Visiting Colin’s Coastal Cabin

The other day my friend Greg Cater who publishes the Reclaimed Wood Blog and I met at Colin’s tiny house in West Marin County. I had been wanting to visit Colin ever since I published his post and found out he lived not to far away. Click here to read about the construction of Colin’s tiny house.

Greg was interested in the way Colin repurposed wood into a tiny house and the furniture he constructed within the home.

Colin welcomed us and we enjoyed a nice visit and tour. Colin’s design is very roomy and though quite rustic in appearance. It has lots of great storage, an on floor guest bed and outdoor shower. Living completely off-grid, Colin has no trouble maintaining his needs with his solar system. He mainly uses it to run his refrigerator, computer, and lights. Propane is used for his stove and hot water heater. He has gravity fed water to his home which originates with a well on the property and stored in a large tank.

To learn more about his furnishing and use of reclaimed wood visit Greg’s Reclaimed Wood Blog http://reclaimedwoodblog.com/ as he expounds on it much more then I do here.

Thanks Colin for letting us experience your wonderful home.

living area

kitchen

loft bed

tiny house yard

24 thoughts on “Visiting Colin’s Coastal Cabin”

  1. This is an amazing house. I get an immediate warm “homey” feeling as I read and observe all the details. I highly recommend clicking on the link in the first paragraph. He has gone into great detail on the whole process of creating this beautiful home.

    Reply
  2. Very nice job. I am trying to put together a plan for my cabin, it is a bit larger 20×24 so I have a good amount of space. I am heating with wood, but so far have a problem with water. The pump died and I want to stay off the grid if possible. Any Suggestions? The current well is 110 feet deep, so it would take a bit to lift the water. Generator or electric and a small battery system. Any ideas would be appreciated.

    Reply
    • http://bisonpumps.com/deep-well-hand-pump/ says it can work down to 200′. If you have a big tank you can pump it full every now and then and just let the water gravity feed from it to the house. Or you can use a gas powered pump to fill the tank, or an electric pump with generator might be more versatile. Whichever way you pump, having a large tank to gravity feed your house on demand rather than pumping up a bit of water each time makes more sense to me.

      Reply
  3. Great home! I am also looking at the marine stoves and have not found where I can purchase the Salamanders in the USA. Could you tell me where you were able to purchase your stove? Thanks
    Bret

    Reply
    • hi – i think i bought it straight from salamander. they were selling them on ebay at the time, though i don’t see it there now. very nice people – if you contact them i’m sure they can sort it out.
      🙂

      Reply
  4. Is your water heater contained in that box on the front? I had freezing issues with my on-demand water heater and was wondering if you could insulate it in a box like you have…

    Reply
    • hi – the water heater is inside the house, in the kitchen cabinet. it’s a 10-gallon RV water heater, i.e. it’s not on-demand. but it’s very efficient and might be a good option if you are in an area prone to freezing.

      Reply
  5. It would be helpful if notable appliances and other equipment helpful in enabling a Tiny House design were to be listed with their sourcing at the end of articles/postings.

    For example; The small two burner, in counter, stove.

    Reply
    • that small stove is an RV appliance made by atwood. check online RV parts stores and you’ll see lots of them, as well as other useful things for tiny houses. 🙂

      Reply
  6. I am very curious if you are still in the Marin county area. I am on a hunt for a place to park my tiny house and am very interested in this area between mill valley and Petaluma 🙂 thank you!

    Reply

Leave a Comment