Tiny House Blog

On our way back from Michigan last summer we happened upon this old scene from the wild west. It looks like someone had a dream to develop a small tourist site with an old time western frontier town. Just off from this cabin is a large hand painted sign that reads “A Dream Died Here.”

This is in the small town of Goehner, Nebraska. If you’re passing through, Chez Bubba Cafe in the small “downtown” area is a great place for some BBQ.

Photograph by Kevin Stevens
KMS Woodworks
Carpentry and Custom Furniture with Sustainability in mind
http://kmswoodworks.wordpress.com/

by Meryl and Bryan Freyberg

Picture two Minnesota teachers with summers off, one in grad school in Santa Fe, and both with yurt dreams. Given that, my husband Bryan and I spent our summer in simplicity, living in an 18-foot yurt at a state park for seven beautiful weeks.

After dreaming of yurt life for about six years, we finally got our chance and took it. In the winter of 2007 we visited Porcupine Mountains State Park in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and stayed in their yurts, cross country skiing around the park and in to the yurt. We fell in love with the area and the yurts and set our sights on not only staying in them in the park, but someday owning our own and putting it on Lake Superior’s shores in the area.

Last fall we went for it and put an offer on property on the big lake, but when the offer wasn’t accepted, we kept dreaming of yurt life. I wouldn’t have guessed at the time that grad school would somehow allow us to live in a yurt, but it did. I was accepted to Bread Loaf School of English, a masters in English program that allows you to choose from four different campuses. We chose Santa Fe, New Mexico for this summer and when we looked into renting housing, the price for our six-week visit was much more than we could afford. We decided to take the leap, buy a yurt, and live in it at a state park while I went to school.

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This week’s Tiny House in a Landscape was submitted by Nederland Feed and is a little chapel located in Michigan. I’ll let Nederland tell you a little more about it.

This tiny “chapel” is located in Hell, Michigan. It a favorite spot to get married on Halloween. There is only enough seating for about 6 inside along with a podium for the minister/official at the wedding.

Gene Wallen brought this unique building to my attention and sent me some photos he took while visiting it recently.

There is a Michigan Historical Marker at the Pickle Barrel House location that reads:

The Pioneer Cooperage Company of Chicago designed this small vacation cottage, which stood on the shores of nearby Sable Lake from 1926 until about 1937. It was built for William Donahey, creator of the Chicago Tribune cartoon story The Teenie Weenies. The house was constructed as a typical barrel would have been, only on a much larger scale. The main barrel contained a living area on the first floor and a bedroom on the second. A pantry connected this barrel to a smaller single-story one, which housed a kitchen.

Donahey spent ten summers at the cottage with his wife, Mary, herself a noted author of children’s books. The structure was then moved to its current site and used as a tourist information center. The Pickle Barrel House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Continue Reading »

Joe in Michigan sent me his story about what he is doing in his life right now and how he is downsizing.

I have been a tiny house fan all my life and a fan of your website for over a year.

In 1997 I had to sell my 2000 sq ft house in the country and move into a trailer park in town. Not wanting to sell my solar panels and equipment with the house, I installed them on my 1979 camper trailer and parked it on my parents back 40 for safe keeping and the solar camp was born.

Mom was quick to tell me where a good place was to place the fire pit and I had a 4ft by 8ft building for the kids to wait for the school bus moved over into the area.

Last year I put in a sawdust privy and power for the camper trailer and a 35 gallon rain barrel with an outdoor sink in. This spring wanting a better place to deal with the food from the cookouts, I added on to the backside of the privy an Arizona kitchen.

I have been drawing and dreaming of my little house on wheels for my retirement years, I came across your article on a 8ft by 8ft finished house for $9,000 this inspired me to start drawing on the 64 sq ft idea.

Needing a temporary replacement for the camper trailer next year when I remove the old trailer from the frame and build my new 8ft by 22ft little house on wheels, I started the bunkhouse which is 8ft by 8ft with a 4ft covered deck.

I have to date finished the exterior and should have the bunkhouse ready for sleeping in a mouth or two. Next spring I hope to finish up on the desk and closet for a finished and complete project.

Thanks Joe for sharing your project, I look forward to pictures of the completed bunkhouse and will plan to do an update when you are finished. Please keep us posted on your 8 x 22 tiny house on wheels as you design and build it as well.

by Kent Griswold (Tiny House Blog)

Arizona Kitchen