Are Tiny Houses Going Mainstream?
The tiny house movement not only has the internet abuzz, it has now invaded your television. It’s not surprising that television networks are eager to be involved after seeing the success of tiny house blogs, videos, and documentaries.
Kirsten Dirksen has been blogging and creating YouTube videos about self-sufficiency, simple living, and tiny houses for years. Her YouTube videos have had over 100 million views. One of her most popular videos is a full-length documentary called We the Tiny House People she released in 2012. For five years, Kirsten traveled around the world filming segments about tiny houses and the people that live in them. The result is a wonderful in-depth look at an assortment of tiny houses and why people choose this lifestyle.
Other filmmakers have followed suit. Tiny: A Story About Living Small was released in March 2013. It follows a couple who is trying to build a tiny house on their own, as well as features other families who have downsized their lives to be able to fulfill their dream of living in a tiny house.
Related: Add a home bar to your tiny home.
Tiny Houses on TV
There are now five main television shows that are all about tiny houses. All five shows are relatively new, premiering within the last year and I’m sure we will be seeing even more tiny house shows in the future.
The very popular Tiny House Nation on FYI is now on its second season. John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin are renovation experts and the hosts of the show. They travel across America to show off creative small spaces and the innovative people who reside in them. They also assist families who are ready to downsize design and construct their dream tiny house. The show features both luxury and budget residences and anything from an NYC micro-apartment to a caboose car turned into a home.
Zack Giffin – Tiny House Nation
Also on FYI, is Tiny House Hunting. The show is much like other house hunter shows, but focusing on perspective buyers interested in purchasing a tiny house. Realtors show each potential homeowner three different small residences for them to choose from. Full-time homes, as well as vacation homes are featured.
HGTV has also joined the tiny house movement. Tiny House Builders is a new show featuring Derek Diedricksen. Derek prides himself on building tiny structures around the world that make the most of their surroundings, which means the locations he builds in are some of the world’s most beautiful, but can also be treacherous.
HGTV has two other shows that feature tiny houses. One is Tiny House Hunters, where potential home seekers view three houses under 600 square feet and then decide if they want to downsize and join the movement or remain in their current home. The other new show is Tiny House, Big Living. This show features couples going through the downsizing and tiny house creation process. Some couples use a builder and some decide to build their tiny house on their own.
Many people view the tiny house movement as just being people living in cute little houses, but it’s so much more than that! It’s all about the desire to consume less, leave a smaller carbon footprint, and live simply. Thanks to the hard work of bloggers, film-makers, and mainstream television shows, more people can learn about the true economic and environmental benefits of tiny houses.
Are you ready to join the movement? We can help make your tiny house dream a reality! Contact us today!