Tiny House Blog

Guest post by Lisa

When my husband and I first moved to the country after 20 years of living in the big city, we talked a lot about the different possibilities for housing. We were both sick of apartments. We fantasized about the different natural building techniques like cob and straw bale, but worried about exorbitant land prices here in California.

About five or six years ago we stumbled upon Jay Shafer’s Tumbleweed website and were completely charmed. This was pre-Oprah, before he was so famous. We had a free private consultation with him within the first few weeks after he moved out to California. A couple years later we went to one of his open houses, and recently went to his first showing of his new Craftsman style cottage. We love his work, but his prices were too high for our budget. Building it ourselves seemed too difficult, though I’m sure it is possible for some people.

The tiny house bug had us. We now knew how we could own our own home without land or a mortgage, but we needed a place to put the house. Continue Reading »

Guest post by Paprika Clark

There’s a new tiny house company in town, and our name is Bungalow to Go (www.bungalowtogo.com).

Hi, my name is Paprika Clark, but a lot of folks call me Pepper. Although I only named it a few months ago, I started my house design company in spirit when I noticed an ad for a new subdivision in the newspaper at the age of six. Next to an elevation sketch was a floor plan. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The rooms were named. I could recognize an overhead view of a toilet, and the distinct round burners on the stove in the kitchen. I created a three dimensional projection in my mind and walked around “my new house” picking out my room and figuring out where we would put our couch. It was magical and I was hooked.

I started drawing my dream house then and I’ve never stopped. In the beginning they were huge and often strange, with lavish impossible features. Ponds with lily pads, indoor pools, waterfalls, tree houses, cave complexes, three story libraries with enormous rolling ladders, fireman’s poles, secret tunnels, maze gardens, green roofs, greenhouses, orchards, fire pits, dance floors… my houses had it all. Continue Reading »

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company is announcing a new product. The Tumbleweed Hollyhocks Poster and I wanted to be the first to share it with you. Designed by Jay Shafer, the poster is 18″ wide by 24″ tall, and printed on 80# recycled paper. It features the Anderjack model and some beautiful hollyhocks.

Tumbleweed is offering it on sale for $8.99, regular price $15.99. I have a copy of one here at my house and my wife likes it so well she wants to frame it and put in the guest room. You can purchase yours NOW by Clicking Here. Show off to your friends your love for tiny houses!

Steven over at Tiny House Listings notified me that he was in contact with someone who has Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company original Tumbleweed home and that it is now listed for sale on his site. According to the owner this is the actual Tumbleweed house that started it all. Jay Shafer built this house and lived in it when he lived in Iowa and is Tumbleweed house number one.

Since then it has been a crafting shop and guest house on the new owners property in Boston. It is in excellent condition and you can get the complete details at Tiny House Listings. This is your chance to own a piece of history.

Recently, I had the opportunity to have a personal tour from Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, of his new tiny home. Jay has completed and moved into the Gifford Box Bungalow. This house is one of the designs featured in his latest book called Tumbleweed DIY Book of Backyard Sheds & Tiny Houses.

Jay agreed to do a video walkthrough of the Gifford explaining his thoughts behind the design of his house. These homes were recently featured in HGTV Design Star’s contest but I prefer Jay’s design and I think the designers could learn a lot from him. The video is a little rough as I am still learning, but I hope it will give you a feel for the completed home.

I would like to invite you to Subscribe to the Tiny House Blog YouTube Channel below and feel free to Like or Comment on the video also.

I have also attached some professional pictures that Jay had photographed of his house in the gallery below. Enjoy the Tour!

[View with PicLens]

by Elaine Walker

Calling all tiny house fans!

Would you like the opportunity to stay overnight in a tiny house before plunging into building your own?

My Story

Indulgent Restraint was born of my fascination with tiny houses and a desire to live in one. A few years ago while living in New England, I fell in love with the Lusby design by Jay Shafer of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. I wanted to nestle the tiny house in a Thoreau-like setting, among tall pines near a pond. My kids were grown and I was ready to downsize. So I put our big house on the market, bought land, purchased the tiny house plans and hired a professional home builder to start work on the Lusby. But it was 2008 and the start of the housing crisis. The big house wasn’t selling, so I couldn’t hang on to the lake front land; my plans would have to change.

After some twists and turns, I sold the lot, rented out my big house, and moved myself, two dogs, three cats and tiny house to California. I lived in the tiny house on rented farm land in the delta along the Sacramento River. It was a wonderful adventure!

But I really wanted to be closer to San Francisco and have enough room to host guests. So when my big house in New Hampshire finally found a buyer, I was able to make another move. I bought a 96 year old, two bedroom house in Vallejo and brought the tiny house to its backyard. I’d love to open it up for other tiny house fans!

http://www.indiegogo.com/Worlds-Tiniest-Hotel

To view more photos go here: http://indulgentrestraint.com/

A special HGTV Design Star for tiny house enthusiasts will show Monday evening. The three finalists will be competing to create interiors of three Tumbleweed Box Bungalow tiny houses. These are based off of Jay Shafer’s latest designs of the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company and from his new book and plans the DIY Tiny House book which sells for $19.95. Plans are available for the Box Bungalow for $49.95

There is a lot of secrecy as to what the designers will actually be doing but I am hoping that they will be asked to design a complete house that includes a bathroom and kitchen and a sleeping area. Can you image what we can learn from HGTV and these expert designers?

The show airs for the first time on Labor Day, Monday September 5, 2010 at 9/8c and again on September 6 at 12 am. If you miss the live broadcast the show will also be posted on Hulu on September 9th.

If you’d like to take part in a chat on Twitter during the show the folks at Tumbleweed will be hosting via hashtag #DSTumbleweed.

If you’re new to the idea of downsizing, please take some time to look around the Tiny House Blog and you will learn what it is all about.