For most of us, sleeping in a bedroom that would be a more appropriate living space for a smallish dog is an inevitable part of renting in your twenties. If you haven’t grappled with single bed sex, storing all your worldly possessions in a box in the living room or being able or had someone confuse your living quarters with a prison cell, then, frankly, you haven’t lived.
But we have some good news for you, because tiny bedrooms are no longer a source of shame and embarrassment and the kind of thing you hide from a potential shag until you’ve actually got them back to your house – a new programme is making small living quarters dead trendy. TV programme called Tiny House Nation premiered in American last night, documenting the increasing demand for very tiny homes. The average size of a home in the US is 2,300 sq ft, the new programme features pads that are a tenth of that size. Which sounds pretty much like our first rental after uni.
In the series, renovation experts John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin – who lives in a 100-sq ft mobile ski chalet – travel across America showcasing inventive (and teeny) living spaces and helping people build their own downsized homes, all no larger than 300 sq ft. In last night’s episode, a family of three downsized from a 1,300 sq ft home to a 172 sq ft house on wheels. Why on earth would anyone do that, we hear you cry? Well, hosts John and Zack take you through a tour of people, ridding themselves of all possessions they don’t need and living happily in tiny spaces, such as a micro-apartment in New York and a caboose car in Montana.
The programme’s attempting to show that there are many life lessons to be learnt from downsizing, ditching your unecessary posessions and choosing to live in a confined space. Maybe something to remember next time someone sniggers about your single bedroom. It’s a lifestyle choice, yah?
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophiecullinane
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.