Tammy and Logan’s Tiny House Tour
My friend and fellow blogger Tammy Strobel of Rowdy Kittens and her husband Logan just fulfilled a dream of theirs and moved into a tiny house.
The home was designed and built by Dee Williams and Katy Anderson of Portland Alternative Dwellings based in Portland, Oregon. I asked Tammy to give us a video walk through of her home and asked her a few questions also. Included in this post is her video and a photo gallery of their new home. You can view more photos of the construction of their home here.
Kent: As a couple living in such a small space where do you go to find your own private space?
Tammy: Logan and I both have solitary jobs. I’m a writer and he’s a scientist. During the course of the work day we both spend a lot of time alone. During the mornings, evenings and on the weekends, we enjoy spending time together. Even if our jobs weren’t solitary that would still be the case. Logan is my best friend and I love spending time with him. If I need alone time, I go out for a walk, practice yoga, or meditate. I don’t need a big house to find my own private space.
Kent: Will you do most of your cooking in your house or do you eat out regularly?
Tammy: I’ll do both. Logan and I have a tiny stove that runs off denatured alcohol. Logan baked cornbread for an office party and we made an amazing vegetable stir-fry for dinner last week. In the past our routine has been to cook mostly at home, however, we also love eating out and Portland has a great food scene. For example, the food carts offer a wide range of choices and it’s relatively inexpensive.
Kent: What type of plumbing, etc. is used in your home to take care of gray water and black water?
Tammy: I have a simple plumbing set-up in the little house; one pipe goes into the house and one goes out. A garden hose attaches to a valve on the exterior of the house and it runs to a kitchen faucet that is used to do dishes. For drinking water, we filter water from the faucet using a simple Berkey Light water system that sits on the counter.
I have a small wet-bath to clean-up, but right now I don’t use it because I shower after my yoga class and Logan showers at his office.
Gray water from the kitchen sink and wet-bath drains flow together into a single pipe out to under the house and is currently caught in a five gallon container under the house. We use the grey water to irrigate ornamental trees and shrubbery and so far we have been producing about 1.5 gallons of grey water per day (or less). Black water isn’t an issue because I have a composting toilet. The composting toilet is based off the model in the Humanure Handbook. Composting is a huge topic, so if you want to learn more, read the book.
Kent: How did you find a place to park your mobile tiny home?
Tammy: When I started looking for a parking spot, I emailed all of my friends and posted a flyer on the blog too. There is uncertainty when it comes to parking a little house, especially if you don’t have land of your own and I was scared we wouldn’t find a parking spot within the city limits. Moving to an RV park on Sauvie Island was an option. But the commute is a little too far for us, especially since we don’t have a car.
Eventually, acquaintances heard we needed a place to park and offered their backyard to us in exchange for rent. It’s in a beautiful neighborhood and I’m incredibly grateful to be in such a wonderful spot.
Kent: Is it legal to park your home where it is?
Tammy: The planning department has not integrated little dwellings into the city code yet. So technically, the little house isn’t illegal or legal. However, the City of Portland has been receptive to these types of homes. The history of small, mobile food carts is a great example and a wonderful precedent to Portland’s tolerance regarding alternative buildings within the city limits.
The primary purpose of city code is to make sure homes are safe. Our house is built to the International Building Code and was inspected by a certified electrician, plumber, and contractor. In addition to being beautiful, our french doors serve as an easy entry for emergency personal, in case of a fire or illness. Taken together, these features help planning department officials make a better appraisal of the structure.
If you’re thinking of building a little house, check in with your city planning department. In addition, be sure you get inspections by certified electricians, plumbers, and contractors to verify the dwellings safety.
For more information regarding tiny home construction details, read Go House Go.
Kent: What would you suggest to someone wanting to change their lifestyle like you have.
Tammy: First, give yourself time. It took us 4 years to pay off our debt and downsize to a tiny house. Some of my friends have been able to downsize really quickly and that’s great. For me, that wasn’t a reality. Part of simplifying required a huge shift in my mindset and that took time. I had to stop looking for happiness at the mall. I learned to focus on cultivating my relationships instead of worrying about stuff.
Second, focus your life situation. Living in a 150 square-feet isn’t for everyone and that’s okay. Ask yourself: How much do I need? What makes me happy? What amount of space will fit my family’s needs?
Finally, you need to practice with what you have. When we first started downsizing we cleaned out one bedroom of our two bedroom apartment and treated our big home as a smaller home. For instance, Gregory Johnson of the small house society started by renting out his house and downsized to only one of his bedrooms.
Kent: Do you have such amenities as power, internet, etc? If so how do you go about getting it for a separate unit from the main house?
Tammy: Yes I have the Internet and power. However, I am still tied to the grid through the main house. We’re sharing a wireless internet connection with the land owners and we’ve plugged into their house to get electricity with an outdoor extension cord. The little house runs off a 15 amp power source.
More questions? Please visit the FAQ page at RowdyKittens.com. Thanks!
Simple Life History
By Dan Price
In 1990, I moved back to my home state of Oregon intent on living in a tipi and getting rid of mortgages or rent. I looked for a suitable piece of property for months and finally located a 2 acre meadow next to the Wallowa River near the town of Joseph. The owners agreed that I could set up a tipi there in exchange for clearing downed trees and repairing the fence lines. A few months later I moved out of a small room up town and into the tipi full time. I spent three seasons in that 16 ft tipi.
In order to simplify, I sold the tipi and built a 9 ft X12ft red willow hut, complete with carpeting and blanket door and proceeded to live in that space for 2 years. Luckily I was able to put in underground electricity early on so was able to have lights and a small heater which helped in the winter months. The came a time when my Moonlight Chronicle zine got a corporate sponsorship from Simple Shoes in California and I spent the next 4 years mostly traveling around drawing and writing. Continue Reading »
Tiny Straw Bale Village Getaway
Recently I had the opportunity to work closely with Strawbale.com to introduce to you the new Applegate Residence, a small straw bale home that can be built for around $20,000. I am very intrigued by this type of construction but I have never actually stayed in a straw bale home. As I was learning more about Strawbale.com I stumbled across a page that showed some tiny straw bale homes for rent. I contacted Gabrielle Morrison to learn more about them and she wrote back with the following information and photographs. I’ll let Gabriella tell you more.
Over the course of about 3 years we built a series of 4 charming and beautiful straw bale cabins, all at 200sqft to create a mini “Straw Bale Village.” Three of them serve as sleeping cabins and have plenty of space for queen size beds as well as desks.
Continue Reading »
Alsek Cottage
I have featured the Oregon Cottage Company before here on the Tiny House Blog and you can visit the previous posts here. Todd Miller designs his homes to fit his clients needs and the new Alsek Cottage is his latest design. I’ll let Todd tell you more about it.
The Alsek Cottage is Oregon Cottage Company’s (OCC) response for a client’s wish to reduce costs and do a partial build-out. Our client wished to express her talent in finishing the project on her own and to reduce her expenses along the way. She also wanted to flood the interior with light and create additional loft space.
We were able to satisfy her requirements by creating a 4/12 single pitch roof, adding clearstory operable windows and cut costs by:
- Eliminating an exterior porch to maximize the conditioned space.
- Creating a 4/12 simple shed roof.
- Utilizing vinyl in lieu of wood windows.
- Reusing a window and a solid wood Dutch door.
- Stubbing out for gas, water, and waste only.
- Installing pine v-grove interior wall finish and allowing the client to trim out the windows, door, base boards and loft. Surrounding and sealing the wood.
- Allowing the client to install the finish flooring.
- Allowing the client to install all interior partitions.
- Installing T-111 siding with battens eliminating the beveled cedar siding.
- Finishing the exterior with a field paint of only one color and allowing the client to paint the trim if she wishes. Continue Reading »
Sharon’s Small House Story
My husband and I have been living in a small home rental in Portland, Oreogn for the past year and a half. Our cottage is about 450 square feet. It feels quite spacious to us. Both of us grew up in very large homes full of family, friends, and fun and we loved it, but prefer a smaller space for ourselves.
We got married in Maine (we used to live in Boston/Somerville) and packed our small Honda Civic with all of our possessions and leisurely road tripped to Oregon.
We found this house on Craigslist soon after moving to the area. Because we only brought our clothes and some personal items, we wanted to find a small place that would be easy and cheap to furnish. It took a few weeks, but we were able to get everything in our home (except TV and bed side tables) from Goodwill, Craigslist, and garage sales. It was quite an adventure! Continue Reading »
Floating Guest House
As many of you know I am a huge fan of floating homes and have often thought of starting another blog focusing just on them. Recently through a google alert I discovered this little floating guest house in Portland, Oregon. Designed and constructed by a company called Studio Hamlet Architects, PLLC based in Bainbridge Island, WA. Julia Zander was kind enough to send me some wonderful photographs and gave me permission to share this project with you.
Floating Retreat
This floating guest house is nestled among a community of eclectic houseboats on the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. The project was designed to work as a part-time residence for a couple’s use while their main floating home is being built. After moving into the main house, the guest house will become a vacation retreat for visiting family and friends. Continue Reading »
LeisureLand Community River House
Guest Post by TR Kelley
We bought this 5 acre piece of land on Oregon’s Siuslaw River in 1998. In addition to the ramshackle house and barn, there were six creosoted pilings driven into the riverbank in front of the house defining a 6×10 rectangle under some huge old firs.
The urge to build some sort of platform for river viewing, birdwatching and outdoor summer sleeping was irresistible. We started with a dozen different 6×4 beams salvaged from a demolished plywood mill to frame the floor out to approx 11×11, with an additional 4x4x5 triangle nook sticking out over the river. An abandoned 100-year-old house upriver yielded the 2×6 T&G subflooring.
The River House at LeisureLand, looking upriver (ESE). River mile 34.5, Siuslaw River, Oregon.
The next year, we built the framework of the cabin over the top with recycled lumber. 3″ peeled poles were recycled from a tipi project to make the rafters, and a neighbor’s remodel gave us the door and vintage bead-board for the ceiling. Continue Reading »
