Tiny House Festival

The Tiny House movement has been taking the nation by storm these past few years. I think (for me) it started with Tiny House Nation with John Weisbarth and Zach Giffin, then there was Tiny House Big Living, Tiny House Mountain Home, Tiny House Hunting, Tiny Heirloom Luxury Built with the young couples, Tyson and Michelle and her brothers, Jason and Zach with their wives, Brianna and Hannah.

When I first started watching I was hooked and thought that since we are empty nesters that maybe this was the way to go. Watching these shows it all seemed possible, but then this past weekend was the 2nd Annual Georgia Tiny House Festival at the Ohh La La Lavender Farm in Eatonton, GA and actually seeing them in person I knew I could not live in one. They aren't for everyone but the ones we saw maximized the space quite well.

So let's begin...

The set up at the farm was done very well. They had a specific area for parking with several golf carts to take you around. The area set up next to the farm house had vendors selling jewelry, signs, kettle corn etc. and of course the lavender farm had lotions, soaps etc. to sell.

Behind the farm house was located the barn which on Saturday and Sunday they held seminars and later in the day and evening had live music.

There were a few tiny homes around the farm house, vendors and barn that were for sale. I apologize for not being able to take pictures without folks in them and I didn't really get inside shots because they are "tiny" and they also had lines of people waiting to check them out.

Behind these homes the farm had a pond and on the other side were the tiny homes, converted buses and vintage campers that folks actually live in and were very gracious to let people go through them. There were a few that were empty and you could get to meet the builders. They named each section and the buses and vintage camper area was appropriately called "Bohemian."

Isn't this just too cute..

This particular camper had the cutest, most knowledgeable girl there and I wish I had taken a picture of her 5th grade project, but I can tell you about it. First though...this camper is done in chalk paint and they asked people to write something on it. I chuckled to myself when she said I could go in because you can see everything by peaking inside from the door.

Now to her project... it was a long a narrow (think body pillow) with a little room at the end for rain water container and her food cooking unit. It was solar for heat and she could sleep on the body pillow, the roof was metal and slanted to catch the rain water which she had go into a pipe that led to her container inside. Her cooking unit was a bowl which she put her food in and then she had a top which the center was a magnifying glass that she would sit outside and let the sun cook her food. I would say this was pretty ingenious.

This project helps our veterans. I heard bits and pieces of the gentleman explaining to a woman and I think the proceeds go to helping our veterans out and get on their feet again. Not sure when Katie and Jeremy from the blog: http://www.bowerpowerblog.com will post about this event but I did see them there and she has a way better camera (mine was my iPhone) and I am sure better details, so keep checking them out.

This one has another just like it (in size) next to it and they are permanent tiny homes. This particular one is the "Guest House" for the one next to it. When you go up on the porch the door right there in front is the laundry room and on either side is a bedroom with full bathroom like in the picture below. The main home has a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bath with a porch.

Here is one of the buses and going in it has to be one at a time...just like getting in a regular bus. Where the double windows are located is a small table and a couple of chairs where their small daughter was eating. Nothing like invading their space.

There was a small space for like a pack and play kind of under their bed for their daughter and when she gets a bit older it will be interesting to see where and how they make a regular bed area for her or if they sell and get another tiny house.

I was a little young for "Woodstock" in NY for any of you that have ever heard of it, but this reminded me of it.

Heard some of the tiny house owners say they were staying in the area for a few months and others saying they were working their way to the west coast. We also met a woman probably close to our age (50+) that was going through quickly (she said) but coming back the next day to actually talk to builders about (maybe) getting one of her own.

There are some things that I would HAVE to HAVE in my home for me want to stay there...for one...I LOVE my king size bed...a large island, a vanity to sit at to put on makeup, just to name a few. I can see us down sizing and building a smaller home but after seeing these in person (and they are very cute) I just know this isn't for me or hubby.

I did see one though that was on Tiny House Nation Season 2 Episode 12 if you get a chance to watch it, that was 400 sq. feet that I did like. It was a vacation home for them but I would have to tweak it a little for a permanent home for us. Here are pictures of it:

To the left is a large porch

The bookcases on either side of the fireplace open up and you can hide your electronics in there plus this is one of the few that you can actually put in a regular size couch. No loveseat, bench or chairs for this gal and her man.

The large island...yes... and actually it was a large full size kitchen with a pantry too. I did not like that the end of the island can extend into a longer table, because that part went into the living room. Across on the right they had a small table with a few chairs and I would probably extend that out a bit more. At then end is the master bedroom with full bath. The ladder goes up to 2 loft bedrooms that were good size. Definitely my favorite.

If you didn't make it to the Tiny House Festival this year, put a reminder on you calendar for next year. I think anyone would enjoy seeing these tiny homes, it may give you some ideas how they utilize the space or if you are thinking you might like to join the tiny house movement you can chat with builders and vendors about the products they use to keep them energy efficient and light.