Tiny House Blog

Admirers of Marcia’s Soo Line Caboose, which was featured in 2011 on the Tiny House Blog, will be able to get more of their caboose fix at the end of the month. Marcia’s tiny house, built in 1909, will be featured on HGTV’s show “You Live in What?” on Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 9 p.m. EDT. Each episode features several unusual homes and HGTV contacted me and the Tiny House Blog to film and feature Marcia’s unusual abode.

“It was an awesome experience,” Marcia said about the two days of filming of her home. She mentioned that the filming was a bit of a challenge since her caboose is only eight feet wide. The 337 square foot caboose sits on a 30 foot train track on Marcia’s 5 acre parcel in Northeast Pennsylvania and cost her $6,000 when she purchased it in 1976.

“Thank you for posting my caboose on the Tiny House Blog,” she said. “I received so many positive responses from your site which, in turn, set things in motion for HGTV. Thank you and keep up the good work. I love the the tiny house movement that seems to be gaining monumental support.”

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen

Hey All,

I just had a little fun shooting this one-take DIY-idea video on using free and salvaged goods for decorating and construction, from windows to wall hangings, and while some of the ideas might be ultra-bizarre, others might be practical enough for your needs, or better yet, might spark another new idea in YOU.

Below, for tinyhouseblog.com readers, I’ve also added a few more photos of examples that the video DOES NOT cover (and believe me, I have about 100 more, but the video is long enough already!).

A window on “The Gypsy Junker” cabin (for sale btw $1200 OBO), made out of a colored glass dinner plate

Building on a budget is something I always make sure to cover in the workshops I host for Tumbleweed, and the ones I host/set-up on my own, in fact, our April 26th-28th build/3-day workshop with Steven Harrell in North Carolina, will not only incorporate A LOT of hands-on building, but a good deal of free-form design, salvage construction, and recycled material problem solving- ALWAYS fun! We do have a few slots left, but not many at all, and some INCREDIBLE guest speakers and demos planned! Check out the flyer below for a full listing of our AWESOME guest teachers- its more or less a “Tiny House Convention” at this point. Just crazy…

Aside from this new video….here are a few photo examples and their explanations. Some are taken from my book “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks“, while others are brand new shots which might end up in the next book. Continue Reading »

Todd from the Oregon Cottage Company sent me an announcement about his recently redesigned website and asked me to share it with you. It is located at http://oregoncottagecompany.net/

Todd has completed four difference tiny cottages and is working on a fifth. Below are two of them and you can view more on his site.

Todd is also starting a blog to keep you updated on what he is working on and has some great testimonials about his work.

Following are a few pictures of his houses. The top one is called the Ynez and the bottom is named the Alsek.  Go check out his work and if you are in the Northwest be sure and consider Oregon Cottage Company as a potential tiny house builder.

Continue Reading »

by Fulton Forde

Sold

I’ve been keeping up to date on the world of small homes on your blog for a couple of years. My girlfriend and i moved into our tiny home that we designed and built a year and a half ago in western North Carolina. We used a Dickinson Marine Newport p12000 heater for the beginning of this winter, but I was able to get a great deal on a tiny wood stove and now I am selling my year old Dickinson, flue, rain cap and flue extension.

I am listing it on Ebay, but I know it was hard for me to find the heater at a good deal, so I wanted the readers of your blog to know about it if they were interested. I’ve attached some lousy pictures taken with my computer as i don’t have a digital camera. Thanks for keeping up the great blog.

Here is the Ebay Listing http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261170014241 Starting price is $450. Thanks for checking out!

A week ago people from all corners of the world participated in Tiny House Survey where we wanted to compare how people in tiny houses compared to the rest of America. What started out as a simple question, lead to more than 2,400 people responding! We were so humbled and excited by the response that we wanted to do something special. So we wanted to make an infographic about people who live in Tiny Houses.

What is an infographic?
Infographics are a visual way to share data about an interesting topic. Instead of boring graphs and spreadsheets, we are working with a graphic designer to tell the story with color and vivid graphics. You can find many examples of Infographics on the web to get an idea of what we hope to put together.

How kickstarter works:
Kickstarter is a crowd funding website, meaning that the community comes together to help fund an interesting project. The trick with it is that you must set a goal, if you meet that goal in the allotted time (for us 14 days), then you get the money. If you fall short of that goal, even a dollar short, you get nothing, not one penny. So its really important to reach that goal in under two weeks.

So we invite you to join us in telling the tale of tiny house people, but we also have some neat rewards for your help in our project!

Click here on the Tiny House Infographic Kickstarter link to donate today.

The Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Vermont will be hosting the first ever Tiny House Fair June 14-16, 2013. The fair will include presentations on tiny houses from Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed and Four Lights Tiny House Company and Deek Diedrickson of Relaxshacks as well as workshops on how to design and build a tiny house, finish carpentry, using recycled materials, alternative power, composting toilets and creating a community.

Registration is open to the first 100 people who sign up and the $300 cost will include all workshops, presentations and meals. Cabin lodging on the Yestermorrow campus will also be available for $50 for two nights. Participants may also camp on-site for $20 for two nights and the lodging will be free if you bring your own tiny house or camper. Off-campus lodging includes a hostel and several hotels and bed and breakfasts.

Yestermorrow offers over 150 hands-on courses per year in design, construction, woodworking, and architectural craft including a variety of courses concentrating in sustainable design and green building. Operating as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization since 1980, Yestermorrow is one of the only design/build schools in the country, teaching both design and construction skills. Our 1-day to 3-week hands-on courses are taught by top architects, builders, and craftspeople from across the country.

Photos by Yestermorrow Design/Build School and George Soules with David Cain.