Jay Shafer

Nate and Lisa’s Tortoise Shell Home

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Guest post by Lisa

When my husband and I first moved to the country after 20 years of living in the big city, we talked a lot about the different possibilities for housing. We were both sick of apartments. We fantasized about the different natural building techniques like cob and straw bale, but worried about exorbitant land prices here in California.

About five or six years ago we stumbled upon Jay Shafer’s Tumbleweed website and were completely charmed. This was pre-Oprah, before he was so famous. We had a free private consultation with him within the first few weeks after he moved out to California. A couple years later we went to one of his open houses, and recently went to his first showing of his new Craftsman style cottage. We love his work, but his prices were too high for our budget. Building it ourselves seemed too difficult, though I’m sure it is possible for some people.

The tiny house bug had us. We now knew how we could own our own home without land or a mortgage, but we needed a place to put the house.

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Introducing Bungalow to Go

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Guest post by Paprika Clark

There’s a new tiny house company in town, and our name is Bungalow to Go (www.bungalowtogo.com).

Hi, my name is Paprika Clark, but a lot of folks call me Pepper. Although I only named it a few months ago, I started my house design company in spirit when I noticed an ad for a new subdivision in the newspaper at the age of six. Next to an elevation sketch was a floor plan. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. The rooms were named. I could recognize an overhead view of a toilet, and the distinct round burners on the stove in the kitchen. I created a three dimensional projection in my mind and walked around “my new house” picking out my room and figuring out where we would put our couch. It was magical and I was hooked.

I started drawing my dream house then and I’ve never stopped. In the beginning they were huge and often strange, with lavish impossible features. Ponds with lily pads, indoor pools, waterfalls, tree houses, cave complexes, three story libraries with enormous rolling ladders, fireman’s poles, secret tunnels, maze gardens, green roofs, greenhouses, orchards, fire pits, dance floors… my houses had it all.

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Tumbleweed Hollyhocks Poster

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Tumbleweed Tiny House Company is announcing a new product. The Tumbleweed Hollyhocks Poster and I wanted to be the first to share it with you. Designed by Jay Shafer, the poster is 18″ wide by 24″ tall, and printed on 80# recycled paper. It features the Anderjack model and some beautiful hollyhocks. Tumbleweed is … Read more

Buy a Tiny Bit of History

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Steven over at Tiny House Listings notified me that he was in contact with someone who has Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company original Tumbleweed home and that it is now listed for sale on his site. According to the owner this is the actual Tumbleweed house that started … Read more

Jay Shafer’s Tumbleweed Box Bungalow Video Tour

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Recently, I had the opportunity to have a personal tour from Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, of his new tiny home. Jay has completed and moved into the Gifford Box Bungalow. This house is one of the designs featured in his latest book called Tumbleweed DIY Book of Backyard … Read more

World’s Tiniest Hotel

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by Elaine Walker Calling all tiny house fans! Would you like the opportunity to stay overnight in a tiny house before plunging into building your own? My Story Indulgent Restraint was born of my fascination with tiny houses and a desire to live in one. A few years ago while … Read more