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"It's very un-American"

 
 
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 09:07 am
"It's very un-American in the sense that living small means consuming less,"

GRATON, Calif. – As Americans downsize in the aftermath of a colossal real estate bust, at least one tiny corner of the housing market appears to be thriving. To save money or simplify their lives, a small but growing number of Americans are buying or building homes that could fit inside many people's living rooms, according to entrepreneurs in the small house industry.

Some put these wheeled homes in their backyards to use as offices, studios or extra bedrooms. Others use them as mobile vacation homes they can park in the woods. But the most intrepid of the tiny house owners live in them full-time, paring down their possessions and often living off the grid.

"It's very un-American in the sense that living small means consuming less," said Jay Shafer, 46, co-founder of the Small House Society, sitting on the porch of his wooden cabin in California wine country. "Living in a small house like this really entails knowing what you need to be happy and getting rid of everything else."

Shafer, author of "The Small House Book," built the 89-square-foot house himself a decade ago and lived in it full-time until his son was born last year. Inside a space the size of an ice cream truck, he has a kitchen with gas stove and sink, bathroom with shower, two-seater porch, bedroom loft and a "great room" where he can work and entertain — as long as he doesn't invite more than a couple guests.

He and his family now live in relatively sprawling 500-square foot home next to the tiny one.

Shafer, co-owner of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, designs and builds miniature homes with a minimalist style that prizes quality over quantity and makes sure no cubic inch goes to waste. Most can be hooked up to public utilities. The houses, which pack a range of amenities in spaces smaller than some people's closets, are sold for $40,000 to $50,000 ready-made, but cost half as much if you build it yourself.

[Video: Man’s tiny, 89-square-foot house]

Tumbleweed's business has grown significantly since the housing crisis began, Shafer said. He now sells about 50 blueprints, which cost $400 to $1,000 each, a year, up from 10 five years ago. The eight workshops he teaches around the country each year attract 40 participants on average, he said.
 
ossobuco
 
  1  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 09:42 am
@dyslexia,
We had an older thread on this - but this thread is a good idea too. I still like a well designed tiny house. Since that last thread I've read Michael Pollan's A Place of My Own. Enjoyable.

The older thread - http://able2know.org/topic/66902-1
0 Replies
 
Rockhead
 
  1  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 11:21 am
@dyslexia,
hmmm.

sounds like a plan...
0 Replies
 
chai2
 
  1  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 11:38 am
So I guess it's American of him to raise his prices 400-1000% for just the blueprints?
ehBeth
 
  3  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 11:42 am
@chai2,
errr, Miss Chai - try reading that again

Quote:
He now sells about 50 blueprints, which cost $400 to $1,000 each, a year, up from 10 five years ago.


he now sells about 50 blueprints a year, up from 1o five years ago.

the blueprints cost $400 to $1000 each

the increase is in the number of orders, not the cost.
chai2
 
  1  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 01:06 pm
@ehBeth,
ohhhh.....

sorry, I'm ditzy today.
0 Replies
 
hawkeye10
 
  3  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 01:14 pm
I am thinking that rationality is only partly responsible for the micro house trend, that it is psychological/spiritual. Part of it is the seeking out of a confined space when we are longing to feel safe in a very unsafe word, and part of it is rebellion against an traditional American ethos that does not work anymore...doing it up big does not work when the planet is becoming crowded/polluted/and is running out of resources.
0 Replies
 
Finn dAbuzz
 
  0  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 04:22 pm
That it can be described as "un-American" is precisely why it appeals to many people.
ehBeth
 
  1  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 05:28 pm
@Finn dAbuzz,
Finn dAbuzz wrote:

That it can be described as "un-American" is precisely why it appeals to many people.


wow, 50 blueprints - that's huge appeal innnit

makes for a headline that people might read

log cabins are an even more popular alternative to big suburban homes - they must be even more un-American
Finn dAbuzz
 
  0  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 06:03 pm
@ehBeth,
And your point is...?

If you don't believe that "Un-American" is marketable than you are either too close to the topic or...well, that would be insulting.
edgarblythe
 
  7  
Reply Tue 30 Nov, 2010 07:46 pm
Note: a conservative's definition of un-American is anybody the conservative disagrees with.
Eorl
 
  1  
Reply Wed 1 Dec, 2010 06:01 am
Hey Ma, looks like we ain't trailer trash no more! We is all like, post-modern and ****. Embyron Mentalists even!
0 Replies
 
engineer
 
  5  
Reply Wed 1 Dec, 2010 12:01 pm
@Finn dAbuzz,
I think the point was the sales of 50 units does not indicate that "Un-American" has broad appeal. While I haven't looked up the sales info, I don't think the creator is marketing his product as un-American. I think he just used the term in an interview to indicate that his plans are not consistent with stereotypical US thinking. I don't think he was burning flags, either in his thoughts or in his advertising.
dyslexia
 
  2  
Reply Wed 1 Dec, 2010 12:09 pm
@engineer,
engineer, what an interesting interpretation you've managed to come up with, it appears to concur with everyone who read the article except Finn. Obviously Finn as insight/comprehension that no one else has.
Finn dAbuzz
 
  1  
Reply Wed 1 Dec, 2010 04:58 pm
@edgarblythe,
The person quoted in the article used the term. I don't suspect he's a conservative, do you? If not, your comment is either incoherent, gratuitous or both.
DrewDad
 
  3  
Reply Wed 1 Dec, 2010 05:12 pm
@Finn dAbuzz,
If only we had some group, a committee if you will, that could investigate these housing activities that are un-American.

We could call it the Housing Un-American Activities Committee.
Finn dAbuzz
 
  1  
Reply Wed 1 Dec, 2010 05:25 pm
@engineer,
Thanks for offering your opinions on eBeth's point and the intentions of the subject of the article.

Clearly this fellow is not a housing magnate. You know it, he knows it, eBeth knows it, I know it, and I suspect even Dys knows it.

His product is intended for a niche market, and when trying to sell one's product to a niche market it is particularly important to create an image for the products that goes well beyond it's utilitarian virtues.

Very few people are going to be attracted to a very small house simply because it is small. A reduced price may attract them but if that is their only reason for buying a small house they will be left with self-identifying as poor. Poor is not a niche market.

Thus the seller has to cast his product in a light that attracts buyers for reasons other than intrinsic value. Most often marketing in general, and niche marketing in particular, attempts to associate the product with the way the buyers feel about themselves.

In this case the niche market has been identified as eco-friendly. Low consumption appeals to certain eco-friends and in ways that extend beyond house size. By characterizing high consumption as "American," a stereotype the eco-friends relate well to, he appeals to these people with a product that is "Un-American."

I have no idea whether or not he hates our military, wants to burn flags or considers. JTT his patron saint. Nor do I care. In the end, he's a true-blue capitalist which is American enough for me.

No matter how the particular niche market defines "Un-American" there are plenty of people who will buy a product because in that sense they want to be "Un-American" too.

If you or eBeth, or Dys or edgar don't get that, it's no skin off my nose.
0 Replies
 
Finn dAbuzz
 
  0  
Reply Wed 1 Dec, 2010 05:28 pm
@dyslexia,
Obviously, although some of you merely wish to play stupid when it serves your oh-so clever banter.
0 Replies
 
edgarblythe
 
  1  
Reply Wed 1 Dec, 2010 06:10 pm
@Finn dAbuzz,
Finn dAbuzz wrote:

The person quoted in the article used the term. I don't suspect he's a conservative, do you? If not, your comment is either incoherent, gratuitous or both.

Bit of a sticky wicket, what?
0 Replies
 
chai2
 
  1  
Reply Wed 1 Dec, 2010 08:14 pm
Personally, I think these micro houses are just being trendy.

It's all well and good for a single person, and someone who doesn't mind the reality of living in something the size of an outhouse, but wait until they try to unload it.

Yeah, try to appeal to someone who has even 1 kid.

 

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