Appliances For Your Tiny House

A cute tiny house.
Image Source: Flickr: Tammy Strobel

The tiny house movement is gaining speed, interjecting into society the idea of living smaller and more self-sufficiently.  Tiny houses require far less maintenance, are cheap and quick to construct, easy to clean, are extremely movable, and are energy efficient.

The 100-200 square foot models can be mounted on a trailer, while the 200-800 square foot category are usually put on a foundation.  With the small square footage, the appliances need to shrink in order to have room for all of life's conveniences.

In a tiny house, kitchen space is a limited commodity, so everything has to be downsized to allow enough space to prepare food.  The whole idea of a tiny house is to live a peaceful, clutter free lifestyle, so cramming every square inch with appliances would be missing the point.  Instead of 4-6 burners on a standard kitchen, most tiny house owners opt for only 2.  The above Kenyon stove is approximately 23 by 14 inches and has a 6.5" and an 8" burner.  

If you absolutely must have an oven, the Danby 20" Propane oven/burner combo is the ticket. Ultra-compact, the Danby squeezes in 4 burners and 2.6 square feet of oven space.  Yes, you can live in a tiny house and cook Thanksgiving dinner.   

This little 15" by 15" sink won't make you lose out on counter space while doing the dishes.  You can either hand wash your dishes or use on of Danby's compact dishwashers.  How many dishes can the one or two occupants of a tiny house really go through in a day????  

The Danby 18" dishwasher is the perfect solution for small living dish cleaning.  It's got 7 cycles to choose from and has enough space for 8 full place settings.  See, Thanksgiving will be a cinch! 

This mini fridge, perfect for RV's, boats, offices, dorms, small apartments, and especially tiny houses.  Sure, it might make you feel like you're college kid again, but having that room to store frozen goods, all in 3.2 cubic feet, makes it all worthwhile. One or two people don't need a monster sized fridge.  Tiny home owners tend to be the type who like fresh local food anyway, so you really don't need more space for one or two people. 

The next question to ask is how you are going to power all of these appliances.  There are three common routes to go: Solar, hooking up to power-lines, or propane.  

Propane is fairly inexpensive, but will add to your monthly cost.  For extreme sustainability, solar might be the choice for you.  The solar option has a heavy upfront cost, but is virtually free to run for the life of the product.  Even though it's got enough power for blenders, stoves, air conditioners, and laptops, you might not be able to watch tv, cook a turkey, run the dishwasher, and have the fridge running at the same time.  

Building a tiny house is a huge commitment and the task can seem a little daunting.  Luckily, hundreds of people have gone before you and have been the guinea pigs, trying out all kinds of arrangements so you don't have to.  All of the products above are affordable and available to be purchased online.  You can order your whole kitchen in a few hours on Amazon. Good luck!

Other Posts on Tiny Houses You Will Enjoy

Coolest Ideas For Tiny Houses

What Would You Do Without A Mortgage?

Micro Houses

Coolest Ideas for Tiny Houses

The Perfect Place to Call Home
Source: Tammy Strobel

Tiny houses are taking the simple living community by storm.  As tiny homes are popping up across the country, they are making their way into the mainstream.  Companies like The Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, Four Lights, and Humble Homes, are making tiny homes accessible to anyone with a few power tools and some elbow grease.

Living small has many benefits, including a low housing costs, transportability, the ability to be moved "off grid," low utility costs, and inexpensive maintenance.  Here are some very unique ideas to inspire you to live small.

1. Tiny House with a Staircase. 

Several of the 100-200 square foot tiny homes on the market require the home owner to climb a ladder to the sleeping loft.  This custom tiny house has small stairs, but leaves no wasted space.  Under the stairs are cabinets for storage, a much needed item for small living.   An added bonus for the house is the extra loft across from the staircase, that can be used as guest accommodations or extra storage.

2. Shipping Container Homes 

Real Estate Broker Jeff White, took two shipping containers, and bolted them together to create an incredible tiny house in Salt Lake City.  The house has a very open floor plan, with one bedroom.  With an elderly tenant in mind, he created the house to be wheelchair friendly, with a larger shower and easy to reach cabinets. 

This house of the future was designed with a large, shaded overhang, to promote front yard socializing, like in the days of wrap around porches.  It adds some much needed shade for the long, hot Salt Lake summer days.  

The house was constructed on a large plot of land, in hopes that the owner could do some micro farming.  The company has designed roofs, not installed on this unit, to gather water in the winter.  The coolest idea, is that the creator intends to create container tiny house kits, where everything you need to build the home is shipped to its destination in the shipping container itself.  It's a build a house from a box idea.  

The estimated price of the home, including the land, is $109,000, making it an affordable and sustainable habitat.  Bring on the revolution of suburban tiny homes!

3. Using Re-purposed Materials

Ella Jenkins didn't let her Tumbleweed Tiny House fit into the usual cookie cutter mold.  Instead, she added several very interesting features to her home, to creatively enjoy tiny living.  From the antique door knob, the wood porch post, the unique copper features, to the natural wood countertop, this is the most unique Tumbleweed home I have seen.  

What's amazing is that a 23 year old pulled off the tiny house thing, with style.  Maybe all it takes is a little determination, and the guts to jump in with both feet.

Other articles on Tiny Houses:

What Would You Do Without A Mortgage

Appliances For Your Tiny House 

Micro Houses

What Would You Do Without A Mortgage?

Live mortgage free in a tiny house.
Source: Nicolas Boullosa

According to Zillow.com, the average home, currently on the market, in my city is $576,000.  That translates to a monthly mortgage of $3000 a month, at current interest rates.  The average mortgage alone, is more than double my monthly expenses. Although I could find no official data, the average home size in my neighborhood looks like it is about 2,500 square feet.

If you don't need the space, think about what you could do with an extra $3000 a month! Conversely, how much less would you have to work, if you didn't have a $3000 a month mortgage?  

If I did not have to pay rent or have a mortgage, I could live off of $540 a month.  Here is the breakdown:

Internet: $40 

Car Insurance/gas: $100 

Food: $200

Car/ house/ personal maintenance:  $100 

Travel: $100 

At a soon to be federal minimum wage of $10.10 an hour, I would only have to work 53 hours a month to pay my bills.  That comes out to be 13 hours of work a week.  

That $3000 a month mortgage could finance 3 separate week long trips to Hawaii (the way I travel).  

Micro Houses

The old American dream of a 4000 square foot house full of stuff is loosing vogue, in favor of smaller houses and more freedom.  An architectural trend has emerged with a shift towards building tiny eco-friendly dwellings.  Cheap enough to forgo a mortgage, small enough to move almost anywhere, potentially portable, low energy costs, and minimal upkeep make tiny houses very attractive.

At the Sonoma County fair, tiny house owners opened up their homes to curious guests, answering questions about small living.

Tumble Weed Tiny Houses, one of the original tiny house companies, was in attendance.  They offer tons of online resources including information, blue prints, and example building costs, as well as workshops on how to build your own tiny house.

I want one!!!