One of the most common questions we get asked is “How do I learn how to build a tiny home?” A very superior answer would be the Yestermorrow School in Waitsfield, Vermont offering over 100 hands-on courses per year in design, construction, woodworking, and architectural craft including a variety of courses concentrating in sustainable design and green building. Yestermorrow is one of the only design/build schools in the country, teaching both design and construction skills. Hands-on courses are taught by top architects, builders, and craftspeople from across the country. Read More …
Jay Nelson is a gifted artist/builder. His mobile designs were featured in Tiny Homes and Tiny Homes on the Move: an electric car on bike wheels; an 8′ dinghy that you can sleep inside (and carry a surfboard on the roof); a motor scooter with surfboard rack.
We don’t mean to brag, but according to Heavy.com, Shelter Publications has two of the top 5 best tiny house books:
The Tiny House Movement is growing rapidly in the United States. There are a lot of cultures around the world who have already discovered the greater simplicity, freedom and happiness that comes from minimizing your “stuff” load and living in a small home. In the U.S., though, the trend for years has been toward McMansions and the “more is more” philosophy: more space, more stuff, more debt, more hours at work, the list can go on and on. The Tiny House Movement provides an outlet and an alternative for people looking to have more creative control over their living spaces and, in turn, their lives. These five books are a good starting place if you are interested in tiny homes and want to learn more, are looking for some inspiration and ideas, or if you are an experienced tiny house dweller or builder. Read More …
Tiny Texas Houses were featured in our book Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter. Here are examples of more of their work. All materials salvaged. “For us, a Tiny House runs a 160 sq. ft. up to about 750 sq. ft., including the lofts and an insulated back porch. The Teeny Tiny House is generally under that mark on the bottom floor, going as low as 63 sq. ft. Here are a few of the tiniest houses that we have built that are great for a guest house, or for a child living at home that you do not want to become totally independent of the main house. Here are some of my favorite Teeny Tiny Houses that we have created so far.”
In 2007, we got an email from Yogan, a young carpenter in France. He said he’d started out with a Volkswagen van, worked alone, and was following in the footsteps of old carpenters, using “…noble wood.” He had a large Mercedes van that contained his portable tools, as well as a bed and kitchen for working away from his home territory. He’d seen our book Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter, and wanted us to see the treehouse he was living in. We featured Yogan in both Tiny Homes and Tiny Homes on the Move. Here’s a new creation from Yogan, a ship-shape elevated 450 sq. ft. tiny home located in France, with a deck shaped like the prow of a ship. Read More …
“…They live and work in this 120 sq. ft. cabin in the mountains of Asheville. Inside you’ll find a storage loft, sleeping loft, open living/dining area, bathroom with composting toilet and manual pump shower, and a kitchen…”
“This 11′ by 14′ tiny cabin in the woods was built by carpenter Dave Herrle for only $4,000 in about 6 weeks. He used as much salvaged materials as he could find to complete it and was deeply inspired to create a simple way of life. After graduating from college Dave got a desk job that he did not enjoy. In 2007 he hiked the entire Appalachian Trail when he was 27 years old and it absolutely changed his outlook on life. He knew he had to make some changes. The hike gave him the perspective on living simply that he needed to make a positive change in his life. In his words, ‘It was in the woods that I promised myself that I wouldn’t spend a lifetime doing a job I didn’t enjoy…’ ”
“…as a tribute to the alpine experience and the famed writer, Swiss studio Bureau A has sited their project ‘Antoine’ within the vast, mountainous expanse of the Alps. commissioned during an artist residency at the Verbier 3D Foundation, the architecture-cum-sculpture is inhabitable and structurally functional, comprising an indoor cabin with a fireplace, bed, table, stool and window. literally hanging on the rock-fall field, the small wooden dwelling hides its internal features within a projected concrete rock, deriving its shape from natural elements in its surrounding environment…”
I built a cottage for the local suburban farm outside Cleveland, Ohio. It took 2.5 of us and some weekend volunteers about three months to build. It is 200 square feet plus a bump-out window-bed and a 100-square-foot loft. The round poles and lumber came from the firewood pile on the property. We had an Amish miller come out with his trailer band-saw and slice up the bigger logs into live-edge boards for the ceiling and window bucks.
The walls are insulating clay-straw. The windows came from the local Habitat Restore. The interior is plastered with tinted drywall compound. The floor is local clay and stones sealed with hemp oil. The heat source is a small rocket mass heater. The chimney goes back and forth through the clay floor to heat it and keeps the building warm long after the fire is out.
…We used the clay — excavating to dig a swimming pond just behind the cottage. This summer we will do a two-week cottage building workshop at the same site for anyone who wants to learn how to build their own. Email Info@unclemud.com for more information.
The thriving tiny home movement is a double-edged sword for companies selling their vision of small living, as it’s tougher than ever to stand out from the crowd. Oregon City–based small home firm Heirloom aims to get noticed with a luxurious off-grid tiny house on wheels that boasts an excellent finish and more amenities that you might expect, considering its size. In addition, an interesting automated house control system that’s controlled via an iOS or Android smartphone will soon be available at extra cost too.
There are two things that I like about this tiny home:
The light coming in from all around — no claustrophobia as with many tiny homes.
The bed is not in a cramped loft, as with many tiny homes. (The vertical ladders to these lofts make them doubly poor in design.)
This place is plain and simple on the outside, and thoughtfully laid out on the inside.
Brian Levy is leading his own quiet experiment on a pie-shaped, 5,000-square-foot lot in Northeast Washington. As new homes get larger and larger in many neighborhoods throughout the region, Levy is attempting to prove that less is more.
Levy’s house is 11 feet wide and 22 feet long, with 210 square feet of interior space. The house has a galley kitchen and space to accommodate a small dinner party. It also has a full-size bed — although he can’t sleep overnight there because of a provision in District law.” Read More …
In 1973 we published Shelter, which turned out to be station central for people interested in creating their own homes. Now, in the 21st century, we continue this dialog here online on shelter, carpentry, homesteading, gardening, and the home arts with this blog. We hope you will join us and contribute.
