Kate Dodd built two off-the-grid houses in the Northern California woods in the early ’70s. She and her partner started the house in spring of 1972 and moved in that winter (with one wall covered with plastic sheeting).
The foundation was concrete piers. The pole frame was spiked to the piers with a vertical piece of 1″ galvanized pipe. For the attached greenhouse she poured a perimeter foundation…
I’ve had this tenon cutter attachment for years, just started using it. I just cut down an old wild plum tree and am going to make a garden chair out of plum wood. Fun! I got this from Lee Valley, a great source of carpentry tools.
I recently got the Makita drill — not battery driven, but with cord — from Jackson’s Hardware in San Rafael. It would have been cheaper from Amazon, but at Jackson’s, I get expert human advice. I use Amazon a lot, but also skirt them often. There are other factors to consider when buying stuff other than what’s cheapest.
Mike takes on a new way of tiny homes with his latest build, here sharing his dreams of chasing storms and showing the steps of building what it takes to create your Dream Chaser.
Photo by Lloyd Kahn
Lloyd,
Like many, I scrounge the internet for building ideas. I came across a really cool dish-rack/shelf that was built into a corner in a kitchen. You could stand the plates up to dry between the slats, and still set bowls and mugs on it like a shelf. Brilliant! I saved the picture, and put it in the “barn-house” folder on my computer for future reference, when it comes time to build.
A few months ago, you posted a video of how you do dishes. I nearly leapt out of my seat when I saw the very same dish shelf … was in your kitchen! You have a long history of collecting and publishing all the good ideas you can find, I guess it shouldn’t be such a surprise that a design like that ended up in your home!
My sister and my mother, both crafty individuals, each received one of your books for Christmas. They are being exchanged as we read them with interest around the fire.
Last year, I built a solar-powered cabin out of a school bus, which will be my base camp while I take my time building a house on the cheap over the next few years. I’m blogging my journey at www.day9975.com. Until then, during the workweek I’m living in the semi-finished upstairs of an un-plumbed post-and-beam barn my dad built 20 years ago, and saving up for my own build.
As I go into designing my home, your books are my favorite source for creative solutions to whatever design challenge I encounter. Thanks to you and your team for writing.
Hope you have a happy new year,
–Aaron DeAngelis
Hi, Lloyd,
I spent Christmas with my family in Dąbrowa Białostocka, northeastern Poland.
Yesterday evening Santa had the good idea to bring me one of your books, Small Homes, great idea, impossible to spend a better Christmas.
I’m a fan of your books that I discovered about fifteen years ago. It always makes me dream of a better world.
Thank you for everything. If you go to Europe, it would be a great pleasure to meet you and to welcome you to Poland.
I wish you a Merry Christmas and lots of new adventures in 2018.
–Julien Croisier
www.justwoodit.com
I built this boat at the J.B. Blunk Artist Residency in Point Reyes Peninsula in California. I built a shell over an 8-foot dingy that can be taken on and off. I also made it for surf travel. It has a bed, storage, and a stove. I’m currently working on it and looking for a larger motor.
For a young student heading to college, the thought of paying for accommodation on top of all the other expenses can be incredibly daunting. One student from Jacksonville, Florida, Bradley, has thought outside the box however and has built himself an amazing tiny house on wheels as a brilliant kick-start to his future.
The home is roughly 27 × 8.5 ft (8.3 × 2.5m) in size and is entirely self-contained. The exterior is clad in long-lasting vinyl and is designed to be reminiscent of a Florida beach bungalow. In true southern style, the tiny house has a large porch which enables Bradley to sit outside and enjoy the stunning views surrounding his home.
Once inside, the home is wonderfully welcoming. The design is open and spacious with the ability to see right from one end to the other without obstruction. A large window at the end of the home gives the small dwelling a tremendous sense of space. Bradley calls his home Rolling Quarters, a play on words relating to the fact that his home is on wheels, but also hinting to the saving of money and the ethics of building a home without accumulating debt…
Temple island in Bali Photo by Kevin Kelly
This little home is built with a whole lot of heart. When Isabelle Nagel-Brice began looking for a place to live in Colorado, she quickly realised that for the amount of money she would pay for a few years rent, she could instead purchase the materials needed to construct her own green-built tiny house on wheels. With a background in permaculture and sustainable design, she set about constructing a tiny house that was not only a wonderful home but one that was packed full of eco-friendly, healthy home features.
All throughout the build, Isabelle has remained conscious of the materials that she has used to construct her home, ensuring that she was not only building a tiny house that would be healthy to live in but also one that was built with materials that were environmentally friendly and could be recycled or biodegrade at the end of the tiny house’s life.
The barn has cement walls which is not seen very often. The curved roof copies other barns from the Washington area. Photo by Lloyd Kahn
This is a true tiny house love story. A tale of how a house becomes not only a home but a character in someone’s life. When Karissa decided to build a tiny house for herself, her family, friends, and community rallied in support to help make her build possible. She is lucky to have those connections in her life and that fortune became just as much a part of the home’s construction as any timber or nails…
Moving a 120-square-foot cabin by hand in a small Northern California town in 1976 Photo by Lloyd Kahn
Photo by Lloyd Kahn
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