Tiny House Blog

Named after a simple, yet valuable commodity throughout history, Spice Box Homes is the vision of Colorado residents, Edwin Lindell and Chris Curry. They wanted their tiny house company to reflect their own love of the outdoors and concern for environmental impact, and felt that they could create a similar commodity through building, living, and educating.

Spice Box homes started in 2010 as an alternative to renting. When Edwin was finishing up college in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, he got tired of paying rent and decided to construct a tiny home on a trailer that could be moved every six months.

“Chris Curry, my business partner, had built a similar dwelling for himself a few years back to combat the same issues, just not on a trailer.” Edwin said. “Once our prototype was constructed and tested for seven months, we decided to hit the ground running to build a company, lifestyle, and adventure for our community, friends, and our environment. We work to construct custom homes that resemble our clientele and create better living patterns.”

The homes are built from reclaimed materials and include passive solar heating and efficient appliances. The company subcontracts all the electrical, plumbing, metal stud fabrication, insulation and roofing to ensure quality construction. Continue Reading »

By Devorah Peterson

In 1973, the year she met her future husband, a friend of mine bought a three year old caravan, an early project of Lloyd House. Since then, this treasure has been sitting in a forest clearing on an island of British Columbia. As there is no kitchen or bathroom, other small structures were built alongside.

I fell in love with the rustic 17 foot caravan in the nineties when I first visited the remote property. Perhaps more than any other “tiny house,” it has inspired me to write about them and (hopefully) build one of my own eventually.

Though the exterior is plainer than many hand built caravans, I kind of like that about it. One would never suspect that inside is a world that’s magic. Continue Reading »

This week’s Tiny House in a Landscape is of a floating cabin, my other passion, off the coastline of Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia and taken by “portland papa.” (see his website here)

I like the simplicity of the cabin and the rustic setting it fits so well into. Most likely used as a rental cabin, my guess is it would work quite well for full time living as well.

Do you have a favorite retreat? Where do you go to get away from the hustle and bustle of life? I am always looking for tiny houses in a landscape photos and if you have a special place you would like to share with me and the Tiny House Blog readers please send the photos to me at tinyhouseblog@gmail.com. Thank you and have a great day!

I featured the WheelHaus cabins in a previous post and the company is coming up with some great new designs. I thought you would enjoy their latest park model cabin called the Wedge. This is a manufactured park model home built in Wyoming and an alternative for tiny house living.

The “Wedge” design features an angled roof, which starts low above the bedroom and builds to 17 feet in the living room. Trapezoidal windows grow similarly from back to front, offering natural light while maintaining privacy. The front of the cabin is almost entirely glass. A large sliding glass door opens to a private deck.

Each cabin has one bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen/living room and a private deck. The ceilings and exterior are covered with reclaimed Wyoming snow fencing. Continue Reading »

Guest Post by Ann Holley

My family is a family of builders. In 1974 my Father and Mother, Stephen and Miriam Holley, began construction on a home they had designed in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. They spent the next 6 years working with a hammer, chainsaw and a set of chisels to complete the project. They worked in their spare time with the help of friends and family.

During the construction of my childhood home, my parents lived in a 12 by 12 foot cabin. We called it the “chicken coop” because that is what it became after my parents and my brother Ben, 2 years old at the time, moved out.

this is my mom working on building the chicken coop

The cabin had 2 bed lofts, a wood-burning potbellied stove for heat and cooking, a small table with 4 chairs for entertaining guests, an oil lamp for light, and a dresser for clothing. There was no electricity. They hauled up water from a hand-dug well for use in an outdoor sink. They lived a rustic lifestyle in service of building their “dream home.

When I first found the Tiny House Blog it reminded me of my parents beginnings. Their hard work and sacrifice inspired Darren and I to build ProtoHaus. Needless to say, their knowledge and expertise was priceless. Continue Reading »