The average American house in 2013 was more than 2,000 square-feet. With this kind of size expectation, it’s no wonder millions aren’t thinking about downsizing to a tiny house anytime soon. Tiny homes typically range from 80 to 800 square-feet and come with the challenge of competing with zoning laws depending on location and finding space to park. The movement toward tiny homes in lieu of McMansions is still gaining momentum and finally making its way from progressive coastal cities into the Midwest.
In Cleveland, Ohio, about 100 people have joined Greater Cleveland Tiny House Enthusiasts, a local advocacy group. Tiny homes are popping up in Toledo, too, and a tiny house event is scheduled for Dayton this month. Finally, Citizens Bank is donating $140,000 to build a 557-square-foot pilot project house in the Cleveland West Side neighborhood Detroit Shoreway. The Detroit Shoreway nonprofit has plans to add more tiny homes to the same land, located in the Cleveland EcoVillage, hoping that buyers who want a city-life feel in a more classic home or who want to age in place will find the development appealing.
(Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/MCT)
(Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/MCT)
(Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/MCT)
The trend to go tiny has made its way into several TV shows, enabling growing popularity and the benefits of tiny homes to be easily recognized. The tiny house trend is no longer seen as exclusive to extreme environmentalists or those who need to remain mobile, but as a way to save money and become less dependent on space and storage.
See a video below touring Tim Nevit’s North Collingwood, Cleveland tiny home, built in 2012, during the first snow of the winter season.
Read more about the triumph of tiny homes in Ohio on Cleveland.com.
