A tiny house is a smaller type of residence than many people are accustomed to. All the essential rooms that a regular house would have, are thoughtfully constructed and positioned. There is no set definition or legal requirement that can define what a tiny living place makes a tiny house.<\/p>\n
Although the tiny house movement originated in the US, it is spreading and rising in popularity throughout Europe. Many parts of Europe are currently experiencing a housing crisis, including The Netherlands. There are numerous living styles. Tiny houses are a quite new concept for the majority. People choose this way of life for a variety of reasons. Not just the stereotypical vegan tree huggers are willing to live this way. For some it\u2019s about freedom or a lower living cost, while others simply wish to reduce their ecological impact.<\/p>\n
The first tiny house in the Netherlands was built in 2015, and since that time more and more people chose for this lifestyle. Such as Janneke Bouman, she\u2019s currently living in a self-build tiny house in the oldest city in the Netherlands, Dordrecht.<\/p>\n\n\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/09\/janneke-tiny-house-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” credit=”Busra Kondakci” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” caption=”Janneke Bouman (41)” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n
From living between bricks, to living in nature \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt all started in the first lockdown, during the corona pandemic. I was living in an apartment in a city center. I couldn\u2019t leave the house and that time I was aware that there was not much green around my house. Then the idea started that I wanted to move out of the city center. But trying to move somewhere else is ridiculous, it\u2019s so expensive and I thought that I can\u2019t afford an idyllic house in the countryside.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFirstly, I saw a series about Mortgage free living. I think that\u2019s where the seed was planted. In the following months, I talked about this idea with coworkers, friends and family. My dad was enthusiastic. He pulled me over my hesitation and doubt. He would also help me building. It took my almost a year from drawing to find builders who could help me. I sold my old house and moved to my dad to save more money and realize my dream. Back then, it felt like a big step. I wondered if I really wanted this? Invest all my money in this project? But I didn\u2019t regret any moment of it.\u201d<\/p>\n A lifestyle <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI already like the minimalistic lifestyle, that was my main drive. So, I just needed a house to fit my lifestyle. To be honest, I thought there was always one ideology. A probably vegetarian, who travels by train and cares about sustainability. I was looking though my green glasses. But as in society, we\u2019re not all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n[aesop_quote type=”block” background=”#ffffff” text=”#000000″ align=”center” size=”1″ quote=”"The house itself tells something about you"” parallax=”off” direction=”left” revealfx=”inplace”]\n\n Isn\u2019t living in a tiny house romanticized?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt is romantic! It\u2019s wat it is, it\u2019s true. You must be prepared that it\u2019s going to be small and it\u2019s going to be different, so you must be ok with that. It\u2019s the completely different way of living. So, in my case, I have a compost toilet. I put sawdust on it after I used it and I need to empty it every two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/09\/zaagsel-in-wc-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” credit=”Busra Kondakci ” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” caption=”The composting toilet” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n \u201cThe only con I can come up with right now, is if it\u2019s raining and muddy outside. I don\u2019t have any place to put my dirty wet things.\u00a0Living this way feels vert functional. It\u2019s kind of a shelter. When you\u2019re living in a big house, you have a lot of stuff that tells something about you. But this house itself tells something about your identity.\u201d<\/p>\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/09\/Janneke-in-tiny-house-2-scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” credit=”Busra Kondakci” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n What tells your tiny house about you?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThat I\u2019m fan of esthetics, sometimes over function. I didn\u2019t make it a very functional home. For example, the kitchen, it has its flaws. I by purpose didn\u2019t make fold-out furniture, because I don\u2019t like it. I like it when my house has a certain ecstatic and a design.\u201d<\/p>\n\n[aesop_quote type=”block” background=”#ffffff” text=”#000000″ align=”center” size=”1″ quote=”"It\u2019s a normal way of living and not just a campsite"” parallax=”off” direction=”left” revealfx=”inplace”]\n\n\n[aesop_image img=”https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/378\/2022\/09\/tiny-house-community–scaled.jpg” panorama=”off” credit=”Busra Kondakci” align=”center” lightbox=”on” captionsrc=”custom” caption=”Janneke talking with a neighbor” captionposition=”left” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]\n The Tiny House community<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe movement is growing. But it\u2019s not a very inclusive community. Municipalities have standards for houses. So, you need to have a certain amount of money to be able to build a house. There are sets of rules you need to obey. And in general, it costs a lot of money to rent or own a parcel. We really need to convince the government and people that it\u2019s a normal way of living and not just a campsite. I hope there will be more funding and support from the municipalities. So, it would also be accessible for students or people who don\u2019t have money.\u201d<\/p>\n “There is a kind of stigma around this way of living. Because we\u2019re doing something different. And I hope with the grow of the movement that this will be normalized.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A tiny house is a smaller type of residence than many people are accustomed to. All the essential rooms that a regular house would have, are thoughtfully constructed and positioned. There is no set definition or legal requirement that can define what a tiny living place makes a tiny house. 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