Tiny House Blog

An 11×14 foot former vegetable patch eventually became the home for this tiny backyard house designed and built by sustainable building advisor Megan Lea. Since her veggies were not getting enough sun, she decided to bite the bullet and build an environmentally friendly house out of salvage 100-year-old barn wood behind her main home in Portland, Ore.

Her 154 square foot retreat, which was built in less than six months, contains salvaged lumber from three barns in Oregon, a salvaged copper roof, natural plaster walls and a wood stove. The salvaged barn wood on the exterior is from Barnwood Naturals, a company that sells reclaimed vintage wood. The loft contains a comfy sectional sofa and the floor of the loft and its supports are exposed to show the structural elements. The little living room has seating for several people and a large sliding door. The building does not have a bathroom or kitchen. Continue Reading »

by Captain Michael Schiller

I had a dream that I was in my backyard sitting in a recliner in a glass cube and it was snowing and decided to make it so.

This 13×6 ft building is made out of 11 used doors and mostly recycled lumber and the roof and floor are insulated with styrofoam panels reclaimed from a storage tank. The light fixtures, brass floor lamp, and oriental rug came from the swap section of the dump. The reclining wing chair came from craigslist, the wall to wall carpet was used at a trade show, and the exterior is painted with left over paint.

Everything is primed with a close out oil base primer I found for $5.

The two center doors open on to a bluestone patio. I installed and wired the structure with indoor and outside lights on dimmers, surround sound, and a flat screen that I had kicking around. The fan was a clearance item on sale for $23 from Lowes. Continue Reading »

Marylu Downing is a mixed media artist living in the tiny community of Freestone in Sonoma County, California. In the back of her beautiful property in the foothills above the town, she has a tiny guesthouse that has served as a respite for out-of-town family and vistors to this area of Wine Country. The guesthouse reflects the colors and textures that Marylu uses in her colorful and quirky paintings.

The tiny cottage was originally a shed and contains just a bedroom and a full bath, but Marylu is interested in putting in a small kitchen. The rooms are decorated with splashes of paint, comfortable furniture and Marylu’s paintings which are inspired by this bohemian community and the local beaches of Bodega Bay. Continue Reading »

Bellomo Architects, in Palo Alto, wanted to design an IKEA-like house, only easier to put together. Just like the Swedish company’s famous furniture, this 150 square foot modular structure can be flat-packed and delivered in a box that is only 4x10x3 feet in size. When complete, it only weighs 3,000 lbs. and can be used as shelter after natural disasters, as a backyard studio or office, or as a tiny house.

The House Arc is made of 90 percent recyclable lightweight steel tubes and is designed to be totally off-grid. It has a solar roof and large windows to capture natural light and create a cross-breeze through its curvy shape. The shading trellis limits heat infiltration and the unit is is raised up to permit air flow beneath the framework. The entire unit has been constructed to withstand tropical winds and weather. Several units housing differing rooms can be placed together to create a larger structure. Continue Reading »

On a lot in back of a former motel, there is a farm. And on that farm there are some tiny offices…okay…I won’t sing “E-I-E-I-O”, but the structures being built on the Urban Roots Farm in Reno, Nev. are worth tooting a few horns about. Urban Roots is currently being created as an educational farm and community center where schools, children and families can learn about gardening, alternative building techniques and the natural areas of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Range. The farm sits on a 3/4 acre plot that was donated by Kelly Rae and Pam Haberman of HabeRae Homes (which the Tiny House Blog profiled a few years ago). Kelly and Pam also designed two tiny structures to be used as offices for the Urban Roots staff.

Kelly is unofficially calling the two building designs ModPods. She and Pam were inspired by some similar structures they came across while traveling by motorcycle on Orcas Island, Wash.

“I nearly went off the road on my bike when I saw these tiny houses,” Kelly said. Continue Reading »

When architect Lila Cohen and designer Teina Manu purchased a lot with a bungalow in Arizona, they decided not to live in the bungalow, but to make it their architectural office. Their home then became the 450 square foot shed at the back of the property. According to Lila and Teina, the shed was most likely built around 1916 and they wanted to retain the original style by re-purposing many of the items and materials found in the little structure.

Manu, who is a designer who creates custom furniture, wanted the home to be eco-friendly as well.

“Little and low-priced to me is green,” he said to Arizona Central.

The tiny house contains a small kitchen/dining area, a living room, one bedroom with a walk-in closet and a bathroom with a sunken tub. From the front door of the house, every room is visible except the bathroom. A full size washer and dryer are inside a closet and a tiny office area utilizes a vintage sewing-machine cabinet as a desk. In the kitchen the appliances are smaller than average and the eating area is a steel breakfast bar. The couple had a stove custom made and they use Japanese shoji screens to separate the bedroom and living/cooking area. In fact, every door in the house is a sliding screen door. Continue Reading »