Tiny House Blog

The theme of this year’s Burning Man was Metropolis, and the event’s temporary home of Black Rock City was buzzing with urban energy, wonderful, creative neighbors, and interesting camps.

Many of these camps had their own versions of tiny houses, and like last year’s post, I thought I would feature a few of my favorites.

This year, our neighborhood of 3:30 and Istanbul (see the Black Rock City map) was lucky to have the Neverwas Haul as a corner beacon. This “mutant vehicle” is styled as a steampunk Victorian house that you could actually live in. In Black Rock City, it’s helpful to camp near a larger structure so you can find your way back to your little home in the dark. Continue Reading »

Like many other cities, my hometown of Reno, Nev. has seen more and more people leave the suburbs to make their home in a more condensed urban environment to save on housing and gas costs. Several buildings in the downtown Reno corridor have been redeveloped to include housing for city living. Kelly Rae and Pam Haberman of HabeRae Investments Inc. are creating tiny, beautiful urban infill houses while keeping the history of many of these buildings alive.

2 More on Watt Farmhouse

Kelly and Pam have been redeveloping properties since 1998 and are most well known for their 8 on Center project, but their most recent projects are getting some attention for their tiny size, aesthetics and green design. They have won local awards for historic preservation, environmental design and community improvement. Continue Reading »

For only a week out of each year, Black Rock City, the home of Burning Man, is the fourth largest city in the state of Nevada. While the festival participants’ camps are only temporary, a lot of work goes into creating a comfortable, beautiful tiny shelter. These tiny “houses” have to be able to withstand up to 80 mile an hour winds, have to protect their inhabitants from the desert heat and cold, and the notorious dust storms of the Black Rock Desert. It also helps if they are colorful and attract attention. It makes them easier to find in the mass creativity that is Black Rock City.

Our neighborhood of 3:15 and Inherit in Black Rock City, NV

While at Burning Man, you “live” in the city. When someone asks you where you live, you say something like, “On the corner of 7:00 and Chaos, right next to the giant spaceship.” (referring to the horizontal “C” street and vertical number street of the Black Rock City map). This year’s city was 9,460 feet in diameter and included 44 miles of streets. It helps to know exactly where your tiny house is located.

To the un-Burned eye, Black Rock City looks a little beat up and run down, but when you are in one of the most inhospitable places on earth, any little bit of comfort is appreciated. The inhabitants of Black Rock City are an amazing group of people with extremely creative ideas and skills who create little laps of luxury in the desert.

These are some of my favorite tiny houses of Black Rock City:

Hexayurts were quite popular this year

So were tipis

I even found a half-finished gypsy wagon down the street

A very well insulated yurt

This structure has a central living area and a loft for sleeping

A beautiful, handmade truck trailer

This geodome uses solar panels for power

The Oliver trailer owned by Chris and Cherie from Technomadia

These tiny houses were built for storage and sleeping

The trailer of the Hollywood Death Squad

Our neighbor converted a toy hauler into a tiny shelter with French doors

This dome was used as a steam room

A lovely pink setup at the entrance to Kidsville

This mutant vehicle, also a shelter, was towed by a tractor

The inhabitants of the VW Bus Camp travel in groups

You can even have a white picket fence in Black Rock City

And my all-time favorite…

The Neverwas Haul, one of the best known mutant vehicles on the Playa