Katrina Cottage Comeback?

With all the natural disasters, the need for affordable housing and the tiny house movement, there has been more interest in Katrina Cottages again.

Katrina Cottages are the charming little houses that were built after Hurricane Katrina. They started showing up in every magazine in 2006.

They are larger than a tiny house. These are very small houses that are designed to be practical, livable and inexpensive.

Unlike earlier tiny houses, Katrina Cottages look like a real home, with porches and comfortable living space. They were designed to be efficient and fast and easy to build.

At one time you could buy kits from Lowes with everything you needed to build a Katrina Cottage.

Louisiana Cottages

Following Hurricane Rita the name was changed to “Louisiana Cottage.” The Louisiana Cottage has 612 square feet,  18 feet by 32 feet long with a tiny not quite 4 foot deep front porch. They have two bedrooms, one bath and an open kitchen/dining/living area with 10 foot ceilings.

Mississippi Cottages

Mississippi Cottages

FEMA’s Long Term Community Recovery Staff in Mississippi teamed up with Bay-Waveland Area Habitat for Humanity to create a “Coastal Cottage,” adapted from an Alternative Housing Pilot Program Cottage. The modifications increase the square footage of the modular unit, meet local zoning requirements and place the cottage on a permanent foundation.

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These small cottages were set up in various areas with assistance from FEMA following other natural disasters, like tornadoes.

Following Hurricane Katrina, this couple lived in a FEMA trailer for years. The Cottage programs enabled many people to afford comfortable permanent housing again.

Larger than the original Katrina Cottages, but still very small, Habitat for Humanity teamed up with FEMA to modify the original plans.