About

Kent on 21 Feb 2007

My name is Kent Griswold and I am developing this blog because of my love of small spaces. I have always dreamed of having a cabin and have done research over the years. Tiny houses have also become an interest to me in the last couple of years.

The goal of the tiny house blog is to discover the different options available for a person looking to down size into a tiny house or cabin. I will be looking at different type of construction, from logs, to yurts to modern and the unusual. I will also do book reviews, look at alternate energy for heat and electricity.

I want to encourage feedback and ideas to make this an informative blog. Stories of people who are living this dream. Pictures of tiny houses and cabins, etc.

My goal is to publish weekly and more if possible. Thank you for sharing in this experience with me.

Share and Enjoy:

26 Responses to “About”

Sasha McIntyre on 12 Jun 2007 at 12:48 pm #

Hello, Kent

My common-law and I live in a house in Toronto that is 483 ft square and 12ft wide inside. We bought because it was cheap and have been renovating to make it our dream home. We have been here for just over two years and love it. We do not plan to buy anything bigger any time soon, having downsized from a 880 square foot condo to this home. We live in area of Toronto that is full of tiny war time homes.Our house has 1 bedroom, 1 1/2 baths, living room, kitchen, study and low basement under part of the house with a laundry room and storage. I might add the study is not one of these with a small table with a laptop. As artists we own 2 HUGE drafting tables,and yet with some creative arranging, everything fits. Our living room has 2 couches and a table from Ikea that can seat 8, although we have squeezed 11 on it! This house has only one closet about 3ft wide, so we purchased 2 tall Ikea wardrobes and squished them beside the bed. Everything fits in the house and it certainly is a great way to get rid of junk. No space for unnecesssary items, although we have a large movie collection, large book collection and lots of artist supplies!
I will send a photo soon. I hope this was a little helpful.
Thank You
Sasha McIntyre
Oliver on 29 Aug 2007 at 5:01 pm #

Hello Kent,

Wonderful website you’ve made. Having read around it now it occurred to me that you might be able to contribute some homes to the natural homes registry at http://naturalhomes.org/homesmap.htm

I’d love to hear from you and share the homes you know about with others and bring visitors back to your website.

Regards, Oliver
Mary Blackburn on 11 Oct 2007 at 2:08 pm #

Hello Kent,
I’m so glad I found your site. I’m one of those “Tiny House” people. I purchased a storage building–you won’t belive this–12×20. I live alone–with a yorkie and I’m a Senior Citizan. My daughter and a lady friend of hers insulated and panaled the interior. They built a tiny kitchen, bath and combination living/bedroom. I have my computer, guitar, bookcase, and shelves. I am on a fixed income and can not afford much in the line of luxury. But I love my Tiny House and am serching for decorating ideas and space saving ideas. As soon as I get my little yard fixed up I’d like to send you a picture or two
I love your site.
Mary
Howie on 22 Oct 2007 at 12:11 pm #

Hi Kent-

Great site! Thanks so much for listing http://goyurt.com on your blog. We love small comfortable spaces as well, and are excited to offer a truly nomadic modern yurt. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions.

Regards,
Howie
Harvey Millstone on 26 Jan 2008 at 3:10 pm #

Does anyone have plans for a home like Weebee from Tumbleweed that
doesn’t cost $1000 ?!? I’m trying to build a granny flat for visitors but I can’t afford that kind of money just for the plans.
Luke Sheneman on 08 Feb 2008 at 9:02 am #

Kent,

I got your comment on my blog (timbercabin.blogspot.com). I’ve never seen your site before, but it looks fantastic. I can’t wait to look around some more. Feel free to e-mail me.

Thanks,
-Luke
Rev. Malcolm Moore on 23 Feb 2008 at 6:03 pm #

I run this website for my friends, The Unlands.
Thought you might like the Yurts!

Best,
Rev. Malcolm Moore
http://www.barleycreekcamp.net/home.html
Kent on 25 Feb 2008 at 1:42 pm #

Hi Rev. Malcolm Moore,

Thank you for sharing those great pictures. Looks like a great place to vacation. I wish I was closer to that area and could get up there more often.

Kent
Bob Pritts on 17 Mar 2008 at 11:23 pm #

I love the idea of living in a small space. It was the passing of my wife five years ago that go me to thinking about my true needs after I retire and thus the search for housing options started.

I know the man is entitled to earn a living but on a fixed income $1000 ( that is 1/3 the cost of the trailer to build the house on) for the plans is a bit much, thus I will do my best to build my own tiny house on wheels and do my best not to copy to closely any one elses work or projects.

I would love to see cities reclaim run down propery and rebuild city blocks with small houses ranging from 120 to 400 square feet. we could reclaim building material and use renewable resources and tred a little more gently on the earth.
Kent on 18 Mar 2008 at 6:44 am #

Hey Bob and Harvey,

Yes, the plans seem expensive. I have talked to Jay and his partner Steve and they feel that they are priced competitively and with all the detail and time Jay puts into them they are worth the price.

My suggestion is take everyones ideas and design and develop your own personal home and plans using the money you have and go from there.

I would like for you to keep me posted, take some pictures of the construction and of the finished house and we can do a story on your tiny house on wheels.

Kent
tribe.net: tinyhouseblog.com on 19 Mar 2008 at 7:41 am #

Re: Mini Houses. . ….

http://tinyhouseblog.com/about/

(great links page too)…
Jim Peterson on 30 Mar 2008 at 6:11 pm #

I’ve converted an 11-1/2′ slide-in truck camper into an 8′ x 20′ cabin with sleeping loft I call The Retreat. Though portable, it’s a little unique as the ‘front’ is one of the long sides — and the ridge is 12′ above the floor.
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I’d want to finish staining and trimming out the exterior first but I’m wondering if the details of this project might be something your readers would be interested in?
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Please let me know and I can put together some pictures and text. Thanks! sail4free
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David Harrell on 02 Apr 2008 at 7:05 pm #

Hi, I am currently building a 12′x24′ cabin on a remote piece of property in rural Mississippi. I have documented my progress so far with a blog of my own, http://www.oldplacecabin.com. I would love for you to go and look at the pictures. I hope to be finished with it by this winter.
Kent on 02 Apr 2008 at 8:52 pm #

Hi David - that is a neat cabin! I’ll feature it in one of my posts and send you a few visitors. Thanks for sharing!

Kent
Julie on 05 Apr 2008 at 7:01 am #

I’m really enjoying your blog! Great links and resources, too. I’m married with two young kids, and would really love to build our own small house and get away from having a mortgage. I’ll be keeping an eye on your blog!
jhay on 10 Apr 2008 at 10:27 pm #

Oh… Your blog used to be nice, but now it’s spoiled. Stop posting trash like that or stop posting at all.
Kent on 11 Apr 2008 at 5:54 am #

Thanks for your input Jhay. I was helping out a reader and builder of his home show it to the readers of the Tiny House Blog. Appreciate your concerns!
Daniel Delaney on 22 Apr 2008 at 4:46 pm #

Hey Kent,
I really love the small house movement, and hope to soon venture into it. Here’s the one problem… I’m a city boy, born and bread. And I don’t really plan on moving out of a city anytime soon.

I’m curious to see if you might have any resources or contact with people who have made tiny homes while remaining in cities.

I know that if and when I get to build one, I’d really love to incorporate the functionality of Tumbleweed Homes with a Modernist aesthetic. Any thoughts there?

Thanks!
Dan
Kent on 23 Apr 2008 at 5:57 am #

Hey Dan - Good question. I know that I am the opposite and geared toward the country in my thinking, not the city.

I know that in Europe and Japan they have done a lot of rooftop additions and Jay from Tumbleweed even has a modern design, that might work in that situation.

Jay is working on some new designs and we may see them in the near future. I’ll ask him if he has any ideas also.

I’ll do some research and do a post related to your question as I find out more.

Kent
Sabine on 07 May 2008 at 12:41 pm #

I’m so happy to find this blog. I’m a reverse case, having spent seven years living aboard a boat and somehow having grown over the years into a 1200 square foot home and garage full of “stuff”. Now I’m striving to fix up the house so I can sell it, and looking for some rural acreage here by the Gulf of Mexico to plant a Tumbleweed Tiny House on. I’m thinking about installing a yurt also for a washer/dryer/large freezer space and for yoga. Glad to have such a helpful resource at hand as I work towards my goal.
Kent on 07 May 2008 at 8:47 pm #

Hi Sabine,

Thanks for your kind words! I’m glad you are enjoying the site. I like your plan. Keep us posted on it, a Tumbleweed and yurt, sounds like a great combination!

Kent
Noah Grunberg on 14 May 2008 at 5:37 pm #

Hello,
I am the owner of a new modern kit house company. I would love to have you take a look and see what we are doing. The homes can be tiny or not so tiny, but our goal is to make them as self-sufficient as possible as we develop the systems more.

Thank you for your time and commitment to appropriate living!

Noah
Kent on 15 May 2008 at 2:08 pm #

Hi Noah,

I’ll take a closer look, at a brief glance they look really neat. I’ll see about doing a post on them in the near future. Do you have any small or tiny house plans completed at this time?

Kent
sco smith on 25 May 2008 at 9:17 am #

Hi

I’ve been interested in small houses for many years. Have done many versions of small dwellings. First started out with Meditation Huts.

Years ago very little could be found on the web, now there is quite a bit to be found, and many enthusiasts.

Years ago you could find the small house in Wales that is a tourist spot.

I am also interested in small stores. When I was in Calcutta India - it was so enchanting to see the small stores there.

If you interested you can see our latest project at:

smallesthouseinrichcounty.googlepages.com

Thank you,
sco
allisonlindsay on 06 Jun 2008 at 11:36 pm #

Hi Kent,

Just wanted to share a mention of your blog in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s June 6 article on tiny house living. My tiny house (and Living Small) were given some play, too.

Best,
allison @ Living Small
Kent on 07 Jun 2008 at 7:58 am #

Hi Allison,

Thanks for the heads up on that article. I had asked Cecelia to let me know when it was finished, but I guess she forgot. Glad you got some play also.

Kent