Tiny House Blog

Earlier in the fall I had the opportunity to go to Solfest which met in Ukiah, California this year. I met Chaz Peling of Sol Solutions and we looked at a tiny house modified from plans donated by Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses.

Watch how the Solman, Mobile Solar Generator powers this tiny house. From Refrigerators, to lights to computers, this one panel wonder on wheels takes living consciously to the next level of personal empowerment.

Derek (Deek) Diedricksen from relaxshax and the Tiny Yellow House videos has sent me a couple of new videos and I want to share them with you. Here is what Deek says:

This is a lil’ offbeat- but heck, I’ll send it your way anyway, as its designed for small space living- and when unfolded, only takes up 8 square feet as well….later providing deck/work space, and shelving space when the kids (or adults) outgrow it…the idea is a small scale rendering, or sorts, of an adult-sized structure, outdoors, that I’d like to build off the side of a house, or freestanding wall in the woods, someday- just to try it out. Collapsable living quarters.

As promised/for laughs- whether or not you have use for it….and sorry to inundate you with videos, as I know I just sent you that fold-down, tiny space-using fort video (which is almost going semi-viral already- bizarre). Lump ‘em together if you have to/want to.

In this funny and insightful talk from TEDxHouston, builder Dan Phillips tours us through a dozen homes he’s built in Texas using recycled and reclaimed materials in wildly creative ways. Brilliant, low-tech design details will refresh your own creative drive.

Dan Phillips is a designer and builder in Huntsville, Texas. In 1998, he and his wife, Marsha, started The Phoenix Commotion, a construction company that builds affordable houses from reclaimed and recycled materials. Their mission is to divert landfill waste while creating sustainable housing for single mothers, artists, and families with low incomes. The Phoenix Commotion keeps labor costs low while reclaiming human potential. They use an apprentice program to teach sustainable building skills to individuals that volunteer or intern on the Phoenix Commotion Crew.

The houses are energy-efficient, cheap and satisfying to build — and wildly, effervescently creative. To the Phillipses, any material used in enough multiples creates a beautiful pattern — so Phoenix Commotion homes are covered and decorated with salvaged materials of many stripes. Homes are built in concert with their eventual owner, who contributes sweat equity and their own artistic flair.

They’re not part of any official Small House Movement, but they live in a small home and they live well.

When Marta Barceló and her husband Miguel prepped their 47 square meter (505 square foot) apartment for the arrival of her first child, Bruno, they had to create space in their one-bedroom place.

Miguel built a bed beneath the stairs in their entryway and the space became their firstborn’s bedroom.Three years later, when expecting their second child, they had to further transform their place (this time using the terrace) in order to fit their growing family.

In this video, we follow Marta before and after the birth of her second child, Milo. She shows us the bed-beneath-the-stairs which will now become a closet, their inventive storage space and their new living room on the roof. She also talks about how living small means knowing what you really need: something she enjoys discovering.

Via Kirsten at faircompanies.com

Craigslist Ad Thanks Dan for sending this to me!

$20,000 (Stanley, Idaho)

We are selling or trading the most perfect Christmas Church on Wheels. The Little Church of Miracles on Wheels is without a doubt the perfect and best outdoor Christmas ornament in the world. We will sell or trade for a nice motor home, film van or Sprinter , lot, land, great car or truck, etc.

Since it’s building completion April 20, 2010, we have had over 300 people stop and want to see and pray in it. Unfortunately, we live in an area by Stanley, Idaho and are unable to hide it from public view. In hopes of finding a good home for it, we are offering this amazingly beautiful church for sale or trade. Over 1200 hours went into the building of this amazing little church. Thousands of dollars in antiques and antiquities are in this Christian chapel. We think this is perfect for a wedding event site, winery, business, hospice,etc. We have been asked to rent it to resorts, wedding parties, hospitals, for Chirstmas home exterior decoration, etc. It can seat 10 folks, stand 6 more + pastor, bride and groom.

Comes with tiny faux wood stove that provides heat. Also completely insulated and is very tight.
call 208-838-2651 if you are seriously interested. To have this built would cost 7 times what we are asking. It was built to travel and is road compliant. If you are looking for something that draws in everyone that passes by, this is it!

We have had over 6 folks ask to rent it for their wedding and willing to pay up to $700. per day but we don’t have a big enough truck to pull it, (Ford F-250 type or new 150 with strong motor), and because we are filmmakers, don’t want to get into this business. If you need a new business, this may be perfect. You will never see anything like this so make sure you watch video.

Guest post by Walt Barrett (Be sure and watch the video at the end of the post)

I have been writing about micro homes, solar, and energy efficient homes for 35 years. People never really paid much attention to any of it, and my Internet Blogs have gone virtually unnoticed for years. Recently, however, I have started receiving email from people who have read my articles about solar powered autonomous micro homes. Many of them are simply looking to down size, which I happen to think is a great idea, unless you have tons of money to save towards your future. The other people that have written to me have no place to call their own at all, and very little money either. All of these people are seeking as much information as possible about building micro homes, and also the support systems needed to make them a comfortable place to reside.

When you build a micro home the savings really add up quickly. First of all, if you are handy enough you may not need a mortgage. That alone is huge! A tiny well insulated home is less expensive to heat and cool, another major savings. Because of the LED lighting systems we have developed, solar lighting is relatively inexpensive. The electricity saved on lighting enables you to downsize the number of solar electric modules needed to power the home. Believe me, this is not rocket science as some people would like you to think. I like to keep things simple. Continue Reading »