“When I first met him he was just building it for himself. When he told me about it I thought, ‘that’s nice, for a bachelor’.”

Shannon Shultz, her husband Fred and their daughter Elena will move into the tiny house he has built. Very tiny; it measures 4.2m by 2.5 metres wide, or about the size of a car space.

Like over 30 per cent of Australian families, the Schultz’ own their own home. Unlike most, they don’t have a mortgage. He built their home for $35,000.

They are a part of the Tiny House Movement, in which people have downsized a typical family home, and the long term financial commitment that accompanies it, for a small, often portable and sustainable dwelling.

“I believe that people have fallen in love with a big home and got the mortgage that went with it, “ said George. “They have the job to afford the house, but then jobs change and mortgages are long; it’s a bit of a trap”.

“I think that there are a lot of people that are living tiny out there that just are living under the radar. Now they call it a movement because I think it’s becoming a bit more mainstream.”

The cabin is designed to be completely off the grid, featuring a compositing toilet and Japanese-style bath. “It totally suits my sense of environmentalism,” said Shannon. “I really love the idea that instead of having a mortgage where I don’t see my husband because he’s working all the time, I’m going to actually have family time together.”

Fred’s creation is the star attraction at the premiere of Small Is Beautiful, a documentary about the genesis of the movement in Portland, Oregon.

The filmmaker, Jeremy Beasley, was originally concerned about a large scale screening of the film, fearing that there would not be enough interest to fill the theatre, eventually being convinced in to screening for a full week. “The response has been overwhelming; selling out almost every night.”

Deek Diedricksen is aware of the demand for tiny houses. Originally from the US, he travels the world running tiny house design and building workshops. “We do all these bizarre builds. We’ve got an offer in Amsterdam, another one in the UK… where people are talking to us all the time.”

The workshop, with 25 places, sold out quickly. “My goal is to smash out my debt and then get myself into one of these and live my life the way I want to,” said one attendant, Ben.

Other participants have a vision that is slightly more avant-garde. “I want to build a village of tiny houses. It’s not going to be called a commune, it’s going to be called a Dommune,” said Dominique. “As part of my dommunism.”

However, becoming a tiny house devotee is not without its obstacles, the main one being the same one that frames more traditional homes; location, location, location. It may be relatively easy and inexpensive to build a tiny home, but somewhat more difficult to find a place to put them. Buying land requires a significant investment, and different councils have different regulations around what constitutes a dwelling, what planning approvals are required, and how land can be used.

For those who have cleared those obstacles, there are significant benefits to the tiny house lifestyle. Kerry is midway between moving to the tiny home designed by her architect, Alvin Williams. He designed a space specifically for her and her three dogs. The space appears deceptively large. In the space of a two car garage is a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, lounge and loft, all completely off the grid.

“To make such a small space a joy to live in we’ve just lifted the ceiling heights,” said Alvin.

Moving in to a space small involves not just leaving behind a bigger space, but also a way of life. “I’m horrified by the amount of stuff I’ve got to leave behind in the other house that I actually don’t need and probably never needed,” said Kerry.

“We express ourselves through our houses and they reflect back to us. The process of moving has been an extraordinary expression of that; the old house was quite dingy and this one is warmer. In the past I led a quiet life, whereas now I can’t keep people away. It’s been really healing.”