The vardo was in terrible shape when Gary purchased it for $10,000 and towed it from Barstow to his home in Fallbrook, Calif. The wagon had been sitting in the sun for over 20 years and gallons of desert dust and sand had settled onto the floor. Since the wagon had also been used as a prop in a movie with Pee-Wee Herman and Valeria Golino, none of the drawers opened and the cabinets were facades. Over the course of four years, Gary, his wife and son restored the gypsy wagon (by using a DVD of the movie) to its original colorful state and added a few workable cabinets and a comfortable bed.

Gary has created a website to sell the vardo and hopes that someone with a unique B&B or a penchant for tiny homes will be interested in the whimsical wagon.

Photos courtesy of Gypsy Vardo Wagon. Bottom photo courtesy of North County Times.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

“If I see an old piece of furniture laying around, and it looks like it can still be used, I’ll saw it up,” Joseph said. “It makes the whole ‘find is and use it’ process more enjoyable.”

Joseph initially designed and built the stained glass window in the gypsy wagon, but he thinks he might look for a local stained glass artist to do the window in his next wagon. The wagon weighs about 1,500 pounds and can be towed by a small truck. It was recently sold for about $8,500 and Joseph plans on keeping his next design’s price to below $10,000.

If you are interested in one of Joseph’s gypsy wagons, email him at jsph.crowell (at) gmail.com.

Photos courtesy of Joseph Crowell

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Mariah and Ryan Lingard fell in love with the woods and lakes of Joseph, Oregon and purchased some partially burned, partially logged land after seeing an ad in the local paper. The 100×150 foot parcel of land cost them $47,000 and is located smack dab in the middle of hiking, skiing and snowshoe territory. The couple has a full-time home in Portland, but they make the 6-hour trip to the Signal Shed about four times a year.

After two years of planning and extended weekend camping trips to their land, the couple built the 130 square foot cabin over a two week period with friends and family. The materials cost about $10,000 and the cabin features several recycled windows, IKEA cabinets and laminate flooring. They found the barn door hardware and the woodstove on Craigslist. The cabin rests on a floating pier to minimize impact on the land and cedar screens used to lock it up when Mariah and Ryan are not around. The Signal Shed has no running water, no electricity and the couple uses the woodstove for heat and some cooking.

Mariah grew up in an off-grid home in rural Oregon and is not bothered by the lack of running water or the portable toilet. The couple heat up water on the stove or in a solar water heater, and read at night by candlelight or oil lamp.

The structure was awarded a 2011 Residential Architect Magazine design award. As an architect, Ryan is now offering the Signal Shed plans for sale in limited quantities. It is being sold for $18,000 for a prefab modular structure and detailed plans are being sold for $1,000.

Photos courtesy of Sunset and Ryan Lingard

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Andrew Morrison is an easy to understand instructor and you get a little feel of his teaching ability in this video below. He has produced a number of hot selling videos and I will be reviewing his latest How-To Guide To Building With Straw Bales (Post and Beam) next week.

This charming cottage is perfect for the Tiny House enthusiast! Straw Bale construction lends itself very well to space-conscious builders because the thickness of the bales allows for all types of carved-in wall niches to be created, allowing for storage/shelving right in the walls. Straw bale window sills are also wonderful for creating window seats, eliminating the need for chairs.

The Sunset Cottage has room for a full sized fold-down couch, a large set of wall shelves, a large work desk with file cabinets on the side, a substantial window seat, a small set of shelves, and plenty of floor space to walk around the room in. And with a little modification, you can create space for a tiny bathroom and kitchen as well.

So if you have been thinking of building your first straw bale structure purchase the Sunset Cottage Plans Today by click here.

Your purchase helps support this blog. As an affiliate of StrawBale.com a percentage of the purchase goes to the Tiny House Blog.

Trailer Features and Specifications:

Exterior:
20′ overall length 10′ 4” overall height
8′ by 8′ by 16′ body
High tensile rustproof steel
Fir panel sides with cedar trim
Entire roof, front and back sheathed in waterproofing membrane.
Refurbished travel trailer chassis

Interior:
6’2” headroom in kitchen area
7’6” height in front
Sitting cove with long L shaped couch
4′ by 6’3” loft bed on hinge raises to for more ceiling height in front
two small windows an lots of shelving in loft area
Couch can turn into bed below to sleep more people
Large skylight and windows
bright spacious interior feels much larger than most comparable and even larger RV’s
Tile floor in entry way and bathroom
Engineered hardwood floor in kitchen and sitting nook
2 manual roof vents and one solar fan vent for air circulation
Custom Pine cabinets and countertops
Lots of counter space for eating and preparing food or working at.
Origo Alcohol stove
Stainless steel 2 basin sink
Cold air cooler built into kitchen cabinet
Under seating storage

Plumbing:
20 gallon fresh water tank
Pressure controlled water pump
Pex water pipes with brass quick connect fittings
On demand propane hot water heater
Brand new Moen shower faucet and kitchen faucet

Electrical:
120 volt circuit for lights and outlets
12 volt circuit for water pump and heater fan
2 deep cycle batteries
2 – 20 watt solar panels mounted on hing to raise and lower on roof
1000 watt inverter
Outside covered male receptacle to plugin to external power
All warm and neutral led lighting inside
Standard connector to towing vehicle powers brake and signal lights, electric brakes and charges battery

Heating and insulation:
High density foam core walls offer r 8 insulative value
10000 btu sig marine diesel heater
9 gallon diesel tank
4” galvanized exhaust flue

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

The Popomo is our sleekest model to date, yet it’s one of the easiest tiny houses to build. It features hot-rolled corrosion-resistant steel siding, making it unlike anything else available on the market today. The Popomo takes full advantage of the maximum legal towing limits without requiring any special permits, affording you the luxury of a larger, more inviting living environment without the extra paperwork hassle and expense.

You can buy the Popomo plans for just $9.99! But you have to hurry because this sale ends November 30th.

This set of plans contains 38 pages jam-packed with all the information you need to build your tiny house like a professional, including step-by-step instructions, orthographic illustrations, and suggested resources and suppliers.

Click here to view more details and to purchase.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Normally $149.95 the price for the plans for the month of August, 2010. the Sale price will be $99.95 plus your choice of shipping.

Take advantage of this great price today!

14 x 28 Little Red Cabin Plans
392 square foot cabin plus a 198 square foot loft. Two pages 24″ x 36″ each and are drawn 1/4” = 1’. See more pictures of the cabin here.

Sale Over, thanks for looking.

Designed as a very small bungalow, the Loring comes with several options to suit your needs. You can choose between a sleeping loft upstairs, or a cathedral ceiling. Tumbleweed also has a larger version with a downstairs bedroom at the back of the house. It is the same floor plan as the Bodega, except that the roof line makes the curbside appearance very different. Designed with simplicity in mind, this house home has an abundance of light, and yet is very simply designed.

The Loring plans are on sale for $199 and $259 (for the larger version).

This house is still available for sale. See comments below for more information.

On the way back from a camping trip at Mammoth Lakes last weekend, my husband and I saw this tiny house for sale off Hwy 395 near Topaz Lake. I called the builder/owner to get some more information.

Tracy Pope is a consultant in San Diego. He built his tiny house while living in Sacramento with plans to put it on a friend’s twenty acres in Mono County. The Mono County permit process and a future move to Atlanta, GA forced him to sell the house. He originally wanted to sell it for what he put into it: $6,500, but he is now selling it for $4,000.

The house is unfinished and was subjected to 110 mile per hour winds last winter. The house sustained some damage when it was knocked off square by the wind.

“My friends thought it would tip over in the winds, but it did just fine.”

However, for someone who wants an almost completed house to work on, this would be great. It is fully insulated and has pine siding, a propane stove, refrigerator, a portable boat toilet in the small bathroom, and a 26 gallon water bag in the ceiling for the sink and the unfinished shower. The sleeping loft can fit a king sized mattress. Pope used a Mexican chiminea for heat and said it worked really well. I really liked Pope’s choice of windows, especially the windows under the eaves.

The house is built on a 20-foot trailer and is 105 square feet. It is 13-feet high with 10-foot ceilings. Pope recommends that the house be towed to its new home and kept there. It is not designed to be towed around to different campgrounds.

Pope enjoyed the process of building the house and in the future would like to build another one.

“It is self sufficient and kids love it,” he said.

If you are interested in Pope’s tiny house, contact him at his email (tracy (at) tracypope.com) or through the Tiny House Blog. The house is located about 6-7 miles south of Topaz Lake on the West side of Hwy. 395 in California.

By Christina Nellemann

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