Great Small

TINY HOUSES MAY LACK IN SQUARE FOOTAGE, BUT THEY CAN HELP YOU LIVE A MORE EFFECTIVE LIFE.

A trip to Guatemala in 2003 changed Dee Williams' life. Inspired by people who lived on less, she decided to downsize. So in 2004, she purchased plans from the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company in Sebastopol, CA. The floor plan easily fit into the dining room of her 1,500-square-foot bungalow. "I thought, 'Wow! Why am I trying to live on my dining room rug?'" she says.

Williams no longer questions her desire to live in the 84-square-foot house she built in Olympia, WA. Limited space means fewer possessions, and she saves money since solar panels provide electricity and there is no mortgage.

"The house has worked on me," says Williams, a hazardous waste inspector. "I look at my consumer patterns differently. I drive an electric car. I look at what is comfortable to me and what is possible for me. How am I contributing to the community, and what do I have to offer?"

Williams is part of a movement that espouses the less-is-more approach. "I refer to it as 'effective living,'" says Gregory Paul Johnson, co-founder of the Small House Society, part of Resources for Life, an online resource for activists. "When you live small, you live more effectively. You have time for the people you value. It can improve your relationships and finances."

JOHNSON LIVES in a 140-square-foot house in Iowa City, IA, which he built with the help of Jay Shafer. The founder of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, Shafer grew up in a 4,000-square-foot house. While his parents worked to pay the mortgage, he and his sister handled the chores. "I envied kids who lived in smaller houses," he says.

Before building his own tiny home, he lived in a 100-square-foot Airstream. "I learned a lot about the need for good insulation," he says. His first house was about 100 square feet, but since he felt like he could live with even less, he built another one that was just more than 68 square feet. "Even I have my limits," says Shafer, who moved back to 100 square feet after a year.

Shafer founded Tumbleweed Tiny House Company in 2000. His business targets full-time residents, but only about a third of buyers use a tiny house as a primary home. He offers 12 plans that range from 40 to 950 square feet; his bestselling blueprints fall on the small and large ends of the spectrum. In the beginning, he sold between five to 10 plans a year; now he sells about five a month. There's no doubt the increase is partly due to publicity. Shafer, who recently gave a workshop on building tiny homes in Minneapolis, has been featured in The New York Times and on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Down in Luling, TX, Brad Kittel started Tiny Texas Houses in 2006. His quaint, compact structures, which range from 160 square feet to 500 square feet, resemble buildings that once peppered the South and the Old West. Except for the electric and plumbing, most of the materials used are salvaged.

SO HOW MUCH do tiny homes cost to build? Williams spent about $10,000, including the solar energy system, which was about a fourth of the total cost. "If I built it for someone else, I'd charge $30,000 including labor," she says.

Land is extra - if you need to buy it. Both Williams and Johnson parked their homes behind existing properties. Johnson resides behind a farmhouse that his family has owned for generations. And Williams trades chores and handyman services for land rent. In addition, both make do with less: Williams has no shower; Johnson has a dry-composting toilet.

If you are building a home on an existing property, check the permit rules. In many municipalities, adding structures under a certain square footage doesn't require a permit. But making a small house a primary residence could pose problems, especially if the area has a minimum square footage policy, Kittel says.

Lee McCollough and his wife did need to buy land for their second home. They purchased 44 acres on the edge of the Hill Country between San Antonio and Houston. Builders quoted the McColloughs a price of $300,000-plus to build a home. Instead, they purchased one from Kittel homes, which cost about $75,000. (McCollough installed the plumbing, piping and electric himself.)

Perched on a hill, their house - just more than 500 square feet - has slept six. The couple plans to retire here, and they may expand. "We'll go there to live and then, in the future, develop it into a bigger place. For now the small house serves us well," McCollough says.

BUT WHAT IS the future of tiny houses? Kittel dreams of a compound of them surrounding a 400-square-foot common building with a kitchen and guestrooms. "Five houses can occupy a smaller footprint than one," he says. "The goal is to teach people to build millions of these."

Johnson agrees of Kittel's vision. "Technology is shrinking our world," he says. "There's so much miniaturizing. People are realizing it's possible to live smaller; you don't have to live an unusual life."

Williams certainly thought living on her dining room rug was unusual at first. "I wanted to see if I could be comfortable and happy with more time and money to put toward things that are important," she says.

For Williams, at least, the answer is a big "yes."

Is a tiny house right for you?

TAKE THE TEST TO FIND OUT.

1. Can you let go of clutter? Dee Williams of Olympia, WA, found that her 84-square-foot house couldn't even accommodate two '50s-style chairs. Her "living room" has a bench and a coffee table. Since she's not much of a clothes hound, the diminutive closet space was not an issue. Letting go of books was harder.

2. Do you like to entertain? Williams once fit 64 people in the house - but they were children on a school field trip, and they were packed together like clowns in a car. The upside for those who don't like to entertain is that tiny houses aren't big enough, says Jay Shafer, owner of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company.

3. Do you live alone? It's easier to live in a small house if you're single. Even a large dog can cramp your style. Shafer is married; his wife lives in a 600-square-foot building on the same property. He plans to build her a 250-square-foot house. "She is my next-door neighbor," he says. "We go back and forth, but she's got her house, and I've got mine."

4. Can you build in your area? Consult local building codes, ordinances, regulations and laws before embarking on the construction.