About 20 feet in diameter, Indianapolis Island is a tiny house made of fiberglass and foam that examines the daily needs of contemporary human beings. For the next four summers, the island will be occupied by one or two commissioned residents who are local art students. They will collaborate with Zittel by adapting and modifying the island’s structure according to their individual needs.

On their blog, Dunn and Runge discuss the details of living in an inhabitable art space. They have access to the museum’s Visitor’s Pavillion where there are restrooms, and they also have an emergency sawdust bucket for late-night bathroom needs. They are able to stay cool because of the good insulation of the island and the white color that reflects away the sun. The door and window provide air flow from the cool lake water. They cook with a solar oven, a small grill and use a cooler for their food.

Dunn and Runge will get a lesson in sustainable living during their stay from mid-June to mid-August on the island. Their plans are to grow their own food in floating pots, make their own furnishings, generate electricity with a bicycle and receive messages from others via floating capsules. The tiny floating island will also allow visitors. When the students raise a green flag on the island, guests may ring a bell on the shore to signal their desire for a tour. Visitors will then be picked up in a row boat and given a tour highlighting the efficient living space. When the island’s inhabitants are not giving tours they will create a message-writing centers for visitors to author their own anonymous messages, which they will release in floating containers which look like little floating islands of their own. The messages will then be posted on Dunn and Runge’s blog.

Photos courtesy of Jessica Dunn and Michael Runge

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Facebook Fan Page: We Can Do It! Women Who Camp with a Teardrop, Tent or Trailer

Camp Like a Girl

The Beehive Cottage

The Vintage Housewife

Cute as Pie Cottage

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

This range of carefully designed micro buildings are highly sustainable, quick to erect and adaptable to many landscapes. The intent for each building is to be completely off-grid with additional costs added to incorporate renewable energy systems.

The two dwelle.ings that are available for full-time living are the big dwelle.ing and the little dwelle.ing. The big dwelle.ing is 6.7 meters by 3.5 meters (22×11.5 feet or 253 square feet) and costs around £35,000-£50,000 ($52,000-$75,000). The little dwelle.ing is 4.9 meters by 2.65 meters (16×9.5 feet or 152 square feet) and costs around £20,000-£35,000 ($30,000-$52,000).

Each dwelle.ing is built with timber frames and can be entirely prefabricated in a factory and delivered to your site, or the separate components can be delivered and assembled on site. Each house takes about 6-8 weeks to build and they are small enough for two people to assemble with no large machinery needed. Exterior siding can be customized for your location and each house can be placed on different types of foundations.

Each dwelle.ing is created with these features in mind:

• high quality design
• environmental sustainability
• healthy internal environment
• affordability
• versatile, adaptable and easily deliverable

The layout of the dwelle.ing is extremely efficient and compact, yet provides a spacious feeling with a double height space over the main living area. Directly over the kitchen and shower room is a double bed deck with ample storage and hanging space for clothes. To maximize storage, an inner “sleeve” has been designed that incorporates cut-outs for furnishings and fittings, and elsewhere provides plenty of storage space. This inner lining also contributes to the buildings excellent thermal performance. The timber framed walls, floor and roof are insulated using cellulose fiber extracted from 100% recycled newspapers. The windows are all double glazed, and each dwelle.ing is heated by electric underfloor heating with the option of a real wood burning fireplace.

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

Christiania began in 1971 as an occupation of disused army barracks in the southern portion of Copenhagen near a lake. The 900 or so freethinking individuals who inhabit the area are a self governing community who refuse to pay taxes to the Danish government, run their own businesses and schools, live without cars on unpaved roads, build their own houses, restaurants and civil buildings and even have their own currency.

Until 2004, one of the main attractions in Christiania was a series of hash stands on the main thoroughfare, which was named Pusher Street. While hard drugs have always been banned by community law, the hash trade was a burgeoning business for Christiania until the Danish government finally cracked down and the town was forced to refocus its business ventures. Visitors now come to Christiania for inexpensive, ethnic food, music concerts, coffee shops, yoga studios, farmers’ markets and handmade gift stalls. However, there is still a drug element in parts of the town.

Courtesy of Ouno Design

Courtesy of Worldisround

The tiny houses of Christiania are wild, freeform, colorful and charming. A vernacular architecture that blends in with surrounding trees and flowers. Walking around the park-like neighborhoods, you would never guess you are right in the middle of the city. Birds are singing, there are fish in the large lake in the middle of Christiania and community members ride around on bikes.

Courtesy of Teo Matt

Courtesy of Thor Odin

Courtesy of Wayfaring

Courtesy of Harry Thomas/silvermonkey.net

My husband and I visited the Christiania “hardware store”, a three story barn which features hundreds of racks and shelves full of recycled wood, windows, appliances, handmade furniture and other building materials. We saw a man with a bike and bike trailer carrying his three small children ride into the store. He and the children loaded up the trailer with some trim wood and they all gaily pedaled away, back to their house-in-progress.

Some of the Christiania houses are even re-created from old shepherds huts, bathhouses and gypsy wagons.

However, photos of the houses, people, children and Pusher Street are discouraged. This is a hippie throwback community, but it is still home to hundreds of people who choose to raise their children in Christiania rather than out in Copenhagen proper. Most pro-Christiania citizens believe that the Danish government wants the community disbanded, probably because they are located on one of the most expensive and beautiful areas of the city.

Photos don’t do it justice, you just have to visit Christiania and see it for yourself. When you do, don’t forget to pick up a “Bevar Christiania”, or “Save Christiania” sticker.

Courtesy of Harry Thomas/silvermonkey.net

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

On my last trip to Sebastopol, California. I was able to visit Jay Shafer’s Epu. He has moved it to a new location within town, but still offers open house tours on the first Saturday of each month from 2-4 p.m. My husband, Harry Thomas, a semi-professional photographer took a few photos that I thought were a interesting and different view of Jay’s sweet, little house. The sleeping loft is a great place to hide.

By Christina Nellemann for the (Tiny House Blog)

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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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Summerwood Products in Toronto, Canada has a fantastic website that is very detailed, and provides some excellent foder for the tiny house enthusiast. Summerwood sells finely crafted outdoor products such as garden sheds, pool cabanas, gazebos, garages, playhouses, home studios and spa enclosures, but I really fell for their tiny backyard cabins which don’t have to stay in the backyard.

You can buy a pre-cut kit, a pre-assembled kit or the plans for the tiny cabins. The pre-assembled format is designed for quick, convenient assembly, with most of the components pre-assembled and ready for you to put together on site. The pre-cut format is ideal for the consummate do-it-yourselfer. Summerwood designs the product, purchases and cuts all the materials, builds the doors and windows and ships the pieces to the buyer. Pre-cut structures will likely require about 50% more assembly time, but they are also less expensive and may offer greater satisfaction once the job is done.

Canmore Cabin 16x16

The tiny cabins range in price from about $9,000 to $30,000 for pre-cut, to $10,000 to $34,000 for pre-assembled. The plans are about $160. Until December 31, 2008, they are offering free plans. The buyer can customize their own cabin on the website.

Canmore Cabin

I really fell in love with the Canmore cabins which come in both small and large sizes. Less than 144 square feet for the small and 145 and up for the large. The largest is 20×20 feet. The Canmore has about 16 styles to choose from. Some of the larger styles of cabins are the Cheyenne cabins which are from 168 to 540 square feet and the Mountain Brook cabins from 168 to 512 square feet. The Breckenridge cabins are 12×18 or 14×24 feet.

The Summerwood website also lists the tools you will need to build your own tiny cabin, your assembly time, types of foundations to use, a breakdown of the cabin dimensions and materials and cut-away views of the construction. They offer different floor plans, 3D tours of the structures and options for customization. The homes can be fitted with electrical, plumbing and insulation.

After purchasing the base model, materials upgrades are available, including:

• Cedar siding to beautifully finish interior walls and ceilings
• 2-sided partition walls to create separate rooms and more private spaces
• Steel doors for a modern and stylish look
• Insulation for warmth and protection
• An array of available cedar upgrades for rafters, trusses, studs, floor boards, and roof boards

Summerwood ships to anywhere in the world, but if you live in the U.S. shipping is included in your kit price.

By Christina Nellemann

Breckenridge Cabin

Canmore Cabin

Camore Cabin

Cheyenne Cabin

Cheyenne Cabin

Canmore Cabin 20x20

Telluride Cabin

Telluride Loft