A Small Dream

My latest obsession (besides Murder, She Wrote) is with the idea of building my own tiny, mobile home. Tumbleweed Tiny House Company sells plans for, and finished models of, itty bitty houses. They are really, properly miniature, not the pseudo small homes in small space decorating magazines, but abodes that measure in at under 100 square feet. They aren't all that small, but the models built to fit on a trailer are all under 180 square feet, and mobility is what got my attention. Well, that and the idea of building my own home.

I want to build my own Fencl (pictured). It isn't the largest trailer ready model based strictly on square footage, but it has a sleeping loft that doesn't count in those figures that adds an extra 100 square feet of "non-habitable" space. Not only am I short, but I don't sleep standing up, or hanging upside down, so a sleeping space with a short ceiling is perfectly habitable as far as I'm concerned.

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I've lived most of my life in a poorly designed house that is in the 1,000 square foot range, and my first apartment was an even more poorly laid-out 400 (ish) square foot space. As I alluded to, I've spent too much time and money looking through magazines and websites, and watching television shows styled as idea centers for people living in small spaces, only to realize that what they consider a small space, is at least twice the size of my home. Oh, and they also seem to think that living in a small space means inhabitant has loads of cash to spend on space saving crap. I doubt this is very often the case. Usually, people live in a small space because of financial limitations.

But, I digress. What I really wanted to talk about is my realization that I really need a mobile home. Not a mobile home, mobile home, but a truly mobile home. Something like an Airstream, a camping trailer, or  a hand-built Fencl; a home I could move at a moment's notice, and park anywhere with an RV hookup. Tumbleweed reeled me right in with the mention of being able to live at national parks. As much as I love Ken Burns, with his non-hipster, hipster hair, I need to see the national parks in person.

Currently, I'm in a no rent/no mortgage living situation, but that will have to change in order for me to finish school. I hate renting. Due to unfortunate life experience, I have a constant fear of people randomly walking into my apartment (as my former landlords and their staff were prone to do). That fear that can become almost crippling for me. I would much rather live in a tiny house on wheels that I owned, than a large, rented apartment. Plus, I know I couldn't afford a place to live, and travel money. A house that doubles as a hotel could bring my tourist dream into a more reasonable price range. And, wouldn't a tiny house make a fantastic studio, if I had a bigger place to live?

Maybe it would be cheaper and easier to buy an Airstream or other travel trailer, but I think they are made to hold as many people as possible, for short trips. Building a tiny home from scratch would allow me to customize it to my needs. It's all just hypothetical, for now, as I have absolutely no money. Some day, I hope to be able to say that I live in a 130 square foot house on wheels, that I built with my own hands. Until then, I'll dream my little dream.