Tiny House Blog

I covered the ProtoHaus a couple of times in the past here on the Tiny House Blog. Ann Holley and Darren Macca have recently been featured in a neat video at 9News.com and I wanted to make sure you saw it.

“It’s like a sailboat on wheels,” Holley said.

A couple of years ago, tiny homes caught the attention of the couple. So, for about $25,000, they set out to build one.

“A lot of people think you couldn’t live this way,” Holley said.

They built the home with the help of family in Colorado. Then, when Holley went to graduate school out East, the couple drove the home out there and lived inside.

Protohaus caught the attention of folks on both commutes.

“They would follow us off the highway and they would be like, ‘How
many bedrooms are in there?’” Holley said.

Inside the home is a composting toilet; a stove; a faucet; outlets; even a sink with water. The home is fueled mostly on solar power and propane.

“Cleaning the house takes 20 minutes,” Holley said, laughing.

Read the complete story at the 9News website.

On the last update of the Protostoga there were many requests for interior photographs. Ann recently sent me some so I wanted to do another update.

Ann says: The interior of ProtoStoga is difficult to photograph because the space is so small. The floor area is 4’10”x7’6”. At the ledge it is it’s widest 6’4”x8’3”. I hope the photos I included this time will give a better idea of what the space feels like. The one through the front door is a photoshop collage and does not quite line up correctly but it still gives a pretty good idea.

We had our first guest this weekend. It was really exciting! We set up the interior as a bedroom with a full-sized bed across the space. There was enough room left over for a bags and stuff. She made a little video and when she sends me a copy I will share it with you… Continue Reading »

A couple of weeks ago I introduced you to Ann Holley’s ProtoStoga, which was still under construction. It is now complete and Ann just gave me an update with photos of the completed ProtoStoga. Here is Ann to tell you the rest of the story.

The ProtoStoga is complete! Last Saturday was my graduate thesis exhibition and Darren and I set ProtoStoga up in downtown Alfred. We had a few hundred visitors despite the cold weather. It snowed outside but the ProtoStoga was warm and toasty inside. There were as many as 10 adults inside at a time.

ProtoStoga is meant to be an addition to ProtoHaus. It will function as a flex space. It can be a guesthouse, vacation cottage, dining room, mobile studio, escape pod, reading room and much more. Everyone who visited ProtoStoga had their own idea of what they would use the space for. One visitor said he would turn it into a card playing room, another said it would be a perfect place to pray, and still another said it would be her writing retreat. Hearing other people’s ideas about how they would use the space was very gratifying. Continue Reading »

Ann Holley from ProtoHaus emailed me an update on their new new build the ProtoStoga. Here is what she has to say.

I hope that the spring is treating you well! We finally have some sun and warm weather here in Up State NY.

My graduate program is almost over and I will be having my thesis exhibition really soon! I thought you might be interested in the work I have been up to. Darren and I have built what we are calling the ProtoStoga.

It is a 40 square foot addition to ProtoHaus. ProtoStoga is meant to be a flexible space. It will function as a guesthouse, vacation cottage, office, mobile hair salon, and who knows what! The form of the structure is a hybrid between a Gypsy Vardo, Airstream-esque Trailer, Conestoga Wagon and a Shepherd Hut. Continue Reading »

Ann Holley and Darren of Protohaus told me that they are in a new article by the New York Tiimes about college students and alternative living. Here is a brief introduction.

Tired of dorm life? Three students, striving to live off the grid, made different choices. At Appalachian State, a student lives in a teepee in the Blue Ridge Mountains; another built a geodesic dome on campus at Juniata College, in central Pennsylvania; and as a class project, a graduate student has built a miniature house and rolled it onto Alfred University, in upstate New York.

Go read Education: Alternative Living

Photos and Intro from the New York Times.

Ann Holley who has built one of my favorite tiny houses the Protohaus is getting ready to start part two of her project. Ann is calling it a sort of addendum to the ProtoHaus.

Ann has added a new page “New Structure” to www.protohaus.moonfruit.com. There are images of models for the next design and some information there. I am going to let Ann go into the details below:

These models represent the next step of the ProtoHaus project. We are in development of an additional structure that will function as a multi purpose space. First, it will be a light-weight model. ProtoHaus weighs in at 9,500 pounds. A light-weight model (under 1,500 pounds) will be easier to move at short notice and will require less fuel to transport. Second, it will be a mobile education unit.

We would like to take the project on the road without having to break down our whole system. Third, it will function as an extra bedroom where we may house guests. Forth, it will act as an office space. Finally, it will be our vacation home at the beach, in the mountains or even in a commercial parking lot.

Each model has its own advantages and drawbacks. Ann is leaning toward the vardo-conastoga-shepherd hut-airstream hybrid.  I am curious what your choice would be.

Please vote below.

 Loading ...