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Minim homes6/15/2023 ![]() What Levy requested was a “highly functional small space” where he could have a dinner party for six, full-sized appliances, windows that were bigger than two feet wide and design that was more functional for a wider range of people. She has been living in a 72-square-foot micro-house in Worcester, Vt., she built and moved into just after she launched her business. (Photo by Paul Burk Photography)įor most people who seek micro-houses, “there’s a strong element of wanting to reduce their living expenses,” said Mary Murphy, 32, owner of Mountainsong Expeditions, a wilderness trips and class business she started almost two years ago. “We’re moving to a society that says more is simply more and it may not be better,” McAvey said.Ī projection-screen TV covers a window. ![]() The idea that more is better could be changing. “Will acquisitions make you happy? Is that success?” “The recession caused everyone to evaluate,” said Maureen McAvey, senior resident fellow at the Urban Land Institute in Washington. But after the downturn of 2008, according to the NAHB, the average single-family house contracted to 2,457 square feet and continued to shrink until 2010, when it was 2,388 square feet.īy 2013, however, the average size was moving in the other direction again, having increased to 2,673 square feet. One factor that makes new houses harder to afford is their growing size.įrom 2000 to 2007, the average size of a single-family home increased from 2,309 square feet to 2,517 square feet, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Moreover, 19.8 million, or 17.1 percent, spend more than half of their income on housing - up from 13.1 percent in 2001. In fact, 40.9 million, or 35.3 percent of American households - homeowners and renters - spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing, according to tabulations of the Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey data by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. The movement is getting a new look with a growing number of potential buyers unable to find houses within their financial reach. The mini- or micro-house trend began in the United States began about 15 years ago,s when the then-new Tumbleweed Tiny House Company sparked interest in small spaces. He also spent $35,000 for materials and another $35,000 in construction costs to complete Minim House. Levy paid $7,000 for the original architect plans from Foundry Architects. It’s on a trailer bed that was designed and built for it.” We knew very little about tiny houses but approached it, as with all our houses, with a fresh eye, with the design challenge it presents,” Couch added. “He was interested in a lifestyle that left a smaller footprint,” Couch said. In April 2012, Levy purchased the lot in Northeast where he keeps his micro-house, which he calls “Minim House,” as a showcase for others interested in living more simply. “I wanted something that was more livable,” Levy said. So he called an architect - Will Couch of Foundry Architects, Washington and Baltimore - to custom design one. But he couldn’t find a model from the manufacturers of the prefabricated structures to meet his needs. Levy - who is vice president of Pollin Energy and Retrofits (PEAR), a retrofits financing partnership, and has a master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government - came across the micro-houses movement. “Older people don’t want to deal with a loft.”Ī few years ago, when Levy finished renovating a rowhouse on U Street NW, he began looking for a new design challenge. Micro-houses that don’t rely on a loft as a sleeping area could bring affordable housing to more people who are looking for less-expensive housing options, he said. “I was looking for designs that are more functional for a wider range of people,” said Levy. Moreover, small houses cost less to purchase and maintain when affordability is becoming a bigger issue in the District. He wants to spread the message that owners of tiny houses spend less time on such chores as cleaning and mowing - plus the structures have a relatively minimal impact on the environment. Still, he hopes his “micro-house” will spark a revolution. It also has a full-size bed - although he can’t sleep overnight there because of a provision in District law. The house has a galley kitchen and space to accommodate a small dinner party. Levy’s house is 11 feet wide and 22 feet long, with 210 square feet of interior space. ![]() As new homes get larger and larger in many neighborhoods throughout the region, Levy is attempting to prove that less is more. ![]() Brian Levy is leading his own quiet experiment on a pie-shaped, 5,000-square-foot lot in Northeast Washington.
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