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]

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.

When Tammy and Logan moved from Sacramento to Portland they downsized to where they were able to load all their belongings into the back of a standard size pickup. That is quite an accomplishment. The neat thing is that they have stuck with a minimalist foot print. Just check out Tammy’s tiny library and the clothes closet.

If you are interested in minimalism which most of us are who follow this blog be sure and read Tammy’s blog Rowdy Kittens and check out her books Smalltopia and Simply Car-free. Thank you Tammy and Logan for sharing your life with us.

Photo Credits: Tammy Strobel

Tammy and Logan plan to eventually build a tiny house on wheels and are planning to have Dee Williams and Katy Anderson from Portland Alternative Dwellings assist them in the construction. I am looking forward to seeing that project started.

Login in the apartment kitchen

Rowdy Kitten relaxing

The Great Room

Tammy's Tiny Library

Logan working in the home office

The Closet

The Bathroom on Laundry day

The Dining Room

The Bedroom

Shift is an organization in Portland that brings people together for bike based fun. Every year Shift facilitates an amazing event called Pedalpalooza, that spans a 2 week period.

With 291 events, most organized by individuals, bikers of all persuasions are likely to find many events of interest. Nearly all events are free.

A few weeks ago Eli Spevak, from Orange Splot, LLC, organized a Pedalpalooza ride featuring tiny homes. A group of 150 cyclists gathered for the tiny home tour, in Southeast Portland.

Beginning of Ride

We stopped at six tiny homes and saw a number of different housing styles, including: a 14 x 8 gypsy wagon, a little house made of cob, a nanny’s house on wheels, a straw-bail tiny house that is being used as a detached bedroom, an urban village, and a cute little home that was converted from a garage to a little cottage.

Converted Garage

The homes were incredible and the builders relied on the following concepts when constructing the little dwellings:

• Using salvaged and sustainably produced building materials whenever possible.
• Using design to make it easy for neighbors to share resources.
• Incorporating durable construction materials to minimize the need for ongoing maintenance.
• Re-utilizing existing structures whenever possible.
• Locating the structures to make it easy to live without a car.
• Incorporating artwork and quality craftsmanship to make projects beautiful and unique.

Also, a few of the ride attendees mentioned that the city has reviewed a number of reports focusing on smaller homes; specifically that smaller homes are more efficient and have a smaller carbon footprint, in comparison to larger Leed certified homes that tend to be tremendously cost intensive.

Gypsy Wagon

The ride was inspiring and informative, thanks to Eli’s efforts. And I was happy to learn that the City of Portland’s Planning Department is fairly flexile when it comes to tiny house zoning specifics (e.g. waving fees, assisting in approving innovative designs, etc.).

Little House at the Urban Village

There is a lot of good news for all things tiny in Portland!

You can check out my photos from the ride by clicking here.

Straw Bail Tiny House

A Nanny's House on Wheels

The Cob Dwelling

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]

Derek says that the Greenbox is the solution to a homeowner’s expanding needs, extending living, working or storage space outside your existing confines. Produced with sustainable, regional materials, Greenbox is a viable, quick and economical way of expanding your environment. A Greenbox unit can readily be assembled in one day.

Each unit is customizable to suit a home owners needs and comes in several different sizes.

• Plumbing, electrical or HVAC can be customized.
• Windows are available in over 25 pre-finished colors.
• Low VOC paints are available in over a thousand colors.
• Color matching with paints or stains is available to match your existing residence.

Proceeds from each Greenbox purchase go to relief housing or housing for those who live in impoverished areas. One dwelling unit is donated for every ten Greenboxes sold. We’re donating one next month to Dignity Village (the homeless community) in Portland. Visit the Greenbox website here.

Approximately 12×13 building. You will need to take this apart as there is no way to get it out otherwise. Inside flooring is ok but outer decking needs to be replaced. Comes with 3 windows, various sizes. Although you can’t see them there is a set of doors with windows. Go to the Craiglist post here. (I think someone must have taken it as the listing is no longer up)

Lush front yard with driftwood art fence and edible landscaping

Portland, Oregon, Southeast. Charming cozy cottage on a quiet South Tabor street. 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom with fir floors throughout and a woodburning fireplace. Adorable vintage kitchen with bamboo floors – all appliances are included. Freshly painted exterior. Amazing organic garden full of fruit (apples, pears, peaches, currants), veggies and edibles. Bike trellis, chicken coop and run are all included. Wonderful location – quick jaunt to Mt. Tabor, and SE Division amenities!

Date Listed: 1/5/2010
Price: $195,000 (New Lower Price 2/19/2010 – $189,000)

Tammy from Rowdy Kittens also a tiny house enthusiast is now working as a freelance web designer and she has worked with Katy and Dee to develop the business’s website. Great job Tammy!

Katy is a licensed contractor in Portland, Oregon. She has over twenty years of construction experience, with a focus on finish carpentry and custom cabinetry. She most recently completed the two year furniture making program at The College of the Redwood’s School of Fine Woodworking in Fort Bragg, California.

Dee operates a small woodworking company, called Boxcar Woodcraft, out of Olympia Washington. Beyond simple construction projects, Dee has also completed/supported class projects and community events that are centered on green building and voluntary simplicity. Boxcar’s message has been simple: positive change begins at home. The primary tool used to animate that message is a tiny 84 square-foot bungalow, called “The Little House” that Dee built and has lived in since 2004. The Little House has been discussed in the media and used by educators, urban planners and others as an example of extreme down-sizing, green building and simplicity.

Portland Alternative Dwellings is dedicated to creating small, eco-friendly dwellings that fit your needs.

Their structures are designed on wheels, giving you the flexibility of placing them in just the right spot for today, and into the future.  A PAD offers a perfect extension to any home, as an office space, writing studio, retreat space or guest studio.  It can also be built as fully equipped, self-contained tiny dwellings.

If you are fortunate to live in the Portland area be sure and take the time to visit the Don Vardo and get to know Katy and Dee. I think they will be a welcome addition to the tiny house community in the Northwest. Visit the new PAD website here.

I want to thank Lindsey for getting the nice pictures to share with us and I hope this gives you some idea of what you might find in your location of an older small home that might be just what you are looking for.

This bungalow was built in 1925. It has about 500 square feet of finished space: a cozy living room with fireplace, one bedroom, an amazingly compact kitchen (with miniature vintage stove and minifridge) and a surprisingly spacious bathroom (clawfoot tub!). There’s also a mudroom by the driveway that’s perfect for kicking off your boots and parking your bike, and a partially-finished basement (about 200 square feet) that holds the gas furnace as well as washer and dryer (included).

The house is located at 7905 N. Seward Avenue, in a quiet neighborhood, on a roomy corner lot with a big beautiful fir tree and a gazebo. It’s within 5 blocks of 6 bus lines. It’s listed at $175,000 by Vintage Real Estate.

Thank you Lindsey for bringing this to my attention and sending the nice pictures that really showcase this house.

Photo Credit: Carmen O’Brien