Back in the 1980s I bought an original beach cottage on Waverley Road down by Lake Ontario in Toronto. It was not quite 550 square feet in total, with a charming skylit loft bedroom accessible by ladder (I subsequently installed a little staircase), an open concept entertainment area (which I divided back into a bedroom, dining area and living room with vaulted ceiling and zero-clearance fireplace, plus an 6×14 foot shed addition that contained the 4-piece bath and a wee kitchen with a hatch door to access the crawl space. Today, 19 residences later, that darling simple frame cottage remains one of my most favourite places I have owned. Here’s a pic of it!:

Having resided in spaces having upwards of 3000 square feet, I’ve learned I’d rather live cute and compact than rattle around in a lot of empty space.

Which bodes the question “How much space do you really need to live in?”

In an era where houses are getting bigger while households are getting smaller Jay Shafer (photo at top), owner of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, is a man who has lived in homes with less than 100 square feet for over a decade. And he created a business from his philosophy on the benefits of living small, building houses ranging from 65 to 874 square feet! Wow! Check out his firm by clicking HERE.

Here are some photos from his website:

There’s another great website worth checking out if living small captivates your intrigue. Check out Kent Griswold’s Tiny House Blog which features a fascinating collection of stylish eco-friendly dwellings.

And if you have an hour and twenty minutes to spare, TV producer and Internet-video personality Kirsten Dirksen,co-founder of faircompanies.com and a Huffington Post blogger, invites us on her journey into the tiny homes of people searching for simplicity, self-sufficiency, minimalism and happiness by creating shelter in caves, converted garages, trailers, tool sheds, river boats and former pigeon coops.

We The Tiny House People is an amazing documentary worth watching.

I could easily live in that original Beach cottage again. In fact, I often drive by it and wonder when it will come back on the market for sale. I pine for its charm, though I’m not sure it will sway me from my dream of building a new property with multiple modest suites. Still… it suits my philosphy… live small and dream BIG!

~ Steven

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