Tiny Texas Houses and The Economist

The small house movement is going buck wild. Some say it's because of a concern for the environment. Others say it's because of the economy. We could all say it's a confluence of both the economy and the environment, but what's important is that people actually rethink what a home can be -- including how big it needs to be. Just the other day, The Economist, published a story about two of the main players in the super small home genre, Tiny Texas Houses and Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. We've mentioned Tumbleweed previously, but I learned something new about Tiny Texas Houses.
According to The Economist, Brad Kittel was running a salvage and architectural-antiques shop, but none of his stuff was moving. So he started Tiny Texas Houses and began building small-sized homes out of salvaged materials. And the idea caught on.
To this day, his houses are about 99% pure salvage -- each home is a one-of-a-kind, custom production from existing doors, floors, windows, lumber, porch posts, etc. He paints with milk paint, too, unless customers request something else. For about $38,000, TTH will build a 10' x 16' house that's wired, plumbed, insulated, and ready to ship. So if you're thinking about a lifestyle change, make sure to look at the various Tiny Texas House options ...

Tiny Texas Houses

Tiny Texas Houses of Luling, Texas is a new project by Brad Kittel to help reduce the carbon footprint.

The houses live up to the name, they are really “tiny”. Basically they have everything you need to live and reducing space by getting rid of unneeded features. Of course the Tiny Texas Houses are not for everyone, it’s probably good for 1-2 people to live in at most.

Brad Kittle says about the project:
My goal is to show people what can be done with a concept I call Salvage Building, thus what you see is 99% Pure Salvage. That means that everything from the doors, floors, windows, lumber, porch posts, glass, and even the siding has been saved and used to create houses that we hope will last for at least another century. I believe that there are presently enough building materials sitting on the ground to build much of the next generation of housing. All it takes to make it so is pure human energy, spirit, and the desire to build something that will last for several lifetimes.

I also believe we don’t need as much space as we have become accustomed to in this country. Therefore I have created Tiny Texas Houses to demonstrate just how great it can be to downsize our carbon footprint, simplify our lives, and live in a house with a soul that will be energy efficient as well as beautiful.