Rise Over Run Backyard House
An 11×14 foot former vegetable patch eventually became the home for this tiny backyard house designed and built by sustainable building advisor Megan Lea. Since her veggies were not getting enough sun, she decided to bite the bullet and build an environmentally friendly house out of salvage 100-year-old barn wood behind her main home in Portland, Ore.
Her 154 square foot retreat, which was built in less than six months, contains salvaged lumber from three barns in Oregon, a salvaged copper roof, natural plaster walls and a wood stove. The salvaged barn wood on the exterior is from Barnwood Naturals, a company that sells reclaimed vintage wood. The loft contains a comfy sectional sofa and the floor of the loft and its supports are exposed to show the structural elements. The little living room has seating for several people and a large sliding door. The building does not have a bathroom or kitchen. Continue Reading »
Log Pod
A few years ago, Kent covered the Pod, an innovative and mobile tiny house designed primarily for camping. Another company in the United Kingdom has upped the ante on this type of building with the Log Pod, a portable wooden structure that comes in two beautiful designs. The Log Pod can be used as an office, mediation or retreat space, in a campsite or as a tiny house.
The company designs and sells two different designs: the Log Pod and the Gothic Pod. The Log Pod has an angular roof and is 11 feet by 7.6 feet, and because of its raised foundation can be placed on slopes, uneven ground or even in flood prone areas. It has a 4 foot deep covered porch with a glass door in the front and a rear fire escape rear window. Lights and electricity come standard. The Gothic Pod has an arched roof and curved interior lines. It’s the same size and has the same amenities as the Log Pod, and it is wheelchair accessible. Continue Reading »
Bryant’s Little House
It is so much fun to see people I know get involved in the tiny house movement. Recently Bryant Goodwin, the best friend of my former boss at Cable Car Classics, Inc. and a fellow co-worker emailed me and asked me to come see the little house he is building.
Bryant with his background of building cable cars is taking his skills and building a tiny house out of reclaimed materials. His base for his home is extremely unique. Using a reclaimed mobile home chasis and modifying it to the 8 foot width and than using steel road rail guards he has built an extremely robust base for his tiny home.
Bryant is also using reclaimed cedar, redwood and other materials all through the construction of his tiny house. He is just starting on the interior and I will be doing updated posts as he moves forward. Bryant is building this home in Santa Rosa, California and his shop is real easy to find, right off of the freeway. Bryant also plans to build many more of these. If you would like to see his little home contact Bryant via email at: sumguy2008@yahoo.com Continue Reading »
Tiny Houses on the Prairie
“Oh Snap! Homesteader Postcards, the Facebook of 1906″ an article written by Heather Murphy at the Slate website features some really unique tiny homes built by homesteaders out on the prairies.
The images in this gallery were gathered over a period of 20 years by snapshot collector Michael Williams. They are featured in his book, Who We Were: A Snapshot History of America and at The Life and Death of Buildings, an exhibition currently on display at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Williams who spent over 15 years gathering these pictures at flea markets, antiques stores, and postcard fairs. The images were taken in South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana. Improvements were required by the homesteaders and those improvements were made using, tar paper, sod, bricks and wood. It just had to be sturdy enough to stand.
Click here to read the full article and see the slide show showing closeups and explanations of each postcard.
Modern Sheepwagon
This beautiful custom sheep wagon by Wizard Wagonworks is based on the original “sheep camp” of the 1880′s with a modern twist. It is designed for both highway and off-road use as well as for durability, comfort and ease of maintenance. Kenny Harris of Wizard wagonworks is in the cabinetry business and built two of these sheep wagons according to a customer’s specifications. One is now being sold for $60,000, but Kenny can build any custom sheep wagon for less than the current price.
The exterior of the wagon contains laminated oak struts, a T&G planked floor and metal roofing. The wagon is insulated and the exterior wood is finished with teak oil. The interior has oak bead board paneling and the benches, tables, cabinet doors and drawer fronts are solid oak. The wagon can by towed by a truck or other large vehicle and handles well on the highway with speeds up to 70 MPH. Continue Reading »
Bend me, shape me: Space saving furniture
Tiny houses usually necessitate thinking out of the box when it comes to furniture. Standard furniture for “regular” homes may not fit into a tiny house, so several designers have come up with some interesting and innovative designs for space saving furniture. Interestingly enough, while most of these designers think out of the box, their designs fold up into boxes!
Trick
Trick is the name of this multifunctional furniture that can be used as a bookshelf, a chair, and a dining set. The minimalist multifunction furniture is made from Milan based industrial designer Sakura Adachi.
