tiny house

Plenty of people have found themselves in sticky financial situations due to the economy over the past few years, and some are obviously dealing with the hardships much better than others. Take Carl and Hari, for example. After losing their business, they made the ultimate sacrifice by moving out of their comfortable, 1,500-square-foot, 3-bedroom home, and settling into a much smaller pad with their two kids.

And when I say much smaller, I mean much much much smaller. Like smaller than your average NYC hotel room (which is next to invisible). Their "Tiny House," as they so lovingly call it, is a only mere 168 square feet. Can you imagine trying to maneuver around 168 square feet by yourself, let alone as a family of four?

The home consists of a living room/kitchen/foyer/dining area, a minuscule bathroom that has a toilet, small sink, and shower, and two loft areas for sleeping -- one for the kids and one for Carl and Hari. Hmm. Sure sounds romantic.

While the house does have a certain warm and cozy factor, I can't help but get a little bit claustrophobic even thinking about living in such a small space. I love my family and all, but I'm pretty sure we'd get on each other's last nerve if we had no place to escape and were living on top of one another 24/7. Plus -- where in the heck would we put all the Legos?

But while there's definitely no room for privacy in a tiny place like this, the family is hoping to change that down the road with all of the money they are saving by enduring their cramped quarters.

The house only cost $12,000 to build, and their electric bill is only $40 a month. The low costs they have each month have allowed them to put Hari's paychecks in the bank instead of spending them so they can save up and pay cash for a larger, mortgage-free home. (Gee, that does sound nice.)

Take a look at the video clip below to see a tour of the inside of the pint-sized house.

Would you ever live in such a small space?

 

Image via Anderson/YouTube