Crafting Every Square Inch

Last week, thanks to some friends who are always up for an adventure, I visited the factory of Tiny Texas Houses about an hour south of Austin, TX. Part of a growing movement towards beautiful prefabricated housing, they are small, environmentally-friendly and utterly charming.

The special sauce for Tiny Texas Houses is their raw materials — outside of insulation, electrical and plumbing, nearly every component is salvaged from tear downs and junkyards. Their partner organization, Discovery Architectural Antiques, collects vintage windows, beautifully weathered lumber, ornate doorknobs, among countless other vestiges of craftsmanship that find their way into each home.

Touring the little houses, I was struck by how much thought and care clearly goes into designing these 150-350 sq. ft. residences. Each square inch felt contemplated, from the lofted sleeping areas to the miniature bathrooms and kitchens. And even though these were essentially new houses — built to last 100 years — because of the materials, they smell like a well-loved home. Here are a few random video clips from our walk around the operation:

Of course, actually living in one of these houses full-time would require a major lifestyle adjustment, particularly for two people. It would take the right climate so you could create lots of usable outdoor space, a separate work/studio space, and much less crap overall to make it work. But the benefits of low energy use, easy maintenance and affordable craftsmanship might easily outweigh any downsides.

So what does this have to do with Gridwork? More than you might think. The lesson I’m taking away is that in eventually in any design process — whether its housing, or lifestyle, or web design, or writing — you benefit from stepping back, identifying what is truly necessary and eliminating everything else. And once you’ve identified your absolute minimum needs, obsess over them until they are perfect. The lifespan of a website is probably going to be less than 100 years, but we can take care to build things to last, reduce (information) pollution, and feel instantly comfortable.

Posted by Seamus Holman on March 25, 2009