The Clackamas print., April 27, 2016, Page 6, Image 6

TINY HOUSES, BIG ADVENTURES
BY S H AY LYN STR U N A
W ith th e in cre asin g cost o f ren t in
Portland, and nationwide for that matter,
it ’ s no surprise th a t tin y ho m es are
becom ing more popular.
The tiny house movement is spreading.
People are opting to get rid o f their high
m onthly mortgage payments and invest
in m uch cheaper option. Not only is it
because of financial reasons, people are
drawn to the freedom that tiny hom es
provide.
M any tiny hom es are m ob ile, w hile
some people just purchase a plot o f land
and park their tiny house.
Jessica Silv is o f Silvis Industry LLC
started building tiny houses in 2014.
“ I think most people are drawn to the
uniquely sm all living space. I feel people
who are interested are also looking to
challenge them selves; can they really
live that sm all?” said Silvis.
Tiny homes offer people the freedom to
go on adventures. This is a huge factor in
the increasing popularity.
Tiny Heirloom is a local-based business
that specializes in building luxury tiny
h o m es. The team is m ade up o f th e
extended Francis fam ily, some o f whom
attended Clackamas. After building their
first tiny hom e, they received so much
attention that they were recruited for a
show on HGTV called “ Tiny Luxury.”
The first episode aired in September,
2015. Tune in to HGTV m id -Ju ly to see
their next season.
Jason Francis, who attended West Linn
H igh School and is in his early 20s, said,
“ It’s been nationwide for us. W e’ve only
had one client in Portland. A ll the rest
have been out of state.”
Tiny homes range from 100 square feet
to 400 square feet. According to Francis,
building tiny homes that are not for the TV
show takes about three m onths. The tiny
homes that are built during the film ing
o f “ Tiny Luxury” are built w ithin six to
eight weeks.
The base models start at $79,000. This
includes everythin g to m ake th e tiny
hom e livable; how ever, th e price can
increase with custom izations.
Francis also said, “ The m ost popular
demographic we’ve been seeing is couples
between the ages o f 20 and 35.”
T in y h o m es a re n ’ t fo r everyon e.
The b iggest chan ge is dow nsizing in
material possessions. O f course, there’s
also needing to find land to place your
tiny house on. Some houses come with
land, some don’ t. Some people want the
freedom of being able to move their house
anywhere they want, which usually means
renting out land.
Courtney Keene, owner of Wanderlust
and Wildhearts in Portland, took to the
show “ Tiny House Hunters” to find her
tiny dream hom e.
“ My parents built a tiny house, a 12-
by-12 cabin for the first few years when
I was born, w hile we were building our
bigger house. So it’ s always been a part
o f my childhood,” said Keene.
K eene said the only dow nside to
purchasing a tiny house is getting ready
for the downsizing that has to be done.
The benefits, though, greatly outweigh
this issue.
“ I think most people are
drawn to the uniquely
small living space. I
feel people who are
interested are also
looking to challenge
themselves; can they
really live that small?”
“ I think the sustainability aspect of it
is really n ice ,” said Keene. “ It is really
energy efficient. And we own it, it’s ours.
That’ s the biggest b en efit.”
Keene has a very successful business
in Portland and this is a perfect example
o f how downsizing can be sustainable.
However, for those who are interested
in this lifestyle change but don’ t w ant
to com m it to it yet, Portland has its very
own tiny house hotel. It’ s called Caravan
— The Tiny House Hotel, and features six
tiny hom es for guests to rent out. The
Caravan is located at 5009 NE 11th Ave.
People have come from out o f state to
stay in this hotel. The caravan has been
featured in some Japanese magazines and
have had many guests fly in from Japan.
The majority of the guests come from the
West Coast.
Carrie Lipps, the manager at Caravan,
has been w orking here fo r about two
years.
“ W hen we opened, we were the first
tiny house hotel in the country, and the
only one ... They [the owners] w anted
to create a h o tel th a t really reflected
Portland,” said Lipps.
6 Clackamas Port APRI I 27.2016t hedackamaspnnt com