12 foot--cozy or too small?

[Bob Rowlands]

Correct. The formula for area of a circle is radius squared x 3.14. The area in a circle rapidly increases as the diameter increases. Example 10' yurt = 78 square feet. 12'=113' 14'=153' 16'=200' 18'=254' 20'=314' 24=452' 27=572' 30'=706'. A 20 yurt is 4X the size of a 10'. That is a HUGE area differential on a small space.

I once lived in an apt that was 20x20. One area was 200' living/kitchen and the other 200' was bed/bath. Fine for a young single man. But very small nonetheless.

[Bob Rowlands]

I have read where a common Mongolian yurt size is 6M or about 300 square feet of living area. Untold generations of Mongolian families have called yurts close to that in size, their home, so, it works. It is all in how you perceive it.

As an aside here, typical houses in the US now are COLOSSAL in comparison to forty years ago. I typically work on homes that are 4500 square feet, and WAY up from that, like -get this!- 18,000 square feet. That is all ego and off scale nuts IMO.

[hippiebikerchick]

One thing to keep in mind, unless you are building your furniture, you are going to place rectangle funiture into a round space. The smaller the yurt, the more exaggerated the curve. A lot of space is lost for this reason. I have a 20' yurt that I'm setting up for a retail space in NW Arkansas. I'm not planning on living in it, but it seems like a nice space for one or two people. Of course, you could start with a 12' and buy a larger one later, then connect them.

[Sir Yurtsalot]

You guys are great, thanks! I think I'm leaning toward waiting until I can at least get the 14'. I taped out the 12' space and it is quite small--considerably smaller than the living room, and I think would feel pretty claustrophobic all winter with that exaggerated curve and shorter ceiling. So I'll focus on getting my ducks in a row and ordering a slightly bigger one to be ready in early spring hopefully. But if I were planning to live in a warmer place with a big deck, I would definitely not even hesitate! And I love the idea of connecting multiple yurts together over time.

[Bob Rowlands]

For livability purposes a 14' is a much nicer size than 12'. The wood stove in the middle of my 16' yurt limits the actual living space to less than 8' stack to wall width everywhere inside the tent. That's one reason why a 20' yurt is a superb shelter. 10' width is just a whole lot more pleasant to move around in. Think of a 10x12 bedroom, versus an 8x12'. Just a much nicer size for placement of items and for being able to move around in. I suggest trying to install the stove along the wall in a small yurt, to free up the middle.

[Jake]

A 12' Yurt is near family size in Mongolia, but different life style, for living in I would suggest a 20 or 24'. Even then an outside shed or an adjoining yurt will be a big help.

My Caravan has 116 sq ft of space, and I use more floot space then I have to with a 39" bed instead of 30" bed. Using overhead space counts a lot.

I am planning on a 24' yurt, probably from

Groovy Yurts

.

[Jake]

I forgot to mention, its to be occupied by myself, a small dog and 3 cats.

[kochevnik]

24ft is a good choice. By the way, here is a picture of my 12ft yurt. The girl is a tiny 5 year old in front for comparison.

[alexjcaruso]

Hey! loved the look of your yurt. Where did you find it?

[Bob Rowlands]

I downsized my yurt from 15'9" to 12'6" in diameter a year ago. That's quite the difference. No chance I'd ever consider actually living in a 12' yurt. Absolutely no way. Great for camping but otherwise a very poor choice as a prime residence for more than a young single guy that needs to be able to moves alot. Believe me I know what I'm talking about here.


If you can get afford a bigger yurt, 16' is WAAAY more liveable than a pipsqueak 12'er. In fact I think for a 'live in' nomadic yurt that will actually be moved annually or otherwise-non permanent- 20' or 6 meters would be just about right. That's no partitions and no fixed in place amenities that the larger Americanized versions have.