By Emily Schilling

Ever since my Barbie moved into her homemade cardboard dream house years ago, I’ve dreamt of having my own tiny house. 

Wouldn’t it be cool to be a real-life Alice in Wonderland, living large in a diminutive storybook abode? Furnishings would be sparse and intentional but, of course, super cute, and clutter would be non-existent. It would have to be. There’d be no room for anything but the bare necessities.

My girlhood dream isn’t so far-fetched. Tiny houses are all the rage nowadays. Television shows and magazines dedicated to the phenomenon abound. Go online, and you can find tiny houses in a variety of price ranges for sale throughout Indiana. There’s even one decorated like a gingerbread house for those accustomed to the “sweet life.”

My first apartment after graduating from college was an efficiency, so I know I could handle the tiny lifestyle. But with years of accumulated “stuff” now surrounding me — plus my most recent fairytale dream (a master bedroom-sized walk in closet with floor-to-ceiling shoe racks) — I doubt a tiny house will ever fit my lifestyle. However, that doesn’t mean I’m opposed to a “she shed,” one of those out-in-the-yard refuges for women who need some alone time. Yeah, why not live large — and small? I think Barbie would even approve of that idea!

EMILY SCHILLING is editor of Indiana Connection