Ben’s Tiny House
(Fall 2011 – Summer 2012)
My name is Ben Norton. This is my tiny house story. A neighbor of mine was all excited about your blog and showed me lots of really cool tiny houses that people have built. I was hooked. I just said, “That’s what I’m going to do,” and I just started; buying materials as I had money. I don’t think anyone really thought I was serious because I was eleven years old at the time.
Growing up, my parents gave my brother and me skills that many kids don’t have. We worked on lots of different projects with real hammers, nails and wood. From an early age I was like a sponge and absorbed all I could about power tools, building, tree cutting, engine repair, and even asking the right people for advice and help. Continue Reading »
The Week Magazine Features Tiny Homes
Normally, the “Best properties on the market” section of The Week magazine features French chateaus and Italian villas, mansions with endless pools or the best Beacon Hill townhouses. However, for the week of August 3, the featured properties were all tiny homes under 1,000 square feet.
The Solo 36 Bunkie by Sustain Design Studio
The homes featured were the Aktiv by Ideabox and IKEA which is 745 square feet and costs $86,500, the Solo 36 Bunkie modular home from Sustain Design Studio which is 475 square feet and costs $87,500 and the Kit_01 from Zamore Homes. The Kit_01 is a two-bedroom, 992 square foot kit home that features a living room with a fireplace, a laundry room and a large attic loft. Plans for this home cost around $2,500.
Under a Mushroom
I fell in love with my first tiny house when I was in fourth grade, and it was the size of a mushroom. The book “Under a Mushroom” by Anita Lobel was located in the bookshelf of my classroom, and during nearly every free reading period, I would take it to my desk and pore over the delightful illustrations. They showed small, fantasy creatures living under mushrooms complete with small furniture, pots and pans, miniature wood stoves and even curtains made of flowers. After school I would run home and attempt to make my own “mushroom house” underneath a pine tree.
The story is about a Troll family who live under a mushroom in a meadow. They are content in their tiny home, but a bit bored. One day it begins to rain and various other creatures (Glumps, Dimmles, Gizzygonks, Tomtes and the like) show up to come out of the damp. Continue Reading »
Built by Friends: Evan and Gabby’s Tiny House
Like an Amish barn raising, Evan and Gabby’s tiny Tarleton house is going up piece by piece with the help of friends and family. The Illinois couple were inspired by the Tumbleweed houses and decided to downsize their already sustainable lifestyle even more. With no prior construction experience, they have been working on their tiny home for just over a year and plan to move in (along with their two cats) soon.
The couple also plan to move around the country, staying in campgrounds that offer year-round rates. They then want to purchase some land where tiny house living is more acceptable.
Their 117 square foot Tarleton, built on a car hauler trailer, will have a great room, a sleeping loft above the bathroom and kitchen, another storage loft above the door and a bathroom with a custom shower and composting toilet that vents to the outdoors. The kitchen has four feet of stainless steel countertop, a two-burner stove, a bar sink, a toaster oven, a small fridge and – rare for a tiny house – a combination washer and dryer that they got from a family member for free. Continue Reading »
Public Radio Tiny House Story
Hello tiny-house aficionados! I am a reporter with KALW, a public radio station in San Francisco. (We’re an affiliate of NPR and BBC.) I’m preparing a story on tiny-houses for ‘Crosscurrents,’ our local news shows, and am looking to interview Bay Area tiny-house residents.
If you live in the Bay Area and have chosen to live in a tiny-house for environmentalist reasons, or if you’re living in a tiny-house because of financial hardship, I’d like to talk to you. I can travel to wherever you live, at your convenience — and you’ll be free to remain anonymous (we can invent a pseudonym for you). Please get in touch if you’re interested in being interviewed — and thanks so much for reading!
Jon Atkinson
kalwnews.org
707.364.9937
iamjonatkinson@gmail.com
