Living in a large country mansion used to be a sign of success but nowadays living in a poorly insulated, expensive to heat and maintain house is going out of fashion as an increasing amount of people recognise that we must all do more to reduce our carbon footprints in order to protect our precious planet. So, is buying a tiny home the answer?
More sustainable, off-the-grid, eco-living is becoming a popular lifestyle choice that people all over the world are adopting for both planetary and monetary reasons. There are some amazing, larger sustainable homes out there, however, it appears the practice of choosing a much smaller, eco-friendly house is gaining traction around the world. So, today we are going to take a look at the tiny house trend that has taken Australia by storm.
The Designer Eco Tiny Homes company was first launched in 2016 when Grant Emans and his brother, who had both been working in the construction industry in Australia for several years, recognised a growing trend towards more sustainable living. They were fascinated by the ‘Tiny House Movement’ that had become popular in the United States and decided to cease building regular homes to concentrate on designing and producing their very own energy efficient, affordable tiny homes on wheels. Take a look at their range of tiny homes in the video series below and the slideshow above.
The tiny transportable houses, which are classed as caravans for planning purposes, range from basic studio apartments c.3.6m long by 2.4m wide that can sleep one to two people (perfect for use as a spare room, artist studio or games room), to their most popular three-bedroomed range – the lifestyle series 7200GB (max dimensions 7.2m by 2.5m by 4.4m high) – which boasts a two-burner gas hob, an electric oven, a beautiful galley-style kitchen, a bathroom with shower, a queen-sized ground floor bedroom and two king-sized loft bedrooms.
Not only do these incredible structures offer the homeowner a highly sustainable home with a typical construction time of just 12 weeks, buyers who visit their showroom in Ulladulla, New South Wales can also choose to buy a demo model and tow away their dream home that very day! The brothers also offer additional eco-friendly, off-the-grid add-ons such as a solar-powered trailer, a rainwater-harvesting kit and a compostable toilet (not everyone’s cup of tea we hear). The tiny houses are affordable too, with prices starting from around £12,500 for the basic model to in excess of £50,00 for a top of the range custom-made home.
Before you go out and buy or build your own tiny home, one word of warning… they may not be ideal for everyone; especially anyone tall as the roof height in the loft bedrooms leaves something to be desired. We imagine tall (and claustrophobic) people who stay in the loft rooms would feel very enclosed, like Alice in Wonderland when she eats the magical cakes marked ‘Eat Me’ and grows so huge she can hardly fit in the room… That said, the three-bedders do offer a decent-sized downstairs bedroom with a more standard head height, so maybe this wouldn’t be an issue. It’s also worth checking out local planning laws before siting your tiny home permanently.
It is often said that “Good things come in small packages,” and in many respects, the tiny homes prove the saying true; these tiny houses really do appear to offer affordable, light, airy, energy-efficient living… just what the planet needs right now! And, as we are constantly reminded these days, “There is no planet B”.
Images courtesy of Designer Eco Tiny Homes
