Yurts - Part 4

Stingray Tents

If you’ve always wanted your camping experience to be more elevated, the new Stingray Tent, built by UK company Tenstile and distributed in San Francisco, is a new design that looks like a floating sea creature. The Stingray, which can be set up on the ground or suspended in the … Read more

Log Pod

by Christina Nellemann

A few years ago, Kent covered the Pod, an innovative and mobile tiny house designed primarily for camping. Another company in the United Kingdom has upped the ante on this type of building with the Log Pod, a portable wooden structure that comes in two beautiful designs. The Log Pod … Read more

Yurt Living – Our Story

by Kent Griswold

by Meryl and Bryan Freyberg Picture two Minnesota teachers with summers off, one in grad school in Santa Fe, and both with yurt dreams. Given that, my husband Bryan and I spent our summer in simplicity, living in an 18-foot yurt at a state park for seven beautiful weeks. After … Read more

Living Tiny in the Round

by Kent Griswold

Guest Post by Daphne Shapiro

I knew that I wanted to move into that round cabin in a field from the moment I saw the ad on Craigslist.

At 500 square feet, it was the smallest place I had ever lived in. It was round, like a yurt, but built like a house, with windows all around and two sets of doors to the outside. A big skylight dominated the ceiling. The cabin had a colorful past, having been used not only for housing, but also as a recording studio and at one point, for professionally-run seances. I hadn’t a clue how to furnish this round room so I went on the web and researched “yurts.”

I decided that I liked the way the Mongolians handled the situation. In those yurts, the middle of the room was taken up by a big stove and all the furniture was pushed against the edges of the room with the beds doubling as seating during the day. I didn’t have a big stove in the middle of the room, but I liked the idea of being efficient with whatever I did bring to the yurt, so I immediately sold my sofa and arranged the rest of my furniture around the perimeter, Mongolian-style, leaving an open space in the middle. That area under the skylight ended up doubling as a personal yoga studio, a guest room where I could put the blow up mattress, a larger space to move the dining table out when I had people over to eat or as a place to put extra chairs when friends were hanging out. The middle space with nothing in it became the most used and most useful area in the cabin.

Big Sky Retreat

by Kent Griswold

by Scott Evans

I built the Yurt last year for the purpose of holiday rentals, it’s situated in an old abandoned quarry high up in the hills overlooking vast acres of Devon landscape with outstanding views. I got the idea from Bill Coperthwaite and his buildings featured in Lloyd Khan’s Homework book (Lloyd, what a guy). Anyway, I sent off for Bill’s plans, could not understand what was going on, and so eventually I made it up as I went along.

The building is mainly constructed out of scrap scaffold boards, pallets and timber from the builders merchants. It cost about £10,000 (about $15,979) not including labour time. Cedar shingles are so darn expensive over here along with plumbers who have to make sure gas is installed properly and signed off (big expense). The house also has a sawdust toilet, off grid for lighting, and mains water with shower and kitchen. The swing is a trampoline turned upside down purchased off EBay for £1.99.

Exotik Innovations

by Kent Griswold

Exotik’s founders, Michel Labadie and Debra Lamothe, founded each of their projects and prototypes on their personal values. Their primary concern was to achieve and surpass their own quality standards. With a mysterious mixture of creativity, meticulous detail and cultural sensitivity, Exotik Innovations stages a high quality product, combined with charm, rusticity, and durability.

Their combined professional experience counts almost 30 years with the Cirque du Soleil, as Project managers and event planners. They put to profit this experience, by betting on their own dreams and building a high quality product as innovative and original, based on values as enterprising as their past employer.

RVC Outdoor Destinations

by Kent Griswold

by Katie Breyer

I work with a company (RVC Outdoor Destinations) that has created & branded the concept of Outdoor Destinations. These are basically outdoor resorts for luxurious camping with upscale amenities and accommodations mixed with beautiful natural environments. I’d like to tell you a little bit about their unique lodging options…

Cottages
RVC worked with Athens Park Homes to create their own customized RVC Resort Cottages. They come fully furnished with lofts, flat screen TVs, washers/dryers, bathrooms, fully appointed kitchens, and fresh bed linens & towels. They also include a BBQ grill, picnic table, and fire ring for outdoor cooking and gathering. While RVC Resort Cottages are small, they can sleep up to four adults and two children with the bedroom, loft and fold-out sofa.

SunTime Yurts

by Kent Griswold

SunTime Yurts imports traditional handmade Mongolian Yurts to the Pacific NW (WA, OR, ID, and MT). The Mongol Ger (Yurt) has been an essential dwelling place to the history of Central Asia. Ger-like structures have been used as far back as 3,000 years ago. Many structural attributes contribute to the Ger’s long-lasting existence. The circular shape and heavy weight make it ideal for strong winds and harsh weather common throughout Central Asia. The hand painted rafters and natural wood latticed walls covered with a clean white wool felt create a cozy, comfortable atmosphere. The thick felt mutes outside noise, holds heat in the coldest of winters, and insulates against heat in the hottest of summers. Mongolia gets as cold as -50 degrees in winter and as hot as 100 degrees in summer, quite an extreme environment. The Mongols live comfortably in their Gers year round.

How SunTime Yurts Came to Be

Last March, I bought a one way ticket to Mongolia to develop my independent film making career. My success can be seen and read at www.suntimefilms.com. My 7 months in Mongolia were filled with adventure, friendship, generosity, nomads, food poisoning, and falling in love with the vast open landscape whose horizon is dotted with little white yurts. My friend Amaraa who lives in Ulaanbaatar helps run SNS Yurt, a small manufacturing company of the traditional Mongolian yurt. Each yurt is handmade out of Mongolian natural products. The only materials not from Mongolia are the tight weave canvas (for rain) and paint (no led). Amaraa has worked with “The Authentic Mongol Yurt,” in the UK for over 5 years and Peter, the owner, has been continually pleased with Amaraa’s service.

TenYurt – A Simple Prefab

by Kent Griswold

Malcolm White contacted me about a new ebook he has written on how to build a new prefab he calls the TenYurt. I recently had the privilege of looking his plan over and it looks very doable for the average person. I am going to let Malcolm tell you more … Read more

Laurel Nest Yurts Workshop

by Kent Griswold

Laurel Nest Yurts is offering a workshop in the beautiful mountains outside of Santa Cruz, California and you are invited to join them to get some hands on experience in building a yurt. Laurel Nest Yurts is offering a “Complete Yurt Building Experience” and a DIY Yurt Building Workshop. Laurel … Read more

The circHouse Yurt

by Kent Griswold

Sarah one of my readers brought this new yurt to my attention. It is very unique and I think has some real possibilities. A company based in Colorado called circHouse has designed this visionary shelter that could be used for many activities, but I see the potential of a tiny house and a very modern take on the old fashioned yurt.

One of the issues with yurts that sends many people away is the fact that they are made of canvas or wood and usually have a lattice skeleton which blocks your view. A serious concern if you are in a beautiful area. circHouse has taken the age old shape of the yurt and put technology to work creating an innovative new structure. By utilizing polycabonate and acrylic wall structures, a recycled steel frame and natural wood paneling they have created a modern looking structure that is compact for shipping and that can be assembled in a few short hours.

Yurt Lady: Living in the Round

by Christina Nellemann

Happy Independence Day! With summer fully upon most of the country, let’s celebrate one of the best tiny houses for enjoying the outdoors. We’ve covered numerous yurts in the past, but Becky Kemery a.k.a.”The Yurt Lady” and her book, Yurts: Living in the Round, shows how these structures can be comfortable and elegant while still letting in the outdoors.

Becky has lived in yurts for many years in the mountains of the American Northwest. Her book was completed a few years ago while living in her own portable fabric yurt on a permaculture homestead in Idaho. She has also created an educational website called Yurt Info, a newsletter and a Facebook page for other yurt owners and fans of the wood and fabric buildings. The Yurt Info site offers information on how to buy or build a yurt, and includes a forum and links to numerous yurt videos and photo albums.