WEB DESK: Real estate is constantly getting more expensive, and we're facing overpopulation and environmental damage. Tiny homes can help solve these issues, but many also prefer them to traditional housing because they're the perfect hybrid of comfort and convenience, since they are often mobile.
On roofs, wheels, and in backyard, here are ten of the smallest homes we could find around the world.
The simple design allows it to function as whatever space is needed, be it a beach house, mountain hut, café, or office.
The home, which sits on top of a flatbed trailer, cost about $11,500 all in. The most expensive component is the composting toilet — about $2,000 — which uses barely any water.
2003 Chevrolet Express, L x 79″ W x 82″ Home
Zach Both, a 23-year-old filmmaker, lives and works out of a converted van. It took Both six months to transform the vehicle into a fully functional home and studio, complete with a bed, kitchen, and desk.
Web designer Alek Lisefski and his girlfriend fulfilled their dream of a simpler, more minimalist life by building a smaller home. The project took about a year and cost them $30,000. In the end they wound up with a small mobile home measuring about 2,261 cubic feet.
Gary Chang, an architect in Hong Kong, turned his family's tiny 330 square-foot tenement apartment into a sleek and efficient living space with 24 different room combinations, including bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms, and even a guest bedroom area.
Homeowners Tiffany and Allan use small furniture instead of full-size pieces to make the most of their 350 square-foot studio in Brooklyn. The space was formerly the parlor of a ship captain's home from the 1800s, and still features the original crown molding and large, light-bearing windows.
Chris Tack, who now works as a photographer, has taken many beautiful photos of the home, which has a kitchen, living and dining area, bathroom, storage area, and sleeping loft.
Architect and designer Marco Pierazzi now rents what he calls the "smallest house in Italy," making it a convenient place to stay on a Roman holiday. Featuring all the comforts of home, the little house has a full kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, a small lofted sofa bed, and an LED TV.
A group of students designed a stunning and creative mobile shelter that gives back to the Earth. They called their home OTIS (Optimal Traveling Independent Space), a 70 square-foot, solar-powered dwelling made of all reclaimed materials. The home has a sleeping area, and the ability to collect and recycle rainwater.
Also known as the Quay House, this tiny red home, which measures just 10 feet by 6 feet, is known as the smallest house in the U.K., and has actually become a tourist attraction. The home has been occupied by various people since the 16th century, including a 6-foot-3-inch fisherman. The house has room for a stove, water tap, bed, and bedside storage.
