the philosophy of tiny living. Yet, the criticism still lingers on the internet.

• Lofts are such a bad idea.
• I need a much better kitchen.
• This tiny house is way too expensive.
• There aren't enough windows.
• I hate that color.
• You don't live there in the winter so you're doing it wrong.
• What an ugly modern house.
• You should only use reclaimed materials.
• I could never do that. 

The real lesson here shouldn't be seen in all of the things that aren't perfect about someone else's tiny house but rather the idea that no two houses need to be the same.

There is no One-Size-Fit-All tiny house.

In fact, that very thought is against everything that the tiny house movement stands for!

Tiny homes are intended to be custom. If you want a loft, build one with a loft. First floor bedroom? Check. Gourmet kitchen? Check. Small bath tub? Check.

The entire idea is to create a space that works for you as an individual or a family and fits with your specific lifestyle needs. Almost anything you can dream up can be incorporated into a tiny space with a little creative thinking.

When members of the tiny house community share their stories online it is not to prove that they can tiny house better than anyone else. They don't want to up their tiny house cred or win an unspoken tiny house competition. They merely want to share their hard work, their philosophy, and their stories.

So tell me - what do you want in your tiny home? Not what you think is essential for all tiny homes, but what would make yours work for you.