The people at TinyLivingHomes.com have produced an amazing HD music video featuring their homes from all angles using what seems to be drone video footage. The song is I see fire (KYGO Remix) by Ed Sheeran. Enjoy!
Below is an image from the video.
A few days ago, the video below was posted to YouTube featuring Bishop T.D. Jakes as a guest on the Steve Harvey Show.
In the segment about finding happiness, Jakes states, “Your big house is not going to make you happy… Peace and joy is in your heart and not in your stuff.”
The conversation seemed to be related to simpler and smaller living, so we posted it to our Facebook page.
In just a few hours, it had already turned out to be one of the most popular posts to our page in recent months.
At the time of this writing, just a few hours after posting the video, over 3,000 people have viewed the post and there are over 30 likes.
Despite the apparent interest in the video (it has about 5 million total views in three days), three people were apparently offended by it, primarily due to criticisms about T.D. Jakes.
Comments included, “Doesn’t this guy live in a mansion worth nearly $7 million?” and “The hypocrisy is staggering, and this is pretty inappropriate for the list.” One person commented, “This from someone who’s parishioners have paid for his biggest house(s).”
Someone responded to these criticisms saying, “but he is saying a big house doesn’t make you happy and he should know!”
A simple Google search on T.D. Jakes and the word scandal produces over 180,000 results. That’s probably typical for any powerful high profile person today. Depending on your viewpoint, Jakes is either a villain or hero. If you’re among his 4 million Facebook fans, you probably think he’s a hero.
There are people helping promote the message of simpler smaller living who may have views and motives contrary to ours. Some may be builders, bloggers, authors, and others in the movement for purely opportunistic reasons. Others may be public figures promoting a message of simpler smaller living. (We know little about T.D. Jakes’ personal life or where he stands on various issues.)
One approach would be to censor, silence, criticize, marginalize, and discredit anyone we don’t agree with, or those we feel aren’t ‘true followers’ of the movement.
However, the approach we take is this: If a builder, blogger, author, or public figure is promoting a message about smaller and simpler living, we’re going to consider them as valuable to our cause.
There are people who seem to be taking advantage of the movement by launching websites filled with advertising. Their primary goal appears to be making money on advertising, and they don’t seem to care about the movement. Others care deeply about the movement and are selflessly giving of their time and resources.
While at some level we care about people’s motives, ultimately if their activities are promoting our message, we’re not here to judge people, but to spread a message.
Years ago, when the Oprah Winfrey Show contacted us about a small house episode, we didn’t refuse to work with their team because Oprah lives in a big house. We didn’t start judging Oprah’s lifestyle choices. When prominent public figures with millions of followers show an interest in the smaller and simpler message, we support them.
T.D. Jakes has a significant following and impact through social media. So, regardless of whether someone is a supporter or critic of him, his message about simpler smaller living, is a message that is important.
Here’s a brief summary about T.D. Jakes social media reach:
So, if T.D. Jakes wants to talk about simpler and smaller living, that’s fine with us.
Maybe you’re someone who feels that you’re more perfect than the next person. Here’s something to consider…
There are plenty of broken and imperfect people in the world. Despite their failings or even apparent hypocrisy, these people accomplish much good in the world.
Sometimes an inspired and valuable message will come through an imperfect messenger.
In varying degrees we’re all imperfect and each have our shortcomings. We’re all doing the best we can to have a positive impact on the world. Let’s do our best to work together cooperatively and respectfully.
Today, for the first time in over 12 years we had a member leave the Small House Society. So, the Small House Society is now a little smaller. Here’s what happened…
In response to the above video posted to our Facebook page, Mary P. stated:
“this shot will definately get me to ‘unlike’ …. sorry … we all know IT happens …. I’m guessing you’re trying to build up your likes ….. if this is so …. then I, for one will have to say bye bye ….. seriously??? I’ve seen WAY too many other FB pages that actually know how to build a desk seperate from the toilet …. SHAME!!!!”
Mary left before we could respond to her.
We’re thankful to everyone for the lively Facebook discussion and many positive comments/likes in response to this video. For the few people, like Mary, who were upset about the video, we wanted to respond with the following.
This video appears to have been created by people close to the small house movement, and we assume it was not mean spirited or meant to offend.
It may have been created as a way of being satirical and self-effacing, or it may have been created as an effort to be mean and try to discredit the small house movement and tiny house dwellers. Either way, it belongs here as part of the larger discussion about simple and small living.
We don’t silence and censor our critics. To the extent that people have criticisms about the small house movement, we want to hear those criticisms, reflect on them, respond courteously, and work to improve what we do.
For this reason, in any movement, it is essential to become the authoritative source and platform for the criticism of your movement. Instead of censoring others in an effort to create a cult-like myopic sectarian strict observance of narrow dogma, it’s important to have a diversity of ideas, the ability to laugh at yourself, and recognize your own faults or areas that can improve.
This is the spirit upon which the Small House Society was founded, and in that spirit we continue.
“Apartments under a certain size aren’t allowed. What I did to get around that is to have this fall under the rooming house code. Rooming house code doesn’t allow for cooking facilities inside of the unit, but a microwave for some reason, even a convection microwave, is not considered a cooking device. On a small unit of 225 square feet, you’re not allowed to put a door between the sleeping area and the rest of the space because you would create a sleeping space which is prohibited under building code also.” (@3’20”)
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmL2l-bcuUQ]
“The last two units to be rented out were the larger units. Everyone wanted the 225-square-foot units. Those were the high demand units.” (@12’30”)
Video originally published to YouTube by Kristen Dirksen on 26 Jan 2015.
Description from YouTube. The Providence Arcade is nearly 2 centuries old, but when Evan Granoff bought it was considered one of the city’s most endangered properties. Realizing that the demand for commercial space would never match that for downtown housing, Granoff decided to convert the upper floors of the country’s first indoor mall into tiny loft apartments.
At just 225 square feet, the smallest units would have fallen below the city’s minimum size standard for apartments so Granoff decided to classify his micro-lofts as a rooming house. The Providence rooming house code allows for rooms as small as 80 square feet (single occupancy), as long as they don’t have a cooking facility. Fortunately, for Granoff and tenants, a microwave is not considered a cooking device.
The tiniest units rent for $550 per month, almost half the city average, and all of them rented out almost immediately (there’s now a waiting list). Many of the tenants don’t spend a lot of time at home. We talked to Naz Karim, a doctor who works emergency room shifts, and plans to spend much of the year on a fellowship in Africa and Sharon Kinnier who uses the loft for when she’s working in a Providence lab formulating organic cosmetics (she spends the rest of the time with her husband in Washington D.C.).
The bottom floor of the mall is still commercial, but Granoff limits it to micro retail so no chains and they’re all focused on fashion and art design. We stopped in at nude boutique where Amy Stetkiewicz, one of the 6 local designers, was closing up shop downstairs from her micro loft.
Click here to read the original story on FairCompanies.com.
For anyone thinking about purchasing a home, or building one, Airbnb lets you experience a variety of homes, and even visit various cities for those seeking a new community to call home. The videos below offer an introduction to Airbnb. There are some wonderful tiny homes as well.
The video below shows how KLM airlines created an apartment in the sky.
Nalin works in the software industry in Delhi. Hosting is one of the most fulfilling things he does, and he also enjoys being the guest on his various travels.
Here are various stories about hosts of Airbnb.
Videos about special Airbnb events and venues.
In May 2012, an Airbnb guest, Cathrine, told us a powerful story of a trip she took to Berlin with her father, Jörg, a Berlin Wall guard at the height of the Cold War. She wanted to show him the vibrant city Berlin had become, but it was the man they met at their Airbnb apartment that changed everything for Jörg. Discover more at http://belonganywhere.com
The videos below share the Belong Anywhere story.
Here are some resources mentioned in the video for further reading and research.
In the video below, Cheryl Martin of SkylineProjectManagement.com discusses a presentation on small house living and tiny house communities. Hosted by Greg Johnson of SmallHouseSociety.com and ResourcesForLife.com.
Below is a sketch of the Napoleon Complex small house community planned for development by Jay Shafer of Four Lights Tiny House Company. This is one of the tiny house communities discussed in the above video.
Small House Society 