Tiny House Blog

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.

Austin Hay from Santa Rosa, California is making the news these days. About a month ago he was featured in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. His latest forage into the public eye is a faircompanies.com video by Kirsten Dirksen. Which after just two days has had over 136,000 views.

I had the opportunity to meet Austin a couple of months ago at one of Jay Shafer’s Tumbleweed Open Houses. Austin really impressed me with his knowledge of the tiny house movement and his willingness to share his experience that he has learned as he builds his own tiny house. He is in the process of building a Fencl, Jay Shafer’s most popular plan. He was sharing his business card and visiting with everyone. Be sure and visit Austin’s website at MiniHouseBuilder.com.

Kirsten Dirsken uses her talent to show off Austin’s work and knowledge in her latest video.

Today I received from Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, Jay Shafer’s latest book called Tumbleweed DIY Book of Backyard Sheds & Tiny Houses. I decided to do something different with this review and have put together a video book review.

The drawback is for those with slow internet connections as you will not be able to watch it. Simply click on the graphic below and it will take you to the Tumbleweed sales page, there you will learn how to build a backyard cottage Tumbleweed Style. Okay here goes, it’s not perfect so be kind to me