Back in March Walt Barrett introduced us to his 8×8 Micro House. Recently they converted it into a garden office.
Walt sent me a video and some photos to show you what they have done in making the Micro House into a garden office.
The loft will be made into a sleeping area and he will send photos when it is completed. I really like the quality of the completed interior. It looks like a very nice place to work. I could see myself working here without any problem.
These micro home/offices are available as plans or as kits. Be sure and check out Walt’s business A to Z Global Marketing Inc. where he offers all kinds of great resources for the tiny house enthusiast, from solar power to lighting and everything in between.
by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog)
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe to our feed
Speaking of offices, after reading the latest issue of Tiny House Living, I tracked down this really neat office/apartment in Antwerp, Belgium. It is made from used shipping containers (or at least, their skeletons). Apparently the bottom part is their architecture office–check out the slick front door–and the top floors are living areas. An awesome and stylish solution for urban infill.
http://www.archinect.com/features/article.php?id=74943_0_23_0_C
I’m not sure how I feel about the bathroom/bedroom layout, but since they are sandwiched between two buildings, I can see that they couldn’t just add a fifth container dedicated to a bathroom. I might have put the bed in the middle, and the bathroom on the outside wall.
The tub on the roof is cool. I can’t see how it would ever pass safety code in the U.S. without a protective railing, though.
Those are really neat Brand and very colorful. I may have to do a post on them. Thanks for the heads up…Kent
Hey Walt,
My first comment had a word that wouldn’t fly.
but what I said was –that I can see you are you are a internet genius
however you don’t know “squat” about building.
If you want to hire another genius–I am available…
Dennis
605-381-0827
dennis@rapidnet.com
As much as I’d like to imagine whole communities of micro houses dotting the landscape I highly doubt it that any municipality would ever let that happen. Homes on foundations have to meet a minimum size requirement in order to be considered living space. A builder may not have to get building permits or meet code requirements by keeping under that size but that structure would not be considered habitable and one call from an unfriendly neighbor and that $10,000 shelter would have to be torn down or removed. Furthermore those very same code requirements and local building permits are what make mass production of micro houses cost prohibitive. I know it’s not about aesthetics. People like small things just as much as they like large things.
What it is about is about profits. There is more money to be made when a person is forced by law to either rent an overpriced apartment or buy an oversized house. The option of living affordably in a small home that suits the needs of one person only and that can be expanded only when needed is simply not available to Americans. The mini house movement has potential when the homes remain on wheels. Wheels keep them classified as recreational vehicles RV’s and RV’s can be parked on any lot (rented or owned). This suits the profits driven culture of consumerism that encourages the ownership of recreational vehicles that include all the expense driven amenities of a home but more importantly it allows a loophole for those of us who seek functional affordability but that passes for opulent excess, because after all who, except the very rich, would buy a home on wheels when they already have a home without one?
The trick to pulling this off as I see it is not drawing attention to ones minimalist lifestyle. Park the home somewhere secluded as in a wooded lot or somewhere unassuming such as a rented backyard but never under any circumstance buy a suburban lot with a white picket fence and just a concrete slab in the middle and park your mini home there. That would be asking for trouble. Sorry, I tend to ramble on subjects I’m passionate about. I really wish Walt the best with his business endeavor. Thanks for posting.