Have you heard this saying before? It refers to the fact that we often see new fads come from old, as we see in the fashion world all of the time. Kids are wearing Dr. Martens boots again, Converse shoes and Birkenstocks – making this forty-something feel somewhat fashionable once again! But there is another phenomenon from the past that is becoming more and more common in our culture these days, and tiny homes are playing a role.
In the days before the industrial revolution, it was normal for families to live together in a multi-generational household. Grandparents may have settled the homestead, with a son or daughter (or multiple children) helping as they came of age, and then taking over the family business or farm while the elders continued to live at home. When the grandchildren came along, what excellent resources the elder generation was for child-rearing advice and care.
We see this trend coming back with the recession and the continuing recovery from it. We hear more and more about families coming together to make challenging financial circumstances work for all members. However, with the growing number of people inhabiting the home, and personal privacy becoming an essential trait in modern living; co-habitating with multi-generations under one roof can be challenging, to say the least. Tiny homes provide a solution to personal privacy, without breaking the bank, while keeping everyone together. Much research has been done on the numbers of multi-generational households before and after the recession.
In days of old, we used to co-habitate much more. A larger number of people lived in much less square footage. Post-recession, adults who have suffered through it are re-thinking priorities, and even as the financial state of things gets better, no one wants to repeat mistakes. The kids who grew up watching the recession – and whose families were personally impacted by it – have become a financially aware generation. For all of these people, staying close to family while keeping square footage and mortgage costs in check makes sense. And with this relative closeness, (pun intended) comes the natural sharing of resources of time and talents too, bringing generations closer than we’ve been in a very long time.