Tiny House Blog

In response to shifting fundamentals in the ways people are wanting to live, Texas-based Kanga Room Systems has created a variety of tiny portable buildings that can be used as tiny homes, personal or office spaces, and investment properties. These eco-friendly kits are shipped ready to assemble into well-designed, well-engineered and aesthetically-pleasing tiny structures that Kanga describes as “dream-sized”.

Kanga chose the kangaroo to symbolize their company and product because of its strength, agility and the ability for a kangaroo mother’s pouch to be a natural portable home. Because of this, Kanga is also committed to using sustainable materials and energy efficient products whenever possible while still keeping their structures affordable.

Kanga currently offers several options: the Kanga Studio is available in the The Modern and The Country Cottage styles and the Kanga Cabin is a larger structure that can be constructed to accommodate a bathroom, kitchenette, a separate bedroom and a loft.

The Modern design offers clean lines, a progressive style and can be constructed to sizes large enough to accommodate a bathroom and a kitchenette. The Modern comes in eight sizes: the 8′x10′ for around $7,150, the 10′x12′ for around $7,900, the 12′x14′ for around $9,200, the 12′x16′ and the 14′x14′ for around $9,860, the 14′x16′ for around $10,670, the 14′x20′ for around $11,999 and the 14′x24′ for around $13,400. Continue Reading »

Many tiny house dreamers want to build their own tiny house, but may be deterred by their lack of construction skills. In addition, fully customized tiny homes can be more than many people’s budgets. Tiny House Builders builds and sells simple, fully completed, mobile tiny houses that allow the owner/builder to customize the house to whatever style they want at an affordable price. The company accomplishes this with three levels of each of their products. Level One is a complete set of building plans instructional narrative, and step by step instructional photos. Level Two consists of a complete modular building “kit”. It arrives at your door with the completed floor system mounted on its own mobile chassis and the building shell in “panelized” form. Level Three is a complete building shell that can be further customized by the owner.

The first product sold by the company is the Wallowa. This tiny house is 8 feet by 12 feet and includes 2×4 framing, a standard home size entry door, two windows, double wall construction, cedar lap siding with cedar trim, and metal roofing guaranteed for 35 years. The interior clear ceiling height is 6 feet 8 inches, and the interior loft height at the peak is slightly over 3 feet 8 inches. The overall height with the building on its mobile chassis is 13 feet 5 inches, just under the legal limitation. Level One ($429) includes a complete set of detailed building plans, actual photos of construction and an instructional video. Level Two ($9,850) and Level Three ($15,975) allow the owner to design and build their own interior including wall covering, floor covering, plumbing, electrical, appliances and cabinetry. Continue Reading »

Alice shared this with me and thought they would be a fun addition to a tiny house Christmas.

I made tiny gingerbread houses that are meant to be perched on the edge of a mug of hot chocolate.

I made a few versions to figure out how to make one that wasn’t so top heavy that it would flip off the mug. I also was interested to see how small I could get away with and still fit on both large and small cups. I generally followed the size of my The Mini Gingerbread House Kit (though, those pieces don’t fit together as nicely as I’d have liked).

See the article and full instructions at notmartha.org.

Pan Abode of Washington state has been selling their custom cedar homes and cabin kits for nearly 60 years. They offer a wide scope of sizes and styles including cabins that range from 120 square feet to just over 700 square feet. However, Pan Abode also sells an even tinier home they call the Mighty Cabana. These buildings do not require a permit and come in at under 200 square feet.

The Mighty Cabana is pre-cut from solid wood and is connected by a patented building system for strength and ease of construction. They can be used as a small house, a small business, a vacation home, an artist studio, pool house or storage shed. Continue Reading »

Drawing on ideas from his sculpture practice, Craig Pleasants designed an octagonal, eco-friendly kit house as a low-budget housing alternative. For example if a person took out a 10 year loan to pay for a $25,000 mortgage the monthly payment would be less than $300 – most rentals are much higher! And wouldn’t it be satisfying to own a home.]

Based on a house he built from conventional materials in 1979, the new “Octagonal Living Unit” is constructed from pre-cut, recyclable panels of steel and expanded polystyrene. It takes only a matter of days to assemble. With a price tag of less than $25,000 and a footprint under 400 square feet, it could easily function as an artist’s studio, a guest house, a living space for a small family, or (as the need arises) disaster housing. The material, extremely resistant to seismic activity and high winds, is strong and safe, yet the design aesthetic is sculptural and appealing.

Craig is currently collaborating with kickstarter.com to raise funds to construct a full-scale prototype for the Octagonal Living Unit project. If the $21,000 goal is met by June 30, funds will be awarded and the project may continue. With the success of his kickstarter campaign, Pleasants hopes to market these low-profile octagonal houses to a wider audience.

Last year I did a small post on Cabana Village Garden Buildings, and since then their tiny cabin kit gallery has grown.  I thought the Tiny House readers would get a kick out of some of Cabana Village’s latest designs. Their website also features an interactive design center so you can customize your cabin kit.

Cabana Village builds cabin kits and cottage bunkies to be used as weekenders, lakeside cottages, starter cabins or backyard retreats. They also build pool houses, sheds, garden studios and garage kits. The cabins, cottages and bunkies feature cedar doors, windows and trim and are available in cedar or maintenance-free Canexel siding. All their cabanas have 1/2″ plywood roof sheathing and 2×4 SPF framing. With their sturdy construction and use of quality materials, extensive pre-fabrication, ease of assembly, and attractive design, their possible uses are only limited by your imagination. Continue Reading »