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.

http://humanurehandbook.com/

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!

http://rowdykittens.com/our-tiny-house/

[View with PicLens]

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.

Back in the meadow I took down the hut and would erect a 4-season mountain tent when staying there. Eventually I built a tiny building (6 ft X10 ft) and lived in it for a year or so until it got robbed. I lost $5000 worth of cameras and computers!

So I dug into the hill side and made a tiny (8 ft) underground room with a skylight. This structure is basically burglar proof and I enjoy the coziness of such a small space, which is also easy to heat and cool. I have now been in the “Hobbit House” for almost 10 years.

To learn more about Dan visit http://www.moonlightchronicles.com/

I would say that it may give our planet a big, much needed rest if more people choose to scale down on their living spaces. For me the old saying “Less is More” has become a motto. Less always makes me a happier human.

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.

The fourth cabin is the “Sauna” cabin and includes a wood fired sauna. There is also a private full bathroom with flush toilet, sink and large shower stall in that cabin. One can come out of the bathroom or sauna and rest in the beautiful, inviting window seat and enjoy the view of the distant mountain peaks. There is also an outdoor deck with seating for cooling off after a hot sauna.

These cabins reside on a stunning 90 acre property in southern Oregon which serves as a retreat center. This property has several ponds on it, a full horse back riding facility, thousands of acres of trails available around it, and is a wonderful, peaceful place to spend some time. There is also a large retreat space (about 1,500 sq.ft.) that can be rented if you want to host your own workshop on the property.

If interested, you can rent the straw bale cabins and spend some time ‘recharging your batteries’ in this tranquil paradise. For more information and to make reservations, please visit www.ramsayrealty.com, click on vacation rentals.

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:

1. Eliminating an exterior porch to maximize the conditioned space.
2. Creating a 4/12 simple shed roof.
3. Utilizing vinyl in lieu of wood windows.
4. Reusing a window and a solid wood Dutch door.
5. Stubbing out for gas, water, and waste only.
6. 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.
7. Allowing the client to install the finish flooring.
8. Allowing the client to install all interior partitions.
9. Installing T-111 siding with battens eliminating the beveled cedar siding.
10. Finishing the exterior with a field paint of only one color and allowing the client to paint the trim if she wishes.

With these 10 items Todd was able to keep the costs down below $24,500. I have attached a few pictures and I invite you to visit the Oregon Cottage Company website to view construction photos and other options. Thanks Todd for sharing your latest design with us.

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!

Our house was originally a guest house for the large home next door, but now they are owned by different families. We truly love our cozy cottage. It has lots of built in storage space and beautiful windows.

We are within walking distance (if you don’t mind some hard core hills) of downtown, NW Portland, and Portland State University. And we are very lucky (if it’s not raining!) to have patio space that gets late afternoon sun.

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.

Big Ideas With Small Spaces
We had to deal with the marina’s very restrictive rules for a guest house size. The marina restricts the size of a float to 18’x34’ and restricts the maximum height above the water to 15’-6”. The fire code requires perimeter access on all sides of a structure, and with the inclusion of an exterior deck, we only had a 14’-9” x 22’-6” (332sf) outside perimeter structure footprint to work with. Not much room for the owner’s desire for a self-sufficient dwelling, including a kitchen, bathroom, dining, living space and sleeping loft.

The design makes the most of its limited space and uses various design techniques to create a feeling of spaciousness. The house feels much larger and more spacious than its 433 sf. The careful design avoids uncomfortably tight spaces. You don’t bump your elbows against the walls and the scale doesn’t make you feel you are too big in a small space. The guest house can even handle extra guests. The dining booth can comfortably seat up to five and the couch coverts to a bed, accommodating two additional overnight visitors.

We Started With A Good Foundation
We constructed a concrete float for the guest house. Like a good foundation, it has a substantial feeling and carries the comfort of knowing it will require only minimal maintenance in the future. Concrete floats are rare in the Portland area, but the common practice of building log floats is beginning to be questioned with all the maintenance issues and the diminishing number of available quality logs.

Showering Meditation And A Cozy Place To Sleep
A skylight strategically placed above the shower illuminates the green glass tile. Combined with the warm grey colored cement shower pan, the space feels peaceful and serene. The cozy loft has just enough room to crawl up into bed. This bedroom and built-in shelving has a feeling of protection under the eaves, with a view looking out over the water.

The Natural World Surrounds
Although downtown Portland is minutes away, the location feels like you are on a constant nature retreat. Ducks, turtles, beavers, bald eagles and osprey inhabit the local environment. Daylighting is constantly changing as sunlight dances off the water. The corrugated metal ceiling catches the reflected light from the abundant windows and mimics the rippling water outside.

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.

New stairway added in 2009.

All of the windows were bought from BRING Recycling in Eugene, Oregon for an average of $5 apiece. The high side of the building faces due south for passive solar gain in the winter, but the eave overhang keeps the sun out in the summer. The small vintage wood stove we already had, pipe and capper were salvaged. Insulation in the walls is a mixture of old polyester shag carpeting and clothes regular fiberglass batts and Reflectix radiant barrier mylar/bubble-wrap scrap insulation given away by a local yurt manufacturer. Foam board is under the floor.

Looking southeast over the river.

All of the insulation was acquired from other demolished projects. The heavy-duty vinyl wraps on the outer walls are discarded department-store banners and outdoor billboards, creatively cut. The roof is a well-secured tarp. Lighting is by Aladdin and battery powered lamps. There is no electricity, but there is a strong wireless signal from the community’s main house 100 feet uphill across the gravel county road that bisects the property. Water is carried in, a chamber pot serves as sanitation.

Woodstove and entry door, western wall.

Currently this tiny house functions as a bedroom and private area for one of our community members here at LeisureLand. He added the 4×10 deck and nicer stairs in 2008. It has been occupied and enjoyed by many different people over the last decade, and we hope to re-purpose it as a guest cabin this spring.”

TR Kelley, resident of
LeisureLand – http://directory.ic.org/20434/LeisureLand_Community

Triangular reading nook on south face of cabin.

On the eastern wall, an old bank billboard vinyl featuring sasquatch playing guitar, strategically trimmed. Makes a great homewrap!

View from the river rocks in late summer.

A winter snowfall here is usually short-lasting but pretty.

Early Spring, looking from the roadside south to the River house and the river itself.

Photos by Richard Cockle at The Oregonian.

What’s next for minimalist houses? How about a subdivision of tiny houses in Eastern Oregon?

Rich Daniels, a former gold miner and timber cruiser, now builds tiny homes for a living and dreams of creating an RV park for the houses on the edge of his hometown of North Powder in eastern Oregon. The 8 1/2-foot-wide, $42,000 model behind him is small enough to be towed by a pickup, which a thief did last summer. Police returned it to Daniels after finding it abandoned at a service station near the Oregon-Idaho border.

“The biggest problem with the whole (tiny home) movement is the counties and cities are having a hard time accepting these small homes,” Daniels said. “It has to do with revenue — small homes don’t generate the tax revenues for the counties and cities.”

Jenkins, the Union County planner, thinks Oregon land-use laws will put the brakes on several uses people make of the new breed of tiny, wheeled cabins in rural Oregon. For example, siting a self-contained cabin without utilities on a tract too small for a dwelling is illegal under state land-use regulations, he said. A minimum 240 acres generally is needed for a dwelling in a timber-grazing zone and 320 acres is needed on rangeland, he said.

As for using a cabin as a spare guest bedroom, that, too, is a violation because a cabin then constitutes an individual dwelling, even if it’s cute, hand-crafted and on wheels, he said.

“Oregon land-use laws say you have to get land-use approval for a dwelling,” and buyers of cabins on wheels need to make sure they have a legal place to put one before they buy, he said.

Read the complete article at The Oregonian Website.

Mike, who rides a bicycle instead of owning a car, appreciated the green aspects of the tiny mobile home but was a bit concerned about having to pick it up from Oregon and bring it back to his home in Connecticut. So, he looked at it as an adventure, bought a van sight unseen in Washington and towed the house across the country with his son.

“We had a hell of a good time,” Mike said. “It was the best time of my life”.

He and his son explored the country for several weeks and slept in their new little house. Mike was worried about driving in windy areas and under overpasses, but he said the house did great. He was pleased that he could park the house in cities across the country and spend a few days. He was also thrilled that he had no issues with police officers, and that people showed genuine interest and wanted to take pictures of the tiny house.

Currently, the house is parked behind a rental property that Mike lives in and manages. He bought the house fully finished but with no interior divisions. He wants to keep the kitchen simple with a foldout stove and no plumbing and he has his water delivered and uses a shower at a local health club. He will be purchasing a composting toilet, solar panels, batteries and a generator for power and a Vermont soapstone vented propane stove for heat. So far, he has experienced no issues or inconveniences with not having a bathroom or plumbing. He also recommends that a tiny house should have as many windows and glass as possible to let in light and give the illusion of more space.

“The skylights and the glass door make a big difference, ” Mike said.

After his changes and additions, Mike spent about $25,000 on his tiny house. Mike is working on getting the house parked on a piece of borrowed property near Hartford, Connecticut. So far, he has had nothing but upbeat and excited responses from his neighbors and friends and is looking forward to slowly transitioning into his tiny home.

“I don’t want to work as much and give away my hours anymore, ” he said. “Right now, people are working as hard as they can to clean and maintain their homes instead of doing what their hearts desire.”

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The smallest design is the MatchBox, a studio that packs a kitchen, living room and bath into 400 square feet. It can fit into a lot that is 17 by 27 feet and starts at $79,500. A larger design is the SandBox, a one story backyard cottage with kitchen, living room, bathroom and one bedroom. It is 600 square feet and is designed for simple and minimalist living on one level, and will fit on most city lots at just 17 by 37 feet. The SandBox starts at $86,500. Each of these houses are custom architect-designed and you can choose from three finish levels.

What I really liked about these designs (besides the sleek, cool look) was the space allocated for a mechanical area within the house, which is sometimes lacking in other small house designs. Backyard Box also offers several finish options they call Elements:

Essential – half bath, open floor plan, garage-style door – with basic finishes, this works for a retreat, office, studio, or future living quarters.  Easy to upgrade to full finish package over time or do it yourself.

Complete – full kitchen, full bath, built-ins, one level – this is the complete finish package, move-in ready.

Luxe – upgraded kitchen cabinets, countertops, bath tile package, and diamond polished concrete floors.

Accessories – add these and more to customize your Box:

• Aluminum and glass garage door opening
• Smart Box – Net Zero Energy
• Rain garden
• Bega exterior lighting package
• Corten steel backyard firebowl designed by John T. Unger
• Interior LED lighting
• Solar hot water
• Solar electric panels
• Smart Home Energy Dashboard
• Green roof
• Hydronic radiant heated floors

MatchBox Floorplan

SandBox Floorplan

Backyard Box also offers a larger design called the BigBox, and they can also create a CustomBox for your backyard or lot. All the Box homes are eco-friendly, and every Backyard Box incorporates sustainable features, such as pre-wiring for solar power, super-insulated walls and windows, non-toxic paints, and rain screen siding.

Founder Sloan Ritchie launched Backyard Box in response to the cultural shifts taking place today where consumers find themselves in need of a little extra space for a home office or studio, aging parents or boomerang kids, income via a new rental property, or a mix of these over time. Having developed his own backyard into a single family home, Sloan saw an incredible opportunity to help other local homeowners make the most of their home investment and living choices. And today, adoption of backyard cottage ordinances makes it much easier.

Sloan has been at the forefront of green and sustainable building in the Seattle area for several years, building some of Seattle’s first LEED certified homes. He and his experienced design team are dedicated to pushing the envelope in sustainability and energy efficiency, environmentally appropriate material selection, and innovative development practices – at affordable prices. Backyard Box homes reflect a personal commitment and passion for sustainable, quality living.

BLIP Design – Architect Jim Burton, AIA, LEED A.P., has 18 years of experience in residential, institutional, office, and other project types. He is a Certified Passive House Consultant, member of the US Green Building Council, Cascadia Chapter GBC, Built-Green, Solar Washington, Passive House Northwest, and the NW Eco-Building Guild. He is currently serving as the President of the Central Puget Sound (Seattle) Chapter of the NW Eco-Building Guild.

All Backyard Boxes are designed and built to Passive House standards, the most advanced energy efficiency practices anywhere in the world. That yields a 90% reduction in heating and cooling energy versus typical construction.

Pricing includes everything except foundation and utility hookups, as that will vary depending on your lot. They also leave appliances up to the customer since personal tastes vary widely. The base models come complete with high-end durability and sustainable features including rain screen siding, solar PV pre-wiring, standing seam metal roof, and the most energy efficient designs in the world.

Expanded distribution now includes the West Region: Washington, Oregon, California, British Columbia, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]