# 150 Square Feet **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216 "2008-10-23T15:26:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pmwgreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@pmwgreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pmwgreen)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/21 "2008-10-23T21:22:59Z")
That’s about the size of Thoreau’s cabin outside of Concord, MA. There is a reproduction if you’re in the area, or you can do a google image search and get a bunch of photo’s of the interior. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/22 "2008-10-23T22:10:57Z")
I went to a couple of home-plan sites. It seems to me 400 square feet is sort of the minimum needed for a house. With that you get a real bathroom, a bedroom and an efficiency kitchen/living room. At 400 square feet, the plans include space for a washer/dryer. Thinking it over, having that seems very important. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/23 "2008-10-23T22:18:20Z")
I keep thinking of Bruce Willis’ character in “The 5th Element.” He had a pretty small apartment. I don’t know how close it was to 150 sq ft, but it helps me picture a human living in a small space. ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/24 "2008-10-23T22:40:13Z")
Here’s [Michael Wolf’s 100 x 100](http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/100x100/): a hundred photos of 100 square foot apartments in a Hong Kong housing project. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/25 "2008-10-23T22:46:13Z")
Make sure you watch that [well known documentary](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lomy7xAVDKE) before moving into a tiny house. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/26 "2008-10-24T01:34:55Z")
> [@XJETGIRLX](#): > > There’s a company that makes these places called Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. Their website is down right now, but you can check out a tour of one of their homes on the Tiny House Blog: [Tumbleweed Tiny House Tour - Tiny House Blog](http://tinyhouseblog.com/stick-built/tumbleweed-tour/) They dont make the one house of theirs I actually liked any more - it was the sort of modern one, bedroom was one end, bathroom was the other and the middle was the kitchen/livingroom/everything else room. I think it was one of their larger designs. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/27 "2008-10-24T01:55:18Z")
Every time I go to Ikea, I like to check out the display rooms they use to feature lines of various furnished living spaces. They look pretty complete, and some of them are really small. I don’t think 150 square feet, but pretty damn small. I don’t remember his name, and right now I’m too lazy to look it up, but a few months back, a comedian lived a month in one of them. Another thing I’m too lazy to look up, there was a thread here a few months back about an apartment in Japan that was insanely small. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/28 "2008-10-24T05:44:18Z")
[_Mother Earth News_ article on microhouses with plans.](http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/1995-04-01/Build-A-Small-Home.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/29 "2008-10-24T05:50:32Z")
Hey, **Paul in Saudi**. When I lived in Saudi Arabia back in the 80s, I lived in a 10 x 10 room with a 5 x 10 shared bathroom. There you go. To hell with the kitchen and laundry dude, eat in the mess tent (Filipino cooks, preferably) and get the Sri Lankan houseboy to do your laundry. 30, maybe 40 riyals, tops. Everybody happy. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2008, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216/30 "2008-10-24T06:49:50Z")
> [@vetbridge](#): > > I was once offered, as office space, an empty elevator shaft. I pointed out that it was less than 100 square feet of space. The admin guy kept pointing out how cool the 4 story ceiling was. We had a few funny conversations about the situation (and they echoed!). Huh. Usually you have to work at a place a few years before you get the shaft. > [@Fubaya](#): > > I keep thinking of Bruce Willis’ character in “The 5th Element.” He had a pretty small apartment. I don’t know how close it was to 150 sq ft, but it helps me picture a human living in a small space. Aren’t there numerous apartments in and around Tokyo of comparable size? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/150-square-feet/469216.md?page=1)