I have built 2 homes, both were under $10K, including power and water systems (solar and rain catchment). The smallest of the 2 was 1250 square feet.

Tiny houses are cute, but after living many years in buses, tents, huts, apartments, etc, moving into a 1200 sf house was a big luxury for us. Tiny houses require constant attention to keep things running smoothly, and in the end, you save neither time nor money.

Our current home is 1400 square feet, is completely powered by solar, including hot water and electricity, all of our water comes from rain catchment, and we are adding on to the house bit by bit, a little each year. We've got about $9K into it so far.

If you build smart (semi-buried, passive solar, good insulation), costs can be very reasonable.

We have never taken a loan for anything, and we pay cash for everything. We've been living this way for over a decade, now. So, just build smart, not small.

I like the way you think. What you described is my ideal community.

If "keeping up with the Jones" went in this direction, that would be awesome. But, somehow I doubt it will take off.

I live in a tiny home. Down here in Orlando Florida we call them condos. Seriously though, it is small, but I am a tidy guy and my wife has become more so since we began living together so the limited space isn't a hindrance.

I've noticed that larger houses have a tendency to fill up with a lot more stuff, which equals a lot more buying stuff, which goes along with wanting stuff you don't have, working for money to buy said stuff, and on and on.

I really like the idea, but good architecture is purely functional - the beauty derives from the function. So, loose the rustic details (the posts, church windows) and it would be so much better. I really like the idea though, I think we all have nomadic urges - just that I'd go for an Airstream caravan or a big Tee-Pee over one of these.

I've thought about solutions like these a lot. This might interest you as well: http://www.simondale.net/house/

And I did some research a while ago. The problem is that most of these "alternative" home solutions are kind of illegal as a permanent residence over here in Germany (it's still hard to get the licence to build a straw-bale-house).

And what do you do in the winter with 2-3 months of snow and -10°C outside? My brain would go nuts if I had to live inside such a tiny "cave",

I don't need a huge mansion but could and would definitely never call something that small my home. I love the idea of the "snail shell" and being able to move easily (I had to relocate 6 times during the last 5 years and seriously feel uprooted (which is another interesting topic to discuss on this board). There are some container-based solutions but ths ones I've found are neither sustainable nor as cheap (beginning at ~60000$).

How about a semi-portable yurt? Or here.