I started writing about tiny living 6 years ago. The first post was about a designer’s work on renovating a 22 sqm condo to fit a family of 5!

In the same year, we collaborated with SM Home to showcase the Boysen Color Trend 2017 hues.

Tiny spaces were created by interior designers using the Boysen colors, and SM Home provided the furniture and home accessories to dress up the spaces.  This small exhibit gave people ideas on how to make the most out of shoebox condos.

Posts on Tiny Living in this Blog

Tiny living is what I called micro living before, where the sizes of homes range from 18 sqm to 50 sqm.

Home Interior Design Inspirations for Micro Living

Over the years, I’ve written about design tips for micro living, granny pods, as well as tips on how to maximize your tiny condo.

Tiny Living Today

Tiny living is gaining momentum. Property developments carry home sizes that are smaller than those offered decades ago.

Urban density has increased over the years, price of real estate has increased, living costs have risen, but employment opportunities and pay are not increasing in the same pace—all these and more are factored in developers’ decision-making process to offer smaller cuts of real estate in subdivisions or smaller sizes of condos to make housing affordable for people.

There is a greater need for our architects and interior designers to create homes that maximize tiny spaces and make it possible for homeowners to enjoy the quality of life they wish for. Not only architects and interior designers, but also manufacturers of furniture and home accessories can add their expertise to making a tiny home a joy to live in. And they have! There are many who have lent their expertise to make functional compact homes that are also beautiful.

Tiny living has increased because of the need for a more environmentally sustainable way of living. The smaller the footprint of the home, the smaller the carbon footprint, the better for the planet.

The reasons for choosing a small home are varied. There are those who are concerned for the environment. There are also those who want life quality and therefore, want to simplify their lives.  Some people (many of them retirees, OFWs who have come back to the country, even young people who are able to work from home) also want a healthier environment and have opted to leave the cities.

Prefab Homes

The Rising Popularity of Prefab Homes

Prefabricated homes are usually small in size. Click on the image above to read more about it. Whether your tiny home is mobile, in the middle of nowhere, at the back of your home to accommodate aging parents, temporary, or permanent, the possibility of having a prefabricated home is there for the taking. The biggest advantage is the shorter construction time and easier budget control.

Muji, which we know as a retailer of clothing, office supplies, furniture, and homeware, came out with their prefab, single-story, minimalist home called Plain House in 2019. However, Muji has made prefab homes since 2004 starting with the Wood House, which was 92 sqm.

Custom-Built Tiny Homes

There are many videos on tiny living that can offer you a lot of inspiration. I like following NHK-World Japan’s videos on tiny living. This is just one of the many videos found in their YouTube channel.

Another YouTube channel that I follow is called Never Too Small. It is “dedicated to small footprint design and living; featuring award-winning designers and their tiny / micro apartments, studios and self-contained projects.”

The video above shows the 28-sqm rental home of Arch. Enrico Cavaglia located in a suburb of Buenos Aires. What is stunning about this apartment is that it has a balcony in front and one in the back and a roof terrace to boot! Talk about bringing nature in!

If you want to know more about tiny living, you can just surf the internet and find so many sources of information and inspiration. There are also Filipino architects, interior designers, contractors, and suppliers who specialize in tiny homes. Just search for tiny living and you will get so many results. Share with us your finds by leaving a comment below.

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Author

Annie is the Managing Editor of Let it B | MyBoysen Blog. An unrepentant workaholic, she runs this blog and her own company Talking Lions (https://talkinglions.com). She thrives on collaborating with people who are good at what they do, and working together with them to create something special. Annie learned interior styling while managing her own wholesale business in the Netherlands, importing high-end, handmade home furnishings to stock four outlets and a showroom in the country.

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