Small Living Journal

2 Bedrooms, 2-stories, 677 square feet

When Michael and I moved into this historic home several months ago I wrote that it is remarkably similar to a Tumbleweed Enesti design. That has been a largely unsubstantiated claim until now.

In the process of drawing up the floorplans to share with you today, I realized this is the largest place I’ve ever lived in since leaving the nest. The same is true for Michael. We’re no spring chickens either, which is why I think it’s amusing that this is where I’m living now, in the midst of writing This Tiny House blog and organizing a Tiny House Village.

Irony aside, without further ado, here are the floorplans:

Our current house

And for comparison, here’s the Tumbleweed Enesti floorplan:


Since we’re renting, I’m allowed to complain, right? But because the home was built somewhere around 1913, I give it a lot of credit for still standing. They didn’t have power tools back then.

The Stairwell
My biggest problem with the design of this house revolves around the stairwell. I’m jealous of Jay’s super-compact stairwell in the Enesti. Ours takes up valuable space. I can’t help but think that if our steps were steeper we could’ve had room for an upstairs bathroom. (However, since our only bathroom is downstairs and the bedroom is upstairs, I’m thankful that the stairway isn’t any steeper.)

The Big Kitchen
Michael and I were surprised by how huge the remodeled kitchen is in comparison to the rest of the house. It dominates the entire first floor. We were used to having about 1/5th the amount of space! The cabinets go all the way up to the ceiling and there’s no way we could fill them with our minimal amount of kitchen accessories. So we started putting our books there in lieu of a bookshelf.

The Weird Room Under the Stairs
Not too long ago we discovered a room under the stairs. (*Cue the creepy music*) It’s basically dead space because the refrigerator completely fills up the doorway to this emptiness. I imagine back in the old days when there weren’t such things as behemoth refrigerators, the space was a cellar to keep food cool.

Tumbleweed Envy
If I could wave a magic wand and all of a sudden our house were transformed into Jay’s Enesti design, I would be one happy woman. His kitchen is much more compact, and in using compact appliances he successfully made room for a very cute dining nook. But I suppose our big kitchen is a blessing in disguise as we are buying more food, cooking more and spending less money. We even got inspired to compost our food waste and start a garden in our tiny bit of green space outside.

The Utility Bill
We replaced every light fixture with either compact flourescent or LED lightbulbs. We keep the gas furnace set at 60 at night and 65 during the day. Our California utillity bill was $20 this month, which is about $5 electric and $15 gas.

The Homey Feel
Our guests often remark on how peaceful and uncluttered the space feels. I think that’s largely due to the fact that we don’t have a lot of stuff and we don’t have a big ugly TV. We furnished the living area entirely from Craigslist finds. As it is now, it’s pretty comfortable for 4 people (and our feline neighbor) hanging out together. More than that and it’s a party!

Hillary lives in a 677 sq. ft. historic home with her partner while renovating a 50 sq. ft. tiny trailer. Her blog is located at thistinyhouse.com. She is a freelance writer and consultant.