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The idea of the tiny home was simple: living smaller means living more simply, inexpensively and environmentally friendly. (www.seattletinyhomes.com)

Go Green and save money with Seattle Tiny Homes

BY Rob White  on October 4, 2012 @ 9:07 am (Updated: 1:44 pm - 10/6/12 )

The growing public imperative to make your home "green" is difficult to follow through with due to the expense and inconvenience associated with living a more environmentally friendly life. Seattle Tiny Homes has come up with a unique alternative to home ownership that not only makes a positive impact on the environment but could also save you a significant chunk of money.

Seattle Tiny Homes is a company born out of the cottage movement that designs and manufactures green homes. Founded by Sharon Read, the company appeals to homeowners who want to go green and cut costs but don't want to undertake an expensive project, like installing solar panels, or sacrifice comfort by not using air conditioning.

According to Sharon, the idea of the tiny home was simple: living smaller means living more simply, inexpensively and being more environmentally friendly.

The homes come in a number of models but all of them are mobile, built on a frame similar to an RV, and the quality goes well beyond what's generally expected from a mobile home.

"Our commitment is to quality," says Sharon.

The framing is constructed from heavy duty steel platforms and high quality wood components in the siding, doors, and windows.

Sharon says that buyers can customize their utilities in their home, choosing from models that are completely wired for plumbing and heat, with the choice of more environmentally sound features that include composting toilets and gray water systems.

Sharon acknowledges that Seattle Tiny Homes are definitely non-traditional living situations and might be a difficult downsize for families. However, since units are usually smaller 200 square feet, buyers are paying for exactly as much space as they need and most homeowners pay off their homes quickly.

Many buyers, Sharon points out, don't actually use the Tiny Homes as their primary residence. The structures are a great way to have an aging parent move closer without having them move into an already crowded house. Sharon also says that some people use them as guest houses, or as private spaces for college students seeking greater independence while living at home.

Listen to the full conversation on Home Matters:



For more information about the advantages of the tiny home movement, go to SeattleTinyHomes.com, or check out Sharon's tip sheet.

Rob White, Home Matters Host
Rob co-hosts Home Matters on the new 97.3 KIRO FM Weekends.
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Comments (6)


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  • SickofSeattleite wrote...
    the day i live in a closet in the middle of a city that has worse crime than the national average
    October 7, 2012 7:36 am
    will NEVER happen!!!! I'm moving to another state where i can afford and own acreage and breath FRESH country air and not be surrounded by morons and hippie Starbucks sipping liberals...That is living green.
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  • Beaten Down Dead Horse wrote...
    No Way You Could Do this for more than 1-2 months
    October 7, 2012 8:09 am
    Sorry but you would first get neighbor complaints then city would be on you about parking on impervious surface. Next sewer & water hook up. you would have to move this this once a week. Also 2 dwellings on 1 lot not allowed unless you want to prove that "blood relative" lives there and that ends when actual family moves out. I would love to be wrong about this so if anyone can explain how this would actually work I would love to hear it. Details please.
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  • adiru wrote...
    No thanks
    October 7, 2012 11:48 am
    Walk the talk. I care about the environment as much as the next guy, but until the most ambitious of the green and liberal movements such as Al Gore and Michael Moore (One Percenters - shocking!) give up their monster mansions and move into these outhouses, I don't have any ambitions of downsizing. And you know what? I won't have to because those uber-rich liberal hypocrits will never do it.
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  • maplefish wrote...
    Ohhh how trendy!
    October 7, 2012 2:00 pm
    Only In Seattle would the green sheep think they're saving the planet by living in a SHACK. There's one born every minute and there seems to be an abundance of fools in Seattle. My kids had a playhouse / fort / secret clubhouse, etc...that was exactly like one of these "Green" Tiny Houses. It was fun for them to PLAY in, but I can't imagine them or anyone wanting to waste money to actually live in one. But, hey, have fun living in your trendy tiny green house hippies..,
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Well, KIRO & Rob White - nice plug for Seattle Tiny Homes under the guise of a news story.
    October 7, 2012 6:44 pm
    But you know - or should know - that these 'things' are NOT, repeat NOT 'green homes'.

    Green homes are environmentally suited to their site/environment. Just how does a trailer home come close to doing that ?

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  • Snout wrote...
    But someone else will live in your old home.
    October 7, 2012 7:39 pm
    And not be "green." And when you spend money on some "green" car, someone else will drive your old car. You want to live simply? Keep what you have and put your high horse in the barn.
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