Halong Bay is in Northern Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. It consists of over 3,000 limestone islands. The whole area is a Unseco World Heritage Site.

Ha long means “where the dragon descends into the sea.” Vietnamese legend says that the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon who lived in the mountains. As it ran towards to coast, its flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses. As it plunged into the sea the water filled up all the areas dug up by the tail leaving only pockets of dry land visible.

Photo Credit Mike Greene

When my husband and I first moved to the country after 20 years of living in the big city, we talked a lot about the different possibilities for housing. We were both sick of apartments. We fantasized about the different natural building techniques like cob and straw bale, but worried about exorbitant land prices here in California.

About five or six years ago we stumbled upon Jay Shafer’s Tumbleweed website and were completely charmed. This was pre-Oprah, before he was so famous. We had a free private consultation with him within the first few weeks after he moved out to California. A couple years later we went to one of his open houses, and recently went to his first showing of his new Craftsman style cottage. We love his work, but his prices were too high for our budget. Building it ourselves seemed too difficult, though I’m sure it is possible for some people.

The tiny house bug had us. We now knew how we could own our own home without land or a mortgage, but we needed a place to put the house.

After a couple years of searching we found a lovely RV park that would take us as long as the house was an RV. We knew Bill Kastrinos at Tortoise Shell Homes usually builds his as RVs, with the DMV doing an inspection and giving a license plate. For a time we were also looking at Little House on a Trailer in Petaluma, and Molecule Homes in Santa Cruz. Both of those guys also do lovely work. But we finally decided on Bill.

I spent long months designing my floor plan. Bill was kind and built me a custom house. The build was exciting. We were close enough to him to be able to visit every weekend and watch the progress of the build. My husband got lucky on his commute home from work on delivery day, and ended up driving behind our house as Bill hauled it down the highway to our RV spot at the campground.

We have now lived 3 months in our new home and have loved every moment. It being a studio and only 150 sq. feet (8’ x 18’), we wouldn’t recommend this size for couples that don’t get along really well, or for those with complicated hobbies. For us it has been wonderful though. Our main hobbies are watching DVDs, reading, and hiking. We are using our computer as our TV to save space. We don’t feel claustrophobic, having a view out our great-room window of the rolling hills of a horse pasture. We can’t really see other dwellings or people for the trees. Our first utility bill was only $28.00. Our house is all-electric, we use a little space-heater to heat the house.

At night we like to look out our big window at the constellations. I’ve never had such a view of the sky at night before, it’s quite magical. Our loft we only use for storing all our stuff. We bought a very comfortable futon couch which we convert into a queen-size bed at night, and that seems to be working for us. For those that don’t want to negotiate ladders, we recommend futons. My husband does have a camping pad up in the loft and likes to take naps in the daytime once in awhile, he calls it his ‘man cave’.

Here are pics of the loft, and my hubby having a nap in his ‘man cave’. Also, the closet which covers the whole end-wall by the door. We were originally planning on having enclosed his and her closets on either side of the window. But changed our minds once we moved in. There’s still a window behind all those clothes, so if we decide someday to have enclosed closets we could still do that. It’s messy now, but very easy access which we like.

Here is a pic of our little kitchen which has granite counters that I absolutely love. The other pic is of our recessed shelving, which was one of my best ideas. It is built into the interior wall between the kitchen and bathroom, next to the bathroom door.

The place is a ‘workshop’ basically, a commercial space that I use for my art/music studio and to live in. The place is in rural Colorado, no address (not on the city’s map), it was a shell building, a large garage basically…the house/studio is heated with a west bay door that opens to a homeade acrylic glass window that in the morning let’s the east sun in for heat, there is also 3 large south facing windows for all day passive solar heat, the ‘running water’ is all carried in (usage is around 5 gallons per day or less) and the sink is made from a water container with a spigot attached (properly) with hose clamps and gasket.

I fill the sink with water as needed but it runs on gravity, the toilet is a composting toilet inspired by the humanure compost toilet system, so I use either peat moss or good pine sawdust for cover material, I also have another toilet just for urine (number 1), the shower is a little less luxurious and is a large plastic basin that I use either a hung solar shower or water jugs with holes drilled in them. I have a small copper quartz heater for at night mostly and a wood stove for heat, the studio is about 1000 sq ft (so not exactly tiny), (but not a large ‘house’ either).

Everything is made from recycled materials, thrift shop finds (again recycled) or things I built myself, such as the toilet made from a vintage end table and one from a coal stove, the sink basin was free at a yard sale, and drain into a 5 gallon bucket in which I take to my grey water area, and the toilets are put into the compost piles.

I live/work in here (work mainly ) (it is zoned commercial), and it serves as a small living space, kitchen, bedroom(s) (2 beds and a nice sofa sleeper), and the rest of the space is my art (furniture, instruments, jewelry, audio sculpture…(all functional but still decorative), and my music studio, I play music live all over in Colorado. I release records on labels and our own record label and tour off and on. It is definitely a space well used!

All the best,
Matthew Hunzeker

http://thelonegaragemassacre.wordpress.com/

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.

With no original intention of importing Mongolian yurts I couldn’t resist the idea of dotting Americas suburbs and landscapes with the romantic shape of the Mongol Steppe. I got home from Mongolia in October got my business license and decided to go for it. I’ve had a great time creating the website, designing logos, writing emails, and getting people excited about these beautiful and practical homes. I’ve enjoyed this process so much I just have that feeling something is right.

Using the blog on my website, I am hoping to create a community of yurters in the North West who share their pictures, designs, experiments, successes and errors. I want people to start coming up with systems for alternative energies, such as: solar and wind; plumbing for sweet, grey, and black water; storage of perishables; heating for comfort and cooking; composting and other recycling methods. The possibilities are limitless. The customizability of a yurt is so unique to its owner I can’t wait to see what people come up with.

A SunTime Yurt comes ready to use:

• Lattice Walls made of Mongolian wood and camel skin.
• Rafters hand painted traditional designs with german paints (no lead)
• Single or double door
• Crown with 4 framed inserts (for plexiglass)
• Upright Crown Supports
• Crown Cover with ties (keeps out rain)
• Heavy weight tight weave green canvas
• 9 mm thick machine washed 100% wool felt
• White decorative cotton cover. Trimmed in red, blue, or green
• Outer cover skirt
• All ropes (made of horse and yak hair)

*Made in Mongolia
**Many different sizes and colors

www.suntimeyurts.com

Hello, my name is Ben, a 31 year old music teacher. I live in Southeast Louisiana and in the past four years I have been on a journey to create an easier life for myself. From growing a garden, raising chickens, ducks, and rabbits, to aquaponics. I just wanted to find a better, easier, healthier way to live.

I have just started my tiny house project with my dad. We began welding the frame for the trailer and acquired the axles. It is going to be a long project, but the end result will be so amazing I just can’t wait. I have been researching extensively every single tiny house resource I can get my hands on and have almost narrowed down what the final design is going to look like.

Most people that are building tiny houses struggle with a place to put it, but I will have a spot to put mine and enough space to have my small farm. So one day I can live in my small home, on my small farm, living a very big, enjoyable, sustainable life!

You can follow Ben’s build at his blog http://smallhomebiglife.blogspot.com/

The one’s we’ve picked (Kent and Deek) Kent will be contacting the winners today and shipping the books.

So the winners……

Leigh- storage in pull up floor spaces…..I’ve always wanted to do this in a home, and have contemplated it in my Vermont cabin- it just makes alot of sense if done properly, and if insulative factors are still preserved.

Nik- old ladder on the ceiling as a pot rack, or the back of doors as a coat, mitten, etc holder…I own an old ladder that I’m going to make into a wall hung bookshelf.  The ladder can be used to stow/stack containers/items too, if fixed in place (not hung from a chain). I see wooden ladders tossed ALL the time too, so this project is basically free! Same ballpark, but Nik has a cool, door-storage spin on it- and the pot rack, while not a new idea, would make for a great conversation piece.

Photo Credit Dairy House

Alison Joyal. I based this choice on the sheer volume of good, practical tips- one’s that she’s actually applied in her situation/camper. I felt her entry had more than a few tips that people could truly put to use and learn from. Not rocket science, but some really good advice that makes perfect sense- and saves space in not ONE case, but in ten or more.

Again, thanks all! Some of your tips may just be shared, so that many more can learn and benefit from them, in some of the upcoming Tumbleweed Tiny House Workshops I’m teaching- one in Miami (April 14-15), and another in Boston, MA that will soon be announced. Tumbleweed Cambodia is also in the works! No, not really….I’ll also be at the Seattle Tumbleweed and I look forward to meeting some of you out there perhaps.

Thanks again to all who submitted ideas, congrats on winning a copy of “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks“, and we’ll have more copies to give out down the road- and Thanks Kent!

PS- anyone can email me if they want a signed, doodled-on (tiny cabin sketches- each one different) copy of the book. kidcedar at gmail dot com. If you buy an amazon copy and send it my way with a pre-stamped return, I’ll gladly sign it (thereby lowering the value of the book) for you. Not sure why you’d truly want my signature, but a few have asked, and I’d be more than happy to do it.

Also- Both my book and Lloyd Kahn’s have been doing VERY WELL- thank you all, and him and I, when we’ve spoken, both can’t believe how this scene is growing, and how very supportive it is. THANK YOU!

-Deek

Photo Credit Dornob

Eric Rochow of GardenFork recently spoke with Deek Diedrickson, microhome builder and author of the new “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks” book in an episode of GardenFork Radio.

Deek and Eric (two men cut from the same cloth) discuss the merits of publishing your own book, using recycled and curbside found materials for tiny homes, how to build and anchor a treehouse and how Deek is able to make a living with his various building, music and drawing hobbies.

They also talk about Deek’s future plans which include teaching a few of the Tumbleweed Tiny House workshops, building a houseboat, a treehouse workshop and writing and publishing another book.

You can download the episode from iTunes or you can listen to it on the GardenFork website.

Photos courtesy of Relaxshacks.com.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

In a way this book is like a printed version of the Tiny House Blog but with Lloyds great writing ability and layout. Plus he has added many tiny houses that I have never seen. He has pulled together a book I think every tiny house enthusiast will want to own.

I recently visited Lloyd and his team at Shelter Publications and saw where these wonderful books are put together and distributed.

In this book there are some 150 builders who have taken things into their own hands, creating tiny homes (under 500 sq. ft.). Homes on land, homes on wheels, homes on the road, homes on water, even homes in the trees. There are also studios, saunas, garden sheds, and greenhouses.

There are 1,300 photos, showing a rich variety of small homemade shelters, and there are stories (and thoughts and inspirations) of the owner-builders who are on the forefront of this new trend in downsizing and self-sufficiency.

Lloyd just released a new video where he takes you through a two minute walk through of the book and Shelter Publications.

You can purchase the book through Shelter Publications http://www.shelterpub.com/ or at Amazon.

Thank you Lloyd for sharing your talent with this wonderful new book.

The squared off logs are neat also and make the little cabin fit into the landscape beautifully. The photo was taken by Erik Sundström not to far from his home.

The details are below on how you can win your free copy. I will be giving three copies to Tiny House Blog readers and you might just be one. Derek the author of this fantastic book and I will be the judges.

I will email the winners to get your address and mail your copy to you after the selection is made. I will also post an update so everyone knows who won along with their tip. I’ll turn it over to Deek to tell you what is new with this book and how to enter for your chance to win.

Hey Kent,

Here are a few copies of the new edition of “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks“, as promised, to give away to your readers. The book is up on Amazon.com for only $11.25 right now. I suggest you determine the winners through bouts of ultimate fighting, which we can then film for youtube. No, not really, but I have an idea I’ll recommend in a minute….

The new edition is being put out through The Lyons Press (home to work from David and Jeanie Stiles, Shay Solomon, and so on), and has quite a few new aspects to it as compared to the old hand assembled versions out there. PS- if any of you own the green cover version of the old book (only about 30 were made), some wacko bought one off some online seller for almost $100 not that long ago- yeah, stupid, I know….

Anyway, the new, expanded version of the book has….

• 14 New full page cabin designs/small living sketches
• A new 16 page color insert photo section showing some of the things I’ve designed and built, in addition to almost 40 cabins, shacks, and tiny houses that others have completed. A decent chunk of these are photos I’ve personally taken too- so there are a few things no one has seen, blog-wise, before.
• A new chapter called “Tricks Of The Trade” where I interviewed the likes of Lloyd Kahn, Jay Shafer, Mimi Zeiger, Michael Tougias, Cathy Johnson, Alex Pino, Gregory Paul Johnson, Dee Williams, Colin Beavan, Duo Dickinson, Tammy Strobel, and Alex Johnson, for their own tips and ideas on designing with space efficiency, minimalization, and storage in mind.
• Many other new sketches to accompany the text sections
• An intro/foreword written by Author/Architects David and Jeanie Stiles (one of my favorites/influences)

To win – we will select the three best “Tiny House Storage Tips” (Making/Saving Space). Even for those who don’t enter, it might make for a read in the comments section. I’m sure we could all learn something from it. We’re looking for more than just cut and paste links. Please show us applied and tried techniques that most might not have thought of or considered, you know if you want to win and all.

An example: “The space over doorways in homes is often neglected. If you’re looking for an extra storage spot in your small home, toss a simple bracketed bookshelf over a doorway or two, and you’ve created stow-space that otherwise wouldn’t have been used.”

Good luck to all! (Assuming, Kent, that you choose this means over the ultimate fighting one).

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, February 7 so get your tips in NOW!

Thanks Kent- a 2012 workshop is in the works, MANY new episodes of my show too (several have already been filmed, and we shoot three in Seattle soon (our first BIG trip away from MA with the show (well aside from NY, ME, NH, and CT). An episode on Nicolette’s wagon in Germany too. I’ll be teaching some Tumbleweed Courses the first in Miami April 14-15, come and have some fun!

-Derek “Deek” Diedricksen
Relaxshacks.com
Host of “Tiny Yellow House” TV