Tiny House Blog

The 2011 ETA QTVan is minimalism at the extreme with a high price to match. The ETA QTVan is Designed and built by an English company called Environmental Transport Association. With the Royal Wedding approaching the company is promoting it as a way to camp in royal style. At $9,000, I sure hope so!

It’s small, just over six feet long. It has just about everything you need though: a full-size bed, a tea service, a full bar, and a 19-inch flat screen television.

On the green side, the ETA says the QTVan is 100-percent carbon neutral, as long as you use the ETA mobility scooter.

Unfortunately the QTVan is only available to English customers, so you will have to go to England to buy one. It’s small enough that I’m sure you could ship it home without adding too much to the high price.

It is neat to see what can be done with minimal space, however with no bathroom or real kitchen it would pose some problems for full time living.

The E-den and the Hut are two new outdoor living/tiny house designs by the UK company Timber Tradesmen. Timber Tradesmen are selling these tiny buildings as alternative options to camping in a tent or trailer, or as a tiny office, but I think they would each make a great tiny house. Both of these buildings have a unique, organic design that fit comfortably in any surrounding, while providing an uncluttered, spacious interior – complete with a large bunk bed, full insulation and storage space. They also include an optional deck and and a canvas canopy for additional luxury and privacy.

The E-den is hand built by skilled craftsmen in Somerset using a combination of timber and steel framework, locally sourced materials and incorporating modern timber frame construction techniques. They each include a wide door for people with mobility problems, a large roof window for natural light, and electricity can be added into each E-den. They are each constructed in a workshop and delivered as a complete unit on a trailer. To launch the project the company has decided to sell the first 10 E-dens at cost to establish them in the marketplace, therefore the prices below are a genuine special offer and will be offered on a first come first served basis. Continue Reading »

Benjamin Wheeler brought to my attention Tom Dolby’s blog and his restoration of on ships lifeboat that he has converted into a music studio over in England. Though not used as a tiny house there is absolutely no reason that it couldn’t be converted into one.

I’ll let Tom Dolby tell you a little bit about the boat and you can use your imagination to see where you could take a boat like this.

She was built in the 1930′s as one of a pair of ship’s lifeboats aboard the SS Queen Ann, a British merchant vessel serving in the South Seas. If you look at the red stripe down the side, this was her original gunwale: the deck was added in the 1960′s and we built the wheelhouse this year. In the 30?s she would have had a sail, oars and small paraffin engine. It’s carved on her bowpost that she could hold up to 99 souls. Continue Reading »