The Future of Tiny Homes

Sorry that I haven't blogged since November. Teaching Architectural Drawing and Computer Science, plus coaching the Lacrosse Team kept me very busy all Spring. But progress on the designs for ecoqubz has been made, and now that I'm retired from teaching I'm "all in" with time and energy in this "post-encore career" for this old Baby Boomer!

As I continue working on the concepts for my ecoqubz collection, I have studied the IRC Appendix Q definitions and regulations for Tiny Houses. I'll discuss those regulations and how they can be leveraged to maximize the livability of tiny homes in another blog. My video that gives An Inside Look at an ecoqubz Tiny Home illustrates that.

This Spring I have attended Tiny Home Festivals in Atlanta, Nashville, Nags Head, and Denver. I have to be honest about my feelings for the future of THOWs... For many reasons, I believe that "genre" of abodes in this Tiny Home Movement is rapidly approaching a point where the market growth will level out. In an article published by finance.yahoo.com/news  titled "Are Tiny Homes Worth It? 21 Reasons Why They're a Huge Mistake," Daria Uhlig offers several compelling reasons for that prediction. I am not offended by Ms Uhlig's assertions, in fact I agree with a good bit of what she has to say.

Anyone who has visited a Tiny Home Festival is left with their own perception of what the movement is about. They've toured a "hodge-podge" collection of THOWs, Skoolies, Yurts, Vans, and even Campers offering an alternative lifestyle that frankly is not appealing to a majority of Americans. However, I am convinced that the future for Tiny Homes is bright if the designs are compelling. The homes need to on foundations, functionally complete, energy efficient, and aesthetically pleasing. In my 20 year career of designing and building custom homes I developed a keen sense of functionality, efficiency and aesthetic appeal, but I also learned how to "engineer" the plans to ensure that they could be built with ease; using established skilled labor, and readily available materials and components.

We must be pragmatic about the pros and cons of this tiny home movement. I've decided that I want to distance myself from current perceptions of the tiny home movement and identify myself with minimal living and a green lifestyle.

It's ambitious, but I want to change the perception of folks to a different, and more culturally acceptable, concept for living with the homes I design and promote. Going forward I will consider labeling my ecoqubz designs as "Minimal Homes."