Tiny homes / Small Cabin Living.. Anyone here?

If you love to craft, then I would include a room that you can do that in.

I had a craft room in my previous house. When we downsized a couple of years ago I had to forgo a room for my supplies. I regret that every single day.

I'm not sure I could do it, but we just happened to drive by a tiny home in my neighborhood yesterday. It was so cute!
I just googled it and it won a major architecture award for the design in 2017:

Tiny House in Houston

A really well made one is still fairly expensive.

Have you considered a used RV, just to see if you like tiny living? I've seen some absolutely amazing remodels, and you can get a really large one fairly inexpensively. It might be worth looking into before you make a big leap, especially if being debt-free is a goal.t Just go to Youtube and check out the RV remodel videos, especially the farmhouse ones. Lots of people are doing it, and you don't need a ton of experience. Paint, peel and stick tiles, and vinyl flooring will go a long way.

Anyway, it might be worth considering so that you can pay off your debt faster. If you still want a tiny home after that, you'd be able to afford a much nicer one with no other bills to think about.

No matter what sized house/apartment/tiny house I live in it will have to have a craft room for me to enjoy the things I like to do. Sewing, quilting, scrapping, card making or sometimes just surfing the net. My space is very important to me for my own down time. 

The rest of the stuff is just that, stuff I could be without and I'm sure I would still survive. The more room you have I find the more stuff that fills it. 

Is the tiny home you are thinking about moveable or a permanent dwelling? I'm sure there would legalities to look at with building on your son's land. 

I would also also be concerned about the size as I am finding personally that as I am getting older it is getting harder to bend into deep cupboards, climb stairs and do all those things that I used to do without even thinking about. 

My thoughts are that if you think you can enjoy this life then do it! 

This is the best way for most to approach the situation. Start with what you absolutely need and want to live your life comfortably. Then working from there you shed the excess.

Is the cabin already on your son's land?  If so, you know what you have to work with.  If not, once you have an idea of what your must haves are, then you can decide just how small you can go.  You may find it necessary to rent a climate controlled storage unit to store your craft supplies and other items.  It could also be the ideal time to go through and purge your craft stash of any old and outdated items you no longer need/use (something I'm in the process of myself).  

Some more questions to consider.  If there isn't an existing cabin do you plan to build one on site, or will you have one constructed and trailered there?  Those will be different costs and different permits.  How much is it going to cost you up front in order to pay down your debt?  Would it be less expensive to sell your home and rent a small apartment?  Although I know cheap rent doesn't really exist where you live (my family lives there and deals with this), perhaps the difference would be enough from your mortgage to make a difference?  

So many things to consider, but it could also end up being a very exciting journey for you!  Good luck with your decision!  

We own a 1200 sq. ft. cabin and an RV with 260 sq. ft.

The cabin downstairs has 800 sq. ft., so I can tell you that there is plenty of room for craft and sewing space. It has a galley kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, and a separate bedroom from the great room where we eat on the table at the end. It is spacious. We also put in a 2nd toilet in the Harry Potter-like closet under the stairs. 

I rarely go upstairs, but when we have more overnight guests, it has a loft area with 2 enclosed bedrooms. I could easily make one of those into a craft room. But to picture you in just the bottom (if you do not want a 2-story), I would say you could have a craft area with no problem and people could still come over and not be disturbed about seating or viewing your crafting.

I do craft on the road in our RV, but the supplies are contained in a dedicated cupboard space. We are going to downsize our RV and the ones we've looked at would still have a cupboard for supplies, but not an area to sew.

It definitely is something doable with some modifications in your outlook on what was important to you in the larger house and what you can do to replicate that in your smaller home.

Best wishes!

Having just moved into a much smaller house, I will say that the one thing I miss is being able to "host" get-togethers. There just isn't enough room. With your son living that close though, I would guess that hosting things like that at his house might be easier. I liked to have a friend over to make cards or scrapbook with me occasionally, and I can't do that in our current home.

We are building a big garage/shop this summer though and there will be a room just for me, so I'll be able to have a friend or two over once that's done.

Draw out what you want.

Think about adding a deep screened in wrap around porch.