Tiny Home Family Life with Clever Design Ideas
Have you ever considered simple living with your kids in a tiny home?
Tiny home family life can be done comfortably but must be done intentionally. We've met numerous families throughout the years that have made it work, long-term or for a few years during a transition.
Indeed, many tiny houses are best suited to one or two people. Of course, they can be customized to fit more occupants. In fact, many families prove that small space living can be done with multiple kids. But why would they want to?
For some families, tiny living is about having a secure home of their own and a way to save up for a larger house. And for others, it’s about slowing down to prioritize togetherness, teaching your children values of communication, environmentalism, simplicity, and that living within your means can be fulfilling.
"Sharing a small space with kids can be challenging but creates opportunities to teach them valuable lessons and instill positive behaviors. It will require specific routines for activities, from sharing the bathroom to daily tidying. Every family member must help maintain order by cleaning up after themselves. Kids will learn to be conscious of resources like energy usage.
If you're considering moving into a tiny house with your kids, discuss each person's needs, desires, and feelings about it as a family and one-on-one. When everyone feels heard, the downsizing process can lead to more thoughtful outcomes. But it might not be a good idea if a child feels overly anxious about this dramatic change."
—excerpt from our book, The Beginner's Guide to Tiny Houses
Inside Tiny Home Family Life with Clever Ideas for Kids
No surprise, tiny home family life requires extra creativity and planning. Often some sacrifices need to be made, like less play space and less storage for personal belongings. However, the limited interior space might result in more outdoor play—a healthy compromise.
Believe it or not, our extra tiny 130 sqft tiny house was occupied by the two of us and my son for several years. Though, Garrett was a part-time resident. He’d travel with us during his school breaks. During our build, we consulted him on his loft bedroom design. He was just eight years old then but had fantastic ideas on making the space work for him. His ideas included a fold-down table from the ceiling and a toy basket on a pulley system.
Keep in mind that a child's needs shift over time. For instance, a loft bedroom might work well for a young child, but it might be literally too small as they enter their teenage years. Teenagers also tend to value privacy more as they get older. Tiny home families with their own land sometimes rely on accessory buildings for extra play space. These can be transformed into detached bedrooms when the kids are older.
After nearly seven years in our tiny house on wheels, we recently bought a small A-frame with room for our family to spread our legs a bit. This is especially important for my teen son, who is now taller than me! His changing needs motivated us to make this change. Who knows: he could move into our THOW after high school, or we could move back in later on? We just love having the flexibility now, thanks to our time living tiny!
Watch our latest episode for insights into tiny home family life, like how they meet their needs through creative design!
Keep scrolling for a list of all the featured tiny home families. Also, big thanks to our sponsor, Skillshare! The first 1000 people to sign up with our code TINYHOUSEEXPEDITION or via our link will get a 1-month trial: https://skl.sh/tinyhouseexpedition01221.
Featured Tiny Home Families:
- Our tiny home tour by Tiny House Giant Journey
- Backroads or Bust skoolie family
- Maria & Tino's tiny house living with baby
- Macy Miller's tiny home family life
- Shannen's tiny house, solo mom with 2 boys
- Solo mom Reggie with a teenager in a tiny house
- Schraub family of 4 in a 3-bedroom tiny house
- Midwest Wanderers bus home family (now in a yurt)
- Beers family of 5 in a tiny house on homestead
- Trebventure family skoolie and container home office
- Lake Dallas Tiny Home Village family experience
- Nerds Gone Tiny, now Nerds Gone Midwest
- Vernita, Travis & son's shed tiny house homestead
Our NEW Tiny House Book!
"Alexis and Christian are great people and when they write a book about tiny houses, you can have confidence that it will be jam-packed with valuable information. This book delivers all the info you could possibly be looking for regarding tiny house living. Target for this book is someone that is feeling a bit overwhelmed and isn't sure what they need to consider as they embark on their tiny house journey. This book will provide the info they need and should help anyone in this position. Well done. Well written. 5 Stars."
