There's been a recent renaissance in small living spaces.
New York City and San Francisco are moving forward with plans to build experimental "micro apartments," and a small tiny-house community has popped up on the outskirts of Washington D.C.
The idea of a "tiny home" is nothing new —Jay Shafer, founder the Tumblewood Tiny House Company, has been the face of the movement and a major advocate of the concept for more than a decade.
But their recent rise in popularity "could be seen as a denunciation of conspicuous consumption and a rejection of the idea that more is, well, more," writes The Washington Post's Emily Wax.
The homes, often with 200 square feet of living space or less, are brilliant examples of design. For such a small square footage, they can be surprisingly livable.
Shafer took sustainable culture blog *faircompanies inside his own tiny house. Click through to see what life is like in his 89-square-foot residence.
Jay Shafer is the founder of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Co. He's been designing tiny houses, and living in them, for more than a decade.
Source: *faircompanies
When he gave this tour in 2010, his 89-square-foot home-on-wheels was parked in Sebastopol, California.
Source: *faircompanies
"I started living small because it's so wasteful — a personal like me, with minimal needs — to live in a large house," Shafer said.
Source: *faircompanies
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