Tiny Houses on HGTV: Are We Mainstream Yet?

Reset A− A+ It is funny for me to turn on HGTV and see a small house about the size of my own called an “Extreme Home.” For me, and I am sure for most tiny house dwellers, these little spaces are just “home,” not extreme at all. On Thursday, December 6^th HGTV aired a segment on tiny house bloggers Tammy Strobel and Logan Smith along with their tiny home designer Dee Williams.

The segment, only a few minutes long, was a quick look into the way tiny house owners live their daily lives. The integration of their environment to their daily activities is most notable and I think is one of the most fascinating things I notice about people who chose to simplify their lives in this way. None of us just slog through life waiting for the next thing to happen to us. We are people who take control of our world and face it deliberately. They focus on Tammy leaving her corporate job to pursue writing. I believe that this drastic lifestyle overhaul is what allows many of us to live our dreams.
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Tammy and Logan’s tiny house is well designed and when the show was aired it was tucked in a back yard in Portland, Oregon. Tammy mentions loving to relax and sleep in her loft. Her cats agree, as they can be found sleeping there throughout the segment. Logan and Tammy have since relocated their little house to California.

This isn’t the first time that tiny houses have appeared on HGTV. On the Labor Day 2010 episode of Design Star, the contestants were charged with decorating the interiors of three small houses designed by Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. It was interesting to watch these interior designers over-fill these houses with stand-alone furniture and shelves full of knick-knacks. They seemed to miss the concept of tiny living all together in favor of creating visual designs to wow the judges.

It seems as though Tiny Houses have moved a little bit beyond counter culture. Right now they may be in the novelty stage for average Americans but as bigger audiences are exposed to the tiny house movement it will begin attracting more people genuinely interested in changing their lives. Even those who have no intention of transitioning to a 120 Square Foot house, some of the ideas and lessons that can be learned from downsizing and changing your attitude can lead to some pretty positive cultural changes.

Laura LaVoie is a contributor for Tiny House Talk who lives off the grid in a 120 square foot tiny house in the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. She and her husband built the home themselves with the help of some friends. Learn more about Laura at her blog 120squarefeet.com.

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More Like This: Tiny Houses | People Trying to Live in a Tiny House | THOW

Sources:

1. http://www.hgtv.com/extreme-homes/zigzag-gryphon-nest/index.html
2. http://loganblairsmith.com/
3. http://www.diynetwork.com/
4. http://relaxshacks.blogspot.com/

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Laura LaVoie

Contributor and Tiny House Owner at 120SquareFeet.com

Laura M. LaVoie is a professional writer living in the mountains of North Carolina in a 120 Square Foot house with her partner and their hairless cat, Piglet. Laura graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in Anthropology. She has been published in magazines and anthologies on the subjects of mythology and culture. She spent nearly 15 years in the temporary staffing industry before deciding to become a full time writer. Laura works closely with the Zulu Orphan Alliance volunteering her time and the skills she's learned building her own small house to build a shelter for orphans and other vulnerable children living near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Laura also enjoys simple living, brewing and drinking craft beer, and popular culture.

Latest posts by Laura LaVoie (see all)

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