Building a ‘tiny house': Get a glimpse inside a miniature retreat

Envision a house that can fit on the back of a flatbed trailer. Now envision the process of building that house from scratch without prior construction experience. Christopher Smith and Merete Mueller did just that, documenting it in the film "TINY: A Story About Living Small." And they're not alone —  as the "tiny house" movement gains momentum, companies offering prefabricated models have entered the landscape. Students and alumni from Northwestern University's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science collaborated to build a zero-net-energy model that was featured as part of a 2012 exhibit at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. There's even a tiny house hotel. There are varying definitions of what constitutes a tiny house in terms of square footage, but the overall ethos involves an effort to live more simply. Many "tiny housers" aim to live sustainably as well.

Explore the construction process of Christopher and Merete's house in the photo gallery above, and learn more about the making of their documentary on their Facebook page.

Tune in to Consider This tonight at 10pm ET/7pm PT to hear their story. "TINY: A Story About Living Small" will air on Al Jazeera America Presents on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 9pm ET/6pm PT. You can follow Christopher and Merete on Twitter: @TINYtheMovie, @Christopher_C_S, and @MereteMueller.