Kevin Harrington, a licensed realtor and home remodel expert in Colorado has created a nice selection of tiny and small home plans called Cozy Home Plans. The homes range from 288 square feet to 781 square feet and his plans cost between $99 to just under $700. Kevin also runs a blog where he posts articles on home construction and DIY tips. He has posted about how to mix concrete, installing electricity, useful household tools and tiny house Feng Shui.
A few years ago, Kevin downsized from a 2,700 square foot home, got rid of about 90 percent of his possessions and moved into a 280 square foot 5th wheel trailer. He was in the process of researching alternative building techniques and stumbled onto the tiny house movement. He decided to start a website and blog to showcase his small home plan ideas.
“This tiny lifestyle I was living gave me back serenity,” Kevin said. “This was something that had been sorely missing in my life for a very long time. I just wanted to share my experiences.”
His goal with Cozy Home Plans was to add a few more feet onto tiny homes to make them more livable.
“Can a person live in 100 square feet? Absolutely, but can they share it with guests or a partner full-time? How about a larger kitchen, washer/dryer capabilities and storage for extra stuff in such a small space? Answering “Yes” to these questions became more difficult in such a tiny space,” Kevin said. “My solution was to add a few more feet to each house.”
Kevin created a “6 Must Haves” list for living in a tiny house. These guidelines are the foundation of each of his floor plans and concepts. The various sizes and designs suit singles, couples and families. They can live in the homes full time with all the amenities of traditionally larger homes and they offer alternative solutions for people wishing to downsize without sacrificing too much comfort.
His favorite Cozy Home Plan is the Mount Kiska which includes four storage areas, three French doors and a King size bed in just 505 square feet. He also likes the Crestone Needle’s kitchen and the Bashful Peak and the El Capitan.
From years of studying alternative building techniques, Kevin has also created the Earthbag Shield steel roofing system that is a self-supporting structure used for covering up earthbag homes and other structures. He also has a DIY article on earthbag construction.
“I just wanted to say thanks to all the people in the tiny house movement,” Kevin added.”I have been an entrepreneur all my life and competition is typically met with resistance. Never before have I been welcomed into a new industry as if I’m part of the family. The tiny house movement is quickly gaining in popularity, not only because of its message but because of the wonderful people delivering that message. Many thanks from Cozy Home Plans and I hope your tiny house brings you serenity, too.”
Photos and renderings courtesy of Cozy Home Plans