Need interior design ideas? Look at tiny homes
6 lessons I learned from watching tiny home creators
Around the holidays, when my parents invited me to stay with them for 11 days so I didn’t have to go back and forth during Christmas and New Year’s Eve/Day, my first thought was, “How am I going to survive being in one bedroom for 11 days when I’m used to an entire condo all to myself?”
When I lived in three different apartments and a condo rental in my 20s and 30s, I would hang out at family members’ homes overnight. But by day two or day three, I was back in my car and driving home again. I like having my own space, but I also like going from room to room and organizing what goes where.
I was wearing my mother out by day one. I’d emptied her entire fridge and decided to clean the whole thing so I could have an entire shelf. Then I went on a cleaning mission in the bathroom (including the showerhead and the washer and dryer). I was walking around my childhood home, messing with things.
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Even in a three-bedroom bungalow, everything felt so much smaller to me than when I was a child. This is one of many reasons I’m fascinated by people who can enjoy living in a tiny home. I think I would go stir crazy in there from it being so tight. But I still enjoy looking at tiny home videos because they always give me design ideas that I can then copy later. These are my top six favorite tiny home interior design ideas recently.
1. The Tiny Heauxtel (Location: Oakland, California)
Inspiration: Canoe plant
I had no clue who plant stylist Hilton Carter was before watching this tiny home video, but as soon as I saw that canoe plant, I frantically went to Carter’s Instagram page. I love that tiny home owner Ansel gave credit to Carter, and he even showed off his book “Wild At Home.” Most importantly though, for someone with a windowless bathroom who always wanted to have more plants around, I love his shower plant wall.
2. The Arcade (Location: Providence, Rhode Island)
Inspiration: Built-in kitchen sprayer
Living inside of a mall brings out all the inner happiness of my teenage self. I could’ve easily done this during the gazillion times that I was inside of Chicago’s South Side Evergreen Plaza mall. But as soon as she said that all of these 250-square-feet tiny homes could not have open flames, she lost me. I’ve completely lost interest in eating takeout all the time and prefer to cook. That bothered me more than people randomly turning her doorknob, thinking her home is an Airbnb. Still, when I moved into my condo, one of my favorite things was the faucet with the built-in sprayer. As much as I like my silver version, one of the empty micro-lofts had a black built-in kitchen sprayer that I like way better than mine.
3. The Tiny Vixen (Location: Southern California)
Inspiration: Cabinet handles
The point of the video wasn’t supposed to be about black hair, but I love everything about Stacey’s hairstyle. Once I got past that, I found out that a tiny home is considered a tiny mansion when it’s a park model (about 11 feet wide) and has a 12-foot deck, totaling 46 feet long. A tiny mansion for $155,000 is insane to me and more than I paid for a one-bedroom condo, including her $1,075 costs for amenities and a dog park. But once Stacey broke down Southern California rates, I suppose this is a steal. ($500,000 for a condo? Yikes!) I like the two-person hammock, but I zoomed in on her cabinet handles to keep track of her umbrellas. Smart use of space! And I have one cabinet door that has started loosening clear out of nowhere. After seeing what her kitchen looks like, I’m thinking of just taking my doors off altogether too.
4. Blush Gardens (Location: Austin, Texas)
Inspiration: Tropical patio tied with Fizz Bubbly Bar
I have always wondered about how dogs coexist with tiny homeowners, and Shantae doesn’t even have a small dog. Her four-legged friend takes up space but seems perfectly content on the pink dog bed. The kitchen and bar area look a little cramped, but the childhood version of me is looking at this like an adult-sized Barbie house so I’m still sold. I don’t remember what Blanche Devereaux’s curtains look like, even though I’ve seen “Golden Girls” episodes a zillion times. All I need is any excuse at all to watch this TV show again. However, I cried internally, thinking of Shantae not being able to open half her closet and wondered if “Tiny House Giant Journey” could introduce her to Stacey, who was yanking full-sized doors, fridges, cabinets and counters out of her tiny mansion. I feel like Stacey can get Shantae some closet space. Regardless of that con, I love that Shantae has the freedom to enjoy Happy Hour on her patio. All her guests know she’s clearly going to be a good host courtesy of her business Fizz Bubbly Bar and her champagne setups.
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5. Persis Cabin (Location: Index, Washington)
Inspiration: Outdoor shower
This is taking me back to my Girl Scouts camping days. I love everything about this shed, from all the wood to the showerhead. (Nick waving from the shower tickled me too.) The furniture not matching is wearing on my matchy-matchy fixation, but I do like that table and chair. (I’d prefer the couch to be a blue couch or change the pillows to red instead of the Fourth of July theme.) I adore the kitchenette and the floating shelves though. It makes me want to rip down my cabinets so my built-in microwave can look like this in my kitchen too, induction cooktops included.
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I was never really into LED lights before, but I’ve watched one too many do-it-yourself DIY Creator videos. I have a newfound appreciation for this lighting style because of Glen. If you’re stumbling around at night, I think Nick’s light installation also comes in handy for that too. I’m fascinated by Nick’s use of the fir tree as a banister railing. It looks like it gives you all kinds of blisters, but the eco-friendliness in me is on board with this idea anyway.
5. Nina Simone (Location: Heron Pavilion in Kissimmee, Florida)
Inspiration: Overhead seasoning rack
She laughed when she said, “Pop up on me, it’s gonna be a problem,” but we know she was very very very serious. I was sold from sista less than two minutes into the video — even before she shed a few tears, subtly discussed racism and sexism, and talked about the significance of mental health. I was not expecting all that from a van video, but black women deal with this no matter where we are.
Recommended Read: ”Racism, sexism, idiocy wins with Trump ~ But I still thank Vice President Kamala Harris for trying to save America”
Making vegan banana cinnamon rolls sound amazing! (I would absolutely forget there’s a roll of bread and muffins in it and turn it on by accident, but if a bread box is not her style, so be it.) Although the van (especially the bed) seems so cramped to me, I do like how she made smart use of her sink and seasoning space. The more times I see wall-mounted seasoning racks, the more I want to copy this instead of opening and closing cabinet doors multiple times a day.
I still don’t know how long I’d last while staying in a tiny home (and definitely cannot see myself in an RV or van). But the more videos I see, the more likely I’d be to try to find one of these on Airbnb instead of paying for a hotel or an inn. They all seem so peaceful, easy to manage and reasonably priced.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the monthly posts on the third Friday. Thanks for reading!