Tiny House Nation is an American reality television series that first aired on the FYI cable channel on July 9, 2014. The tiny house movement-inspired series features renovation experts John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin who help families around the country build their desired houses that are no bigger than 800 square feet.
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Last August 10, HISTORYCon 2017 kicked of its first day of events. WhenInManila got a chance to have a chat with FYI’s Tiny House Nation stars, John and Zack, about the show. We first asked them about the Tiny House Movement.
What was the catalyst that started it and what are the advantages of living tiny?
John: There are a lot of reasons. I think the movement originally started as an environmental movement some where in the Pacific North West. But it really took hold from an economic standpoint when there’s a housing crisis and people started realizing that I don’t really own this home that I think I own, the bank owns it. Now there’s a lack of security when you realize that oh, I’m just 2 or 3 pay checks away from losing my home. I think that got a lot of people motivated.
 What we find a lot, I’ll let Zack talk to you about this a bit more, but with the cost of housing and the cost of wages getting so far separated that the idea of cutting cost and living in a tiny house and opening up a freedom in your life is what I think what inspired a lot of people that bigger isn’t necessarily better. And America is starting to realize that.
Zack: I think it’s really a kind of response for a scenario where in so many people find themselves in, which is they are just threading water in life. You know, they’re working so hard and they are not getting anywhere. They’re just paying for their space and it comes to a point that they realize that this is not what I want for my life. And they see the future and they don’t see any way to get out from that. And so there are 2 ways that you can do it: You can either suddenly get a better job and make more money which is not very realistic sometimes or you can do something that’s more in your control which is to look at your expenses and find ways to reduce that. And the beauty of it is by reducing on your financial requirements; you also are reducing your carbon footprint.
 Another thing in America, our homes have gotten so large that even when people are in their homes with their families, everybody got their own room and there’s this scenario that they don’t even feel any connection with their family. So a lot of people are wanting to be physically be closer with their family.
We then asked them how they deal with people who have a lot of attachment to their stuff and how they work with an item’s sentimental value.
John: The sentimental items are the toughest because sort of by definition they are something that don’t necessarily serve a function but they have a memory or feeling attached to them. And those items still do have value. Absolutely!
And so, what I always do is ask people, you have only so much space and you have this item that is important to you and that’s fine. You can bring that in, as long as you understand that it means you may not be able to have the kitchen you want, or the bathroom as big as you want. And if this memory or this object is important enough, then great, there’s no problem for you to sacrifice a big bathroom.
 I put that on them to really think about it. Memories will not go away when this thing goes away. It’s not a decision I can make by framing their mind to think of it like it’s this or this. Which of this is more important, then go.
We then asked Zack and John on the lifestyle changes people go through on living tiny.
Zack: Wait. Are you talking about like having a lot more time and lot more money? Haha. They are usually pretty happy about it but I get what you’re saying.
WhenInManila: So usually, there’s this discipline involved. For example, when you have to eat, you have to assemble the table and get the chairs. After you’re done, you have to put them away to maintain an open space.
Zack: This is true. And honestly, I pay very close attention to in the work that I do because I like to talk about design as having a power to facilitate someone’s life. If it’s too cumbersome to operate, it completely loses its entire function. That’s why I have to be very careful about the ease of use.
 John: To answer your question, it’s an ongoing thing. We’ll get there like doing the paring down. It’s constantly something you have to stay on. It’s like dieting or losing weight. You can starve yourself and lose some weight but if you go back to your old habits, you’ll get the weight back on. Just like in paring down, you can get rid of all of your stuff but you have to be conscious on how you acquire things like what’s very important to fit in the house because something else has gotta leave. So it does take a little work.
Zack: But also, I think that it’s okay for somebody to move into a small space and then recognize in their own life that, hey, I do need a little something else. And it’s not a one size fits all solution at all, right? And we do like to encourage this concept of appropriate sized homes. It should be appropriate for every individual and everybody is different. It’s okay for a person to need a little more space.
We then asked them the creativity they put on every build. We also told them that the Philippines kind of fits the tiny living movement—space wise. We got some laughs during the conversation.
WhenInManila: What I really love about the show is the creativity involved in creating some of the furniture to better utilize the space. For some statistics, in the Philippines, we are used to living in tiny spaces. A lot of condo units start at 25 square meters. Now the problem is that we don’t have Zack so we don’t have access to the custom made furniture. Maybe you could train some people here? Haha.
Zack: I wish there were more of me. Unfortunately…
Zack & John: (laughs)
John: Oh God! Stop. Haha.
Zack: I want people to take the ideas that I have and to create them in their own capacity. I want people to take the ideas that I have and improve them! It’s an honor to my work if somebody is to copy it and refine it and utilize it in their own life. That’s a beautiful thing for me.
Lastly, if you follow the show, you’d always see Zack wearing suspenders on the show. We noticed he wasn’t wearing any at that day.
WhenInManila: Last thing. Zack, where are your suspenders?
Zack & John: (laughs)
John: He left them at the hotel!
Zack: Ohhh… I’ll bring them tomorrow.
John: I can’t believe he didn’t bring them.
Zack: Hey! I didn’t think that I was working. I didn’t need the tool belt so I guess I didn’t need them.
WhenInManila: But it’s like a part of your identity. Haha.
John: I don’t even recognize him. I recognize that guy (points to Zack’s image in the promotion materials). Haha.
It was a blast learning more about the tiny house movement from John and Zack. Watching their show could really help us Filipinos utilize space more effectively. I believe that the ideology of tiny living is applicable for Filipino homes that share our homes to our extended family.
Catch Tiny House nation on FYI every Monday at 8:55 PM.
