The Week Magazine Features Tiny Homes
Normally, the “Best properties on the market” section of The Week magazine features French chateaus and Italian villas, mansions with endless pools or the best Beacon Hill townhouses. However, for the week of August 3, the featured properties were all tiny homes under 1,000 square feet.
The Solo 36 Bunkie by Sustain Design Studio
The homes featured were the Aktiv by Ideabox and IKEA which is 745 square feet and costs $86,500, the Solo 36 Bunkie modular home from Sustain Design Studio which is 475 square feet and costs $87,500 and the Kit_01 from Zamore Homes. The Kit_01 is a two-bedroom, 992 square foot kit home that features a living room with a fireplace, a laundry room and a large attic loft. Plans for this home cost around $2,500.
Designboom’s Container Office
Designboom is a publication and blog that focuses on design, architecture, art, photography and graphics. Their main offices are located in Milan, Italy, but for the hot summer months, the crew of Designboom recently moved their offices into a series of cargo containers on the island of Sardinia. Their DIY adventure was profiled in a recent post on their website and the results are a beautiful representation of relaxed, sustainable living (and working) on a desert island in the Mediterranean.
The government of Sardinia has adopted some strict criteria for building permits on the island to curb overbuilding. However, one way to get around the long permit waiting period is by using temporary or modular structures as housing. Designboom purchased three used cargo containers and crane-lifted them onto natural stone pavement since the team did not want to use any concrete in the construction. The outdoor flooring is made from local stone and dry set with sand and mortar. The containers are placed at 90 degree angles to each other so that their external doors can be latched together to protect the dining area from the ocean winds. Continue Reading »
A Shed with Shade
The latest issue of The Family Handyman has a beautiful house on the front cover that happens to be step-by-step plans on how to build an Arts & Crafts style shed with a front porch. I think with a little tweaking, and the installation of electrical and plumbing, it could make a very nice tiny house.
This particular shed is 8×16 feet with a large sliding door on the back that runs on a track, three windows that let in plenty of light and a front door with a wonderful front porch that brings the total area of the shed to 16×16 feet. The structure can be built in four or five weekends with the help of a few people. The cost (not including the concrete slab) is about $3,800, and the skill level needed is intermediate. Experience with framing is helpful, but not necessary. Because of the sliding door (that opens up the living area) this structure will probably work best in warmer or milder climates.
