Tiny House Blog

If a Moroccan tent and a trailer had a baby, and that baby went to charm school, it might look just like the Opera. The Opera is manufactured by the Netherlands-based Your Suite in Nature (YSIN) and was designed after the Sydney Opera House. The trailer travels around as a nondescript pop-up, but then transforms like a swan into an elegant and luxurious camping space.

The Opera has been designed for people who don’t want to tow around larger, heavier campers or fifth wheels,  but still want comfortable amenities while still enjoying the outdoors. The Opera offers what most camping tents don’t: two electrically adjustable beds that can be transformed into one, a private ceramic toilet and two sinks, a 36 liter (9.5 gallon) top-loading refrigerator, a 30 liter (about 8 gallon) water tank and water pump, LED lighting and even a teak veranda. The Opera also has a boiler that supplies warm water to the outdoor kitchen and the exterior shower, hot air heating, two cupboards, and a wine storage cabinet as well as baggage and clothing storage. Continue Reading »

By Dan Price

In 1990, I moved back to my home state of Oregon intent on living in a tipi and getting rid of mortgages or rent. I looked for a suitable piece of property for months and finally located a 2 acre meadow next to the Wallowa River near the town of Joseph. The owners agreed that I could set up a tipi there in exchange for clearing downed trees and repairing the fence lines. A few months later I moved out of a small room up town and into the tipi full time. I spent three seasons in that 16 ft tipi.

In order to simplify, I sold the tipi and built a 9 ft X12ft red willow hut, complete with carpeting and blanket door and proceeded to live in that space for 2 years. Luckily I was able to put in underground electricity early on so was able to have lights and a small heater which helped in the winter months. The came a time when my Moonlight Chronicle zine got a corporate sponsorship from Simple Shoes in California and I spent the next 4 years mostly traveling around drawing and writing. Continue Reading »

by Maarten Bellaard

I have been reading your blog for a few months now and every new post inspires and surprises me. The whole idea of utilizing and experimenting with small spaces is really fascinating. Considering most of your blog posts have an American/Canadian touch to it, I believe that my story could be a fresh view on camping!

My girlfriend used to go camping with her parents in this beautiful classic caravan. Last summer we took it to Switzerland and France and this summer we took 4 weeks to completely restore this 50 year old caravan.

The caravan is a Wa-Wa 180 Sport. The original manufacturer doesn’t exist anymore, but they used to build a lot of wooden caravans and trailers. This Wa-Wa was created for recreational use on campsites but considering its weight of 300 kg’s even people with a small, not so powerful car could take this caravan and travel around with it. Besides the chassis and the rear window, the whole caravan is made of wood. Inside there is room for a small kitchen – with a refrigerator, sink and a gas cooker – and a large twin bed that can be removed and replaced by two small benches and a table. Originally the caravan was designed so it could fit 6 people! The caravan surface is only 2 x 3 meters so in practice nobody used it that way.

The Wa-Wa caravan is even more special because of its roof. The wooden roof is set up when you are camping in it and can be fold down so it is barely higher than a small car. This saves a lot of gas money and creates a stronger structure when you are driving with it.

On the pictures you can see the blue tent that was specially made for this caravan.

This caravan has a big history and is pretty unique; only a few of them are still alive these days.

Maarten Bellaard
The Netherlands

[View with PicLens]

To send this summer off in style, I thought I would profile these colorful Indian tents. Most of them are primarily used for temporary purposes such as weddings and parties, but they are so well made and are so beautiful that they could be used as a tiny house – and you would be living like royalty.

Traditional Indian tents were often used as royal structures for the Maharajas and their courts. Ceremonial tents became the symbol of wealth and rank and the centerpiece of religion and society. Tents were often the most precious possessions – dwellings of both utility, luxury and mobility. The history of tents is long and widespread, mentioned in holy literature, recorded in poetry and depicted in art. Today, these tents are still used at palaces, private properties, gardens and resorts. Continue Reading »

Our story is that the Tiny House Blog inspired my wife and I to build a farm campground using small (all acquired for free) farm outbuildings. Camp Coyote is opening for overnight stays in July and we thought we would announce it here.

The camp is seven small structures set on our farm pasture in Iowa. Six of the structures – an 8’ x 18’ bunkhouse, a 10’ x 16’ bicycle shop, two 12’ x 14’ tent platforms, a 9’ x 9’ playhouse, and a 10’ x 12’ shelter house were remodeled almost entirely from recycled materials. The seventh is a small grain bin re-purposed to house a pool inside.

The Bunkhouse was an old granary

The camp is on our farm place surrounded by acres of trees, pasture grass, and fields of Iowa crops. If things on “Tiny House Blog” strike at your core, you like to bicycle (Central Iowa’s Raccoon River Valley Trail is a 5 minute drive away), like peaceful environments, or just want a unique camping experience we think you just might like it here. Continue Reading »

If you love the style and airiness of a tent or tipi, but you want something in the shape of a traditional house, a Sweetwater Bungalow might be for you.

I recently visited the Sweetwater Bungalow company near Truckee, California to view one of their exquisite little homes.

It seemed a little strange at first to be visiting a canvas home in the middle of winter in the snowy Sierras, but I was impressed by how the Bungalow retained quite a bit of the warmth from the sun. On a sunny winter’s day, the little space heater was not even needed. Also, even though the Bungalow I looked at was under a forest of pine trees, the light coming through the walls was soothing and calm.

Sweetwater Bungalows are unique tent cabin kits/portable housing kits. These bungalows combine stability and protection from a substantial wood frame with lightness and beauty from fabric walls. Together with windows and a door, a cozy bungalow is created from these tent cabin kits.

With nature in mind, the bungalow lets you experience the outdoors comfortably. A perfect place for reflection, the portable housing kit becomes the ideal yoga retreat, studio space, or backyard room for guests. Each bungalow is easy to assemble, low maintenance and terrain and climate adaptable. They were inspired by the more rustic version wall tents, wood frame tents and platform tents which are still used in many National Parks such as Yosemite.

The bungalows are available in three sizes: 10 x 12 feet, 12 x 14 feet and 14 x 20 feet. The peak height is between 9 and 11 feet and the square footage between 120 and 280 square feet. These bungalow tents provide generous open living space at a low price per square foot ($25/sq/ft). With an assortment of styles, unique features, and upgrade options to choose from.

The bungalow tents can remain simple or include modern necessities like electricity, and can be easily heated. Finely crafted and constructed, each bungalow tent kit is prefabricated and packaged for easy transport and installation. All the bungalow kits come with a one-year material and workmanship warranty. However, the platform is not included in most of the kit prices.

The Sweetwater Bungalows also include:

Shell Walls & Rain Fly

• 10 oz white laminated polyester-vinyl
• Durable, waterproof, flame retardant and treated to resist mildew, and fading from ultra-violet rays
• Strong tear and tensile strength
• Corners, ridges and eaves are reinforced with 8″ strips of hemmed vinyl
• Seams are lock-stitched and electronically welded
• Brass grommets

Shell Ceiling

• 10 oz 100% duck cotton canvas
• Canvas is lock-stitched to vinyl wall
• Waterproof, Flame retardant and mildew resistant
• Canvas breathes, minimizing condensation

Eave & Awning System

• Zinc plated Steel Components
• 4 Eave Brackets
• 2-4 Fly Rail Brackets
• 2 Eave Hangers
• 2 Rain Fly Rails – 3/4″ Pipe
• 4- 2″x 4″ Eave Rafters
• Lag Bolts / Screws
• 12-20 Heavy Duty Bungee Cords

By Christina Nellemann

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