Labor Day Book Giveway

Kent and I have been doing some summer decluttering of our own homes, and have decided to give away a few inspirational books to our loyal Tiny House Blog readers. The set of books will contain:

The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka
Creating the Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka
Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach
Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping by Judith Levine
Simple Pleasures: Soothing Suggestions & Small Comforts for Living Well Year Round by Robert Taylor, Susannah Seton and David Greer
The Natural House Book by David Pearson
The New Strawbale Home by Catherine Wanek

If you are interested in winning these books, post a comment on this post that contains YOUR favorite tiny house on the Tiny House Blog. The contest will end on September 13th at 5 p.m. PST. The winner will be chosen on Tuesday September 14th using Random.org. We will ship the books to the winner and do a post on the winner and their favorite tiny house.

Good luck and have a great Labor Day!

By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]

166 thoughts on “Labor Day Book Giveway”

  1. I love any post that talks about the Don Vardo and gypsy wagon homes. I would love to be able to build a little traveling gypsy wagon home some day and decorate it in the gypsy styling and all. Love the site and love little homes! I’m living small in my 800 square foot 30 year old mobile home that I rehabbed… better than the 3,000 sq footer I was living in!!! I’m trying! Keep up the great blog!

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  2. I love dogtrots. Thus my favorite small house would have to be the Beausoleil House built by the University of Louisiana in last year’s solar decathlon or the Zachary House built by Stephen Atkinson.

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  3. I’ve been reading the tiny house blog for some time now. As a small house denizen myself, I am continually inspired by the stories, photos and philosophies of those featured here who choose to make do with just what they need.
    That makes it hard to pick a favorite. All the posts are refreshing and reading them is part of my daily reaffirmation to live larger by living smaller.
    But there is one post that stands out and that is Louis Johnson’s yurt in upstate New York:
    http://tinyhouseblog.com/yurts/yurt-living-in-upstate-new-york/
    I loved everything about that post. I loved Johnson’s enthusiasm, his design, and the efficient use of space. I was particularly impressed with the overhead storage idea in his kitchen. I also loved his ideas for conserving water and using solar energy. The “work in progress” mentality shared by Johnson and so many others is contagious. Every time I read stories like these it makes me want to try harder, too!
    It didn’t hurt that I’ve always been fascinated with yurts, and the one featured in that post was nothing short of amazing.
    So many of our friends and family urge us to build on to our little bungalow, but we’ve resisted and are instead using ideas from people like Johnson to maximize what space we have instead.
    Thanks to this blog for the daily inspiration, and for taking the time to bring us all these stories and photos.

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  4. My favourite tiny house has to be The E.D.G.E – its a beautiful modernist home, but in a small package.

    What marks it out for me is that it has real cohesive modernist style. It is also sensibly thought about and laid out.

    This and Dwell.ing are what will help the mainstream aspire to live smaller.

    Owen

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  5. Somehow I found the Zook Cabins on your site. These are cute, affordable, little log cabins! They’re my favorite by far!

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  6. My favorite is the Little Cob Cabin. It has such flavor, and warmth! For small, it seems to have a massive feel. And the staircase is a delight!

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  7. It is very hard to pick one but at the moment I really like the Fencl. I love its exterior character and can imagine the looks and smiles while towing it down the road some day. IT has everything a person needs in a home. If I were to have to pick a more permanent residence I would lean towards a dome home.

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  8. Pocket Suites in Winnipeg, though not the most aesthetically exciting, would be my favorite pondering-for-real-the-possibilities one. The accessibility, the built-in community, and the proximity to the services the city has to offer seniors and people with limited mobility all are wonderful aspects of this design.

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  9. I’d definitely have to say that Simon’s Eco-House is my favorite, even though it is unlike anything I would build for myself. The whole structure is so fluid and fascinating–very different from most of the square, flat designs of most buildings.

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  10. One of my favs is the Simple Life Bungalow. I like many of the others–specially Tiny Texas Homes–but as I look to the future as a senior citizen, a sleeping loft might not be practical. I live in a small home now (@ 600 Sq Ft) but as I look to the future and moving near my children I expect to downsize even more.

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  11. It’s a nearly impossible decision, but I think my favorite is the weeHouse. I can see myself planting one in the woods of Vancouver, living out my days peacefully . . .

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  12. I really thought that my favorite Tiny home would have gotten at least one or two fav’s from other people by now but I dont even see it mentioned, however I guess that is a good thing, it means that there is a huge varity of Tiny homes out there now and it will only get bigger and better as time goes on. For me though, no matter how much I have seen to date I keep coming back to one house as my absolute favorite…ProtoHaus.

    http://www.protohaus.moonfruit.com/#

    http://tinyhouseblog.com/stick-built/protohaus-project/

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  13. We’re seriously considering building one of the Cabin Fever prefabs on a lot in the Florida Keys. Many of the cool designs you show would be great most any other place, but in the Keys we have serious hurricane regulations to deal with. Liked a few of the Katrina cottages, but the Cabin Fever designs are much more livable. http://www.cabinfever.us.com/Maxwell.htm

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  14. Although I am not a rustic girl at all (I take an eco-modern/minimal/vintage approach for my own dwelling), I loved the Green Line Architects Tree House from October 2009. There have been other posts that I’ve loved since, many others, but that was such a Mother Goose-type storybook cottage, with it’s wonky lines and funky use of space. So adorable!

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  15. I like the pallet house building blogs. As with the container conversion blogs. I like to see the pallets and containers put to good use instead of sitting around. With all the homeless people and unused government land. Those ideas of housing should be put to good use.

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  16. My favorite would have to be the Tumbleweed homes, mainly cause I love the use of space, storage and coziness of them. Followed closely by Dee’s Don Vardo. I would like to held the two into something I would live in, as I plan on being nomadic myself.

    I love this blog by the way. It’s so inspiring to see so many ideas and people just as excited about the tiny home movement! Keep it up!

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  17. I really like The Micro Cottage by Sheldon Designs. It looks to be a workable space with a separate living/dining area and a private sleeping space.

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  18. It’s way too hard to choose just one! I have seen tons that I’d love to live in someday if I could; being able to use spaces and materials so creatively is so appealing to me.

    One of my favorites is the Milton Studio. I love the mix of contemporary and rustic styling, and it has tons of windows which is so important. I think especially in a small house it’s important to live in a space where the surrounding outside area is just as comfortable and significant a living space as the inside.

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  19. I love tiny house blog and check it often!
    While my husband loves the idea of one day converting an old shipping container into a home I love what people have been doing with old silos…
    You’re post about the Gruene Homestead Silo was really great because it shows that you don’t have to give up a beautiful interior with a tiny space.
    I’ve been showing that post to all of my friends:-)

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  20. I like tiny houses. The one that might best suit my needs is the Tumbleweed Popomo. I liked it because of the passive solar aspects, the lovely big doors which make nature a part of the living space, and the one level floor plan. At 65 there might be a time when I shall need to have only a single level.

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  21. Without a doubt, The Carre Dā€™etoiles French Cube is my absolute favorite tiny home of all time. The attention to detail and use of clever interior design makes this 10x10x10 structure a home of my own heart. Regardless of the the small space, the house fails to get in the way of itself, which is a challenge all tiny home architects must face. I highly respect how the space flows and how every “room” play part in an integral whole, rather than independent partitions. Additionally, the simple, elegant exterior hold an aesthetic I’m sure any tiny house lover can appreciate. Thank you Tiny House Blog, and keep doing what you do best.

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  22. Well, some posts on THB are more applicable to me than others, but I’ve enjoyed them all. But, the two posts on tiny houses that stand out in my mind are Wendell Greenalgh’s “Little Idaho House” or the “Old fashioned gypsy cabin” for sale in Cottage Grove, OR. Both were awesome!

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  23. It’s so tough to pick a favorite! I loved the shabby-chic Victorian cottage in the Catskills, and I loved how the Taylor Smith Architects Sunset Cabin fits into its setting, I thought the tiny house in a landscape #60 looked like an incredible tiny vacation house.

    My favorite would have to be building with whole trees (http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house/building-with-whole-trees/) I love the look of this with the bare trunks and branches in the simple interior with all the windows tying the inside and outside together. I could easily see myself enjoying life in a tiny house such as this! Thanks for bringing together all these varied options for tiny house living. šŸ™‚

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  24. I love the Modern Cabana’s new studio…perfect size for me! I dream about a small house with just the essentials and while many of the Tiny House blog models meet that dream I would say Modern Cabana gets my vote.

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  25. Like most people, I really like a lot of the designs on the Tiny House Blog–I look forward to these posts daily on facebook.

    I love the Tumbleweed Houses, but my specs are different than others’ because I have to have a space for my mom and I need stairs so my dog can get up to my bedroom (and he’s big, so I can’t carry him up!).

    I’m currently in love with the Baby Bear Cabin and the Summerwood cabins. They give me inspiration to save for a house; at some point I’ll have to choose one, and I don’t know what I’ll do then!

    http://pennypincherbarns.com/CabinKits/BabyBearCabin.aspx

    http://www.summerwood.com

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  26. Just about every time I see a tiny landscape feature, that’s when I really get thinking seriously about tiny homes. Its the whole package, and it fits perfectly in the country of Druetopia (come visit sometime; its an ideallic place).

    After all, I’m big about the outdoors. Less time in a small house; more time swimming around in a small corner of the universe.

    Tiny house; big, beautiful planet; big, wonderful life.

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  27. Every six months or so, I start plotting out my tiny Tumbleweed House life. (Maybe more often since I moved into an expensive Manhattan shoebox for grad school!) I like the idea of being able to pick up and move, and how everything has a place (so you live simply but not ascetically, unless you want to). They’re freaking adorable to boot. The Fencl would be my house of choice.

    ALSO, this: http://tinyhouseblog.com/tiny-house-landscape/tiny-house-in-a-landscape-23/ is beautiful!

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  28. I loved that little house in Kentucky on the little farm that you profiled a while back. It was so sweet! I tried to convince my husband that evening that we could make it work. Unfortunately all of our family, friends, jobs, everything we love is in New Jersey.

    We are in the process of creating our own perfect small (not tiny) house out of our current small house. I was able to fix all of our issues within the very small footprint of our house, with the exception of one minor bump out.

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  29. I can’t decide between the Kathi’s dollhouse and the one for under $3500 as my favorites. I haven’t seen one yet that’s JUST PERFECT for us yet. =P

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  30. I LOVE the TINY HOUSE BLOG! Most tiny homes would suit me just fine, and although I usually go for the cosy, quaint places, I’m going to vote for the clean, modern weehouse. I breathe a sign of relief when I see its minimalism. Thanks for the great job you do here!

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  31. I was going to vote for the Tumbleweed houses, but then the Shotgun Shack article, on the old plantation housing, caught my imagination. I really liked the way it was historical, and yet the decoration made it interesting. So, that would be my vote.

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  32. The Habitaflex – not the most elegant and far from the tiniest, but love that someone could ship 1000 down to Haiti and put a big fast dent in the rebuild process…

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  33. Hard to pick just one. I float between being in love with the cabins and the more contemporary, mega window, high style babies. However, I think I’d have to go with. Stone Mtn Cabins by Kent Griswold on June 6th, 2008. I know it’s not very offthegrid of me to say, but I could sure enjoy watching some football in that stone beauty! šŸ™‚

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  34. I love the Compact Beach Chalet. I’ve got kids, and I love a tiny house that has some extra bunks. Besides that, I enjoy anything that’s a dome or yurt!

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  35. There are a number of tiny houses I like. However, if I had to pick one I would say that ProtoHaus has some of the features I am most interested in. Mainly the positioning of the bathroom, the dormer windows for more space in the loft and the roomy, integrated, covered deck.

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  36. The old Kentucky log house that was featured and is for sale is one of my favorites, what’s not to love about that house!

    In general, my favorites are any of the log houses.

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  37. Little houses are complicated for me. I’ve loved them for a long time, but oddly enough, what cemented my love for tiny spaces was a violent tour of duty in Iraq. You only have what you can carry with you; you cling to what matters, and you learn what’s important and what’s not. We had bunk beds; we stored our gear on the top bunk, then tossed our bug netting and a blanket over it, and that was all hte privacy we needed. It was a refuge, and it was valuable. I cannot describe the sheer horror of some of that time—nor the amazement at discovering just how decent people can be.

    I came back and got desperately sick, and what I wanted was a small space that embraced me, which big spaces simply don’t do. I felt like I was being chocked by stuff that was keeping me tied down.

    So the entries that appeal to me most are the vardos, the tiniest of tiny spaces, with that feeling of being embraced by one’s space, and the necessity of living one’s life outside that space. I’ve always loved small spaces, but now they seem to recreate the most dangerous and important period of my life, and make me feel safe enough to get better and get on with living.

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  38. wow… it’s like having to decide which child is your favorite!! too many to choose from.

    one story that inspired me was the one originally posted in the New York Times
    http://tinyhouseblog.com/category/yurts/page/2/
    about the young couple (with toddler) who live in a Yurt in Seldovia Alaska… completely off grid AND in the middle of ‘nowhere’. Their story inspires me and makes me realize that moving into my school bus aint no big deal šŸ™‚

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  39. How to choose a favorite?! I love the look of Simon’s hobbit-type house, but for actual living I would have to choose either the Eco-House or Wendell Greenalgh’s Little Idaho House. I just love checking out your website every day to see what’s new, and I’d be thrilled to get any of your gift books.

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  40. I like the Park Model Homes designs. It’s a toss up as to my favorite; I like the Royal and Estate models. I’d love to plop one of them next to lake Okoboji. šŸ™‚

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  41. I really love the floating house in the Swedish archipelago. I love the clean design of the white walls and light wood.

    I also really like the one I think is called the Wee House.

    I would love to win these books.

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  42. It’s always been my dream to have a cabin on the mountain. But life threw me a curve ball and I’m disabled now. When I seen the Log Cabin on a trailer by Forest Cabins in CO http://forestclassicsloghomes.com/portableBuildings.html . I fell in love with it. It would allow me to tow it up the Bighorn Mountain ( we live at the base of the Bighorn Mountains in WY ) and live in a cabin on the mountain every summer. You see, you can camp on the bighorn mountain free all summer long as long as your 1/4 mile off the main road and as long as you move your camper 5 miles every 2 week. ( can’t leave it in the same spot all summer )
    Anyway, that’s my favorite tini home so far. But there have been many many runner ups.

    JT

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  43. I’m totally drawn to the tiny house concept. Living with less is MORE. I go back and forth from trailers, to pre-fab, to cottages, etc…they all have unique features and benefits to each individual space.

    But today my all time favorite that makes my heart skip a beat would hands down be the E.D.G.E.

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  44. My very favorite, and it’s very hard to choose because it changes from day to day, is the Baby Bear Cabin by Pennypincher. Perhaps because it’s Monday morning and that’s where I’d rather be.

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  45. My favorite has always been the ProtoHaus because of the aesthetic design and use of space. I however have purchased a larger tiny house on wheels that I think I will (eventually) be able to live in full time.

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  46. Without a doubt, my favorite tiny house is Brad Kittel’s Victorian with all of the salvaged wood and fixtures. Such a cozy nook, and Brad endeavors to make then 99% recycled and salvaged materials.

    DanO

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  47. I have loved just about every tiny home I’ve seen here so far however I have to say that my favorite is my own 380 sqft cabin It’s nothing fancy and in continual process but it is my home.

    Amy

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  48. Although it is a little larger then what would be considered tiny at 800 sq. ft., I really like the house designer/builder Ted Owens created. It can be seen at http://buildingwithawareness.com/

    I like so many of his ideas. Being a fiber artist, I need a bit more room to accommodiate my spinning wheels, looms and fibers, so I might need to build two tiny houses, one to live in and one for a studio.

    I enjoy your website, keep up the good work!!!

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  49. My favorite tiny home is — Our Little Cabin Up the Lake. I enjoyed the whole series of posts about Margy and Wayne Lutz’s floating house on Powell River, BC.

    Kent, how about after the contest doing a post showing a table of all the votes.

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  50. i love all tiny houses. but the house posted on sept. 4th filled my heart with joy. the picture of the woman walking to this wonderful house with a dark sky is beautiful. this is the kind of solitude i crave at times and on that day i would of moved there in a heart beat. šŸ™‚ thanks for all of your posts on these great small spaces.

    terry lillie

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  51. I’ve got to go with the original Tumbleweed house; it’s what opened my eyes and got my attention directed toward to TH movement —

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  52. There have been so many lovely homes posted but I think my favorite tiny house has been Simon’s Eco-House in Wales. It looks so beautiful in the photos and the design seems quite functional, the best of both worlds really.

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  53. I liked most of the tiny homes, but I feel that “Small built-in barn style” at Oakland, California is very comfortable too, so I like it.

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  54. I LOVE the dollhouse….not just because it is my state of Georgia, but also because it is cute, practical, awesome, and looks like a HOME.

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  55. I always like the Gypsy Wagons and have seen several highlighted here.

    They remind me of an old friend who
    found himself in a deteriating marriage once and being a terrific boat carpenter, built himself the most beautiful little Gypsy Wagon where he lived on a friend’s farm quite comfortable for a few years.

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  56. My favorite is the Zook cabins:

    http://tinyhouseblog.com/log-construction/zook-cabins/#more-13980

    As much as building my own place appeals to me, the area I like like is too far away to realistically build a place by myself. The Zook cabins are affordable, come in many versatile plans, the options are clearly defined on the website as well as the site requirements, and I could see my wife living in one, unlike the more radical designs that I prefer. Easily the most practical pre-fabs I’ve seen. Also they are in the east, which seems rare for these companies.

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  57. Reading this blog takes me back many years when we first got fired up about straw bale houses, then underground houses… and finally settling on log houses, since we bought a 40 full of lodge pole pine in Western MT. Our first “cabin” was 20’x20′ where all 7, yes 7 of us lived for 6 years sans, electricity, running water, indoor bathroom…- yes, we were delayed hippies, I guess. One thing is certain. We CHOSE this lifestyle. It was not forced upon us, and our grown children now speak fondly about their childhood memories there.

    Our next small-space-living-adventure was aboard our 36′ ketch in Puget Sound where the two of us lived for 10 years. We loved it and realized that really this small space was all that was necessary to carry on our professional lives, live more simply, and have Saturdays to do other things than mow a lawn or clean a huge house.

    Presently we’re building a small log cottage next to the original bigger log house, which will become a future vacation rental to keep us going in our retirement financially. We’ll be cozy in the cottage.

    Oh, how my son and his new wife in Alaska would love to receive your small house book collection. He is a new architect and she will begin environmental law studies soon. Both are in love with the philosophies of living with less in smaller houses and want to develop this passion much as we did when we were young, Thank you for considering them as receivers of your collection. It would be a perfect birthday gift for them- Sept. 16 and 26th!

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  58. I enjoy everything that is posted on tiny house blog – it is one of my daily inspirations. My favorite is the set of Zen tinies created for a Buddhist community by Tortoise Shell. I love the idea of having cozy private spaces plus a house for community activities.

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  59. I love the Fencl! I’ve had many dreams of drinking tea on a cold winter’s morning from the bay window. while watching the sun rise.

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  60. My favorite tiny house was Ms Cannon’s house. She was my neighbor growing up and lived in a 16 X 16 house that her husband built for her in the 30’s. It had a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom complete with tub.

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  61. That’s a tough one. I’ve seen so many permutations that it’s difficult to pick one so I guess I’ll have to say it’s the one that originally brought me here to this site. It’s a small bungalow in southern California with a slanted roof and room divider that also acts as a design element on the exterior. I wish I knew the name of it. Does anyone know which one I’m talking about?

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  62. I have to say that since seeing it on the blog a couple of weeks ago, I’m in love with the Baby Bear cabin. That being said, I love all of the tiny homes on the blog!

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  63. I admire seriously “tiny” houses and those who design, build and live in them. But as an elder(not to be confused with “Geezer”) with — in spite of minimalist tendencies — the need for more space than, say, the Tumble Weed offers, I must opt for the Sonoma Victorian Cottage(http://tinyhouseblog.com/stick-built/sonoma-victorian-cottage/)as a favorite. I hope you folks were able to accept the invitation to stay there for a bit. I’d be interested to learn of your experience.
    PS: Excellent collection of books!

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  64. Tiny house in a landscape Sept. 4 2010.
    It lights up all my Heidi pictures. I want to find a lovely, grumpy old Grandfather inside.

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  65. A few years ago I was googling about yurts and stumbled on Jay Shafer’s Tumbleweed EPU cottage. I absolutely loved it. I have my own not-so-tiny cottage (but still under 700 sq. ft.) built in the 1940’s in need of some TLC. I continue to “clear the clutter” to lead a less material life. Love your site!

    Reply

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