What is Home? The definition of home may vary from person to person; however, the concept of ‘home’ stays the same. Every person needs a place to feel safe, secure, and loved. Housing in Australia is already unaffordable for most people, especially young people (Haxton 2016) and is becoming increasingly more so, to the point where in the future 70% of young people will never be able to afford a house (Fitzsimmons 2021).

How do you solve a problem like the housing crisis which affects the lives of every Australian? Through my research I was presented with more questions than answers. I looked into the effectiveness of tiny homes, small space living and multi-purpose furniture, different housing crises and solutions from around the world, as well as the impacts of the housing crisis on quality of life and mental health.

From my research, I concluded that a possible solution would be to improve the quality of life of those living in tiny spaces, because By 2029, Australia’s population will have increased by another 2 million people increasing Australia’s population to 30 million (TheGaurdian 2018). The government has estimated that we need 1.2 million new homes built in the next 5 years to keep up with demand (Jeffrey 2023). However, at present the new building scheme is already behind target as only 170000 dwellings have been built, falling short of the target of 240000 per year (Sah 2023).

The Pangolin is a piece of multi-purpose furniture. It is designed to fulfill multiple purposes, thereby allowing one room to have many functions and decreasing the amount of furniture needed inside a small space. The Pangolin transforms from a dining table with 2 stools to a single-seater couch. The Pangolin is modular, allowing the user to buy more modules as their budget or family grows. It also allows the user to use the pangolin as a 2-seater couch or have a 4-seater dining table. The Pangolin can also be utilized with the table in chair form, with the 2 cushions in stool form, allowing the user to seat multiple people.