Tiny House Blog

I have a new favorite tiny house book and I have been anxious to share it with you. It is Lloyd Kahn’s Tiny Homes Simple Shelter Scaling Back in the 21st Century. Lloyd contacted me about two years ago and said that he wanted to do a book on tiny houses. He asked for contacts to a lot of people I had written about on the Tiny House Blog.

In a way this book is like a printed version of the Tiny House Blog but with Lloyds great writing ability and layout. Plus he has added many tiny houses that I have never seen. He has pulled together a book I think every tiny house enthusiast will want to own.

I recently visited Lloyd and his team at Shelter Publications and saw where these wonderful books are put together and distributed.

In this book there are some 150 builders who have taken things into their own hands, creating tiny homes (under 500 sq. ft.). Homes on land, homes on wheels, homes on the road, homes on water, even homes in the trees. There are also studios, saunas, garden sheds, and greenhouses.

There are 1,300 photos, showing a rich variety of small homemade shelters, and there are stories (and thoughts and inspirations) of the owner-builders who are on the forefront of this new trend in downsizing and self-sufficiency.

Lloyd just released a new video where he takes you through a two minute walk through of the book and Shelter Publications.

You can purchase the book through Shelter Publications or at Amazon.

Thank you Lloyd for sharing your talent with this wonderful new book.

Disclaimer: You should consult an engineer before building something this complex and especially before building underground.

This video demonstrates the building of an underground shelter, but could also be used as an underground home or office depending how you completed the interior of the shipping container. Here is the description that goes along with this video:

Final attempt to record building of an underground shelter using a 20 ft. shipping container. For those wondering why I didn’t simply pile dirt over it without pouring a concrete cap first….. These containers are mostly sheet metal. Heavy duty as it is, the roof and sides will push inwards from the weight. Eventually the metal will rust through and you’ll be buried alive. My way will insure it is still there a few hundred years from now. Problem is, you’d better keep an eye on your sump pump. If it goes bad or loses power, you’ll go in one day and find it the whole thing flooded. A surface alarm letting you know the water level is above where it should be isn’t a bad idea. Putting the sump pump on a UPS is also a good thing.

This year’s Burning Man was a rite of passage for two of our good friends who decided to come along with my husband and me to this popular event. It was their first time attending, and many of our discussions revolved around how impressed they were with the organization and creativity of the event…especially the building of Black Rock City. I agreed that the ingenuity of the camps and shelters that make up the city grows each year.

The art, the shows, the dancing, the fires and fireworks are all wonderful, but personally, my favorite part of Burning Man is visiting the camps and admiring the multitude of styles and designs of shelters. These shelters (most of them specific to Burning Man) are built to create shade from the blistering sun, as blocks against the wind that sweeps across the desert, and to protect Burners from the ubiquitous dust that gets over everything. Each year I’m in awe with how the artists transport these structures across the country and erect them in this stark desert, only to take them down again a week later.

This year the weather couldn’t have been better. The dust was minimal, the winds were mellow and the temperatures were fairly low. In fact, you needed a shelter warm enough for the very cold nights that affected most Burners this year. Here are a few of my favorite tiny houses of Black Rock City 2011. Continue Reading »

With winter moving in across the country, this old trapper’s cabin in the woods seemed appropriate to me for this weeks Tiny House in a Landscape. Thought the landscape is mainly trees it still presents a peaceful setting for this simple log cabin.

This cabin is living simply and covers the basics of protection from the harsh cold outside. It surprises me how many things we think we need to live, but when it really comes down to it all we need is shelter, warmth and food. What do you think?

Lauren an avid cyclist discovered this cool little shelter at Target and thought you might be interested in it. I think this fits in with the homeless shelter area of our discussions but could also be used in many other ways too. At $849 it is not the cheapest shelter out there but it is very unique and may be what you are looking for.

Innovative and unique, the Midget Bushtrekka Bicycle Camping Trailer is perfect for the cycling/camping enthusiast. With 120 liters of storage capacity, you can go days without having to resupply.

Constructed of high-strength aluminum and 600-denier ripstop nylon, the Bushtrekka is one rugged trailer. This one-of-a-kind pivoting wheel set and alloy wheels make for a comfortable ride over most terrain. Continue Reading »

Robert Bridges from Shelter 2.0 contacted me after I ran the Haiti Earthquake and the Tiny House Community article last week to let me know about a shelter he and a friend Bill Young have designed.

Robert says: “It easily assembled as every part is CNC cut and there are very few different pieces. The tarp can be removed once it has been set up and then made more permanent by either sheathing with two layers of 1/4″ ply covered with a rubber membrane or some sort of metal or shingles.”

Over one million people will go to sleep this year without proper shelter, and in the wake of our country’s current economic situation and the continual growth of tent cities here in America, it is the mission of Shelter 2.0 that everyone should have the right to a roof over their head and a floor under their feet. Continue Reading »