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tiny house

tiny homes to inspire

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 10 years ago

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These look like so much fun! here is the link to '25 brilliant tiny homes that will inspire you to live small'

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Staff note (Jocelyn Campbell) :

The original link from Judith seems to be gone, but I think I found the article here: https://www.architecturendesign.net/25-brilliant-tiny-homes-that-will-inspire-you-to-live-small/.

Jennifer Wadsworth

Posts: 2679

Location: Phoenix, AZ (9b)

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posted 10 years ago

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I'm pretty sure the Flintstones live in that one!

Subtropical desert (Köppen: BWh)
Elevation: 1090 ft Annual rainfall: 7"

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 10 years ago

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yes, the flintstones

...........I wish they showed the inside of it!
Did you see the one perched on a rock in the middle of a lake?
I'll copy one more from the link, I think that is OK....... here is one that is more what I would like to live in.....

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Penny Dumelie

gardener

Posts: 323

Location: AB, Canada (Zone 4a - Canadian Badlands)

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posted 10 years ago

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I did some searching and found these links.

This is a video of the inside of the stone house. It's in portuguese but you can get the jist of it without understanding the video.

This one shows some photos and a shot of the swimming pool.

I didn't look through all the links on this page but the host seems to have gathered a lot of information.

I love the tiny house idea. There are a few pages on facebook dedicated to them. Some people are just so so creative.
Some of the storage ideas and other tricks to make more room in a small space are inspiring.

Especially looking at my basement with concern that the crew from hoarders is going to show up.

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Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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Penny Dumelie wrote:I did some searching and found these links.

This is a video of the inside of the stone house. It's in portuguese but you can get the jist of it without understanding the video.

This one shows some photos and a shot of the swimming pool.

I didn't look through all the links on this page but the host seems to have gathered a lot of information.

I love the tiny house idea. There are a few pages on facebook dedicated to them. Some people are just so so creative.
Some of the storage ideas and other tricks to make more room in a small space are inspiring.

Especially looking at my basement with concern that the crew from hoarders is going to show up.

thanks for the links, Penny, they are great!
I am trying to pare down to a tiny house amount of stuff whether we end up with one or not. I have never felt so weighted down with 'things' as I have the last ten years or so...once I got serious about the purge it became easier and easier. It is amazing how quickly we can accumulate things without even being a real consumer....between yard sales and thrift stores and things given to us, different work projects, etc. and family things being passed on we have way more than we need.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Penny Dumelie

gardener

Posts: 323

Location: AB, Canada (Zone 4a - Canadian Badlands)

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posted 10 years ago

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Absolutely.

I have 20 boxes of random stuff in my basement still not unpacked from our move 5 years ago. Some of it is mementos from the kids, but some of the boxes could probably be pitched without even opening them.

I've been on a throw it out kick but I have that mentality where I'm sure I will need whatever I throw out, as soon as it's gone. Unfortunately, we have an unfinished basement with no closets or storage areas framed out right now, and no garage.
Since I can't hide it all away, it's got to go.

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Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 10 years ago

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I'm developing some stratagies ....whenever we visit out sons and their families I slip as much as I can into their homes bit by bit. And I finally got over my attachment to some things by remembering the joy I have felt at finding that special something at a thrift store for 50 cents and I know someone else will 'find' it next.......when I do the boxes of stuff to the thrift store I have to stop going for awhile until I think everything I brought in is sold. For many years I went 'shopping' in our house for gifts.
I realized some things I was ONLY hanging on to because it had some link to my childhood.........and it usually wasn't even an object I would have looked twice at otherwise. I get rid of layers at a time.......I would love to leave this house with a very small amount of baggage.
Christmas time is my favorite time to really get rid of some nicer things and send them to our local thrift store....they keep the prices down and I know a lot of folks do their gift shopping there.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Jennifer Wadsworth

Posts: 2679

Location: Phoenix, AZ (9b)

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posted 10 years ago

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Several years ago I did a massive "purge" and decluttered my living space. And I don't have that much stuff compared to your Average American. However, I found with diminishing vision, I needed space around objects to identify them - and now I have that. I find this is very peaceful for me. This is emphasized when I go over to my two best friends houses - they are both "clutterers" who leave stuff out and where no flat surface can be clear of items. Just being in that environment will stress me out after awhile.

Subtropical desert (Köppen: BWh)
Elevation: 1090 ft Annual rainfall: 7"

Nick Kitchener

pollinator

Posts: 872

Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

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posted 10 years ago

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I thought this was pretty inspiring because the island it sits on is floating, and was made from trash.

Matthew Connors

Posts: 54

Location: Acworth, New Hampshire

posted 10 years ago

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Ours. It houses 2 adults, 2 kids (8 & 2) and a dog. Interior space= 390 sqft. 1 1/2 story. I gotta say that we need more space. I feel cramped, and the kids LOVE to move around. Not much room for things like food processing,chest freezer(you can see the use of the outdoors as a freezer on top of the wood pile!), or company. For those types of reasons, I plan an addition.

Permaculture Playground Site FREE available at or agricultural and residential based Community Land Trust! Accepting Proposals! ayurtdweller@gmail.com

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

2382

posted 10 years ago

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Matthew, I can sympathize....We lived in an octagonal cabin for ten years from just before the birth of our sons onward, and at times many visitors......no permanent 'live in' animals, but sometimes, before adding the floor, we milked the goats inside and had a bottle fed sick lamb fenced into a corner there for awhile. The downstairs was 224 sq. feet and the ring loft another 160 sq. feet. We later floored in the loft and that helped enormously, along with adding a 8' by 16' porch.

We were off grid, no solar either, just kerosine lamps and candles and a wood cook stove. Looking back, none of us have any regrets....we played a lot of games, learned all kinds of craft......from woodworking to weaving and our kids were involved at a very young age.

Except for really bad winter weather or serious storms we were outdoors for much of the day......most activity in the house centered around the cookstove....lots of reading going on.......one winter with guests we read out loud much of a Sherlock Holmes compilation and another winter from Edgar Allen Poe. Played a lot of 'home grown' music and sang......no screens to distract

Ironically, my husband and I, after a couple moves, have ended up in a two story 1800 sq. foot house that is much too large for just us. Every winter we shut off the upstairs as it is impossible to heat, and live as though we have a smaller home

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

2382

posted 10 years ago

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...I dug out a picture of the home I describe in the post above, and scanned in.............this was the seventies, remember

Image.jpg

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Lynne Smith

Posts: 66

posted 9 years ago

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I have been looking at tiny homes for awhile. I watch the TV show too.
I have lived on a sailboat for over 6 years awhile back. A 30 footer. And 8 feet wide. It never bothered me at all. It was like camping out everyday. I miss it.
I have been trying to find areas or land to put one on.
Even a private piece of land or farm would be great.
I have also thought of redoing the boat and move back on it.
It is on a trailer still and landlocked. Poor girl....I think she missed the water.

Lynne Smith

Posts: 66

posted 9 years ago

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Judith,
Do you still live in the house? It's really cute!

Oops! Sorry, I see you live in a bigger house now. My eyes are tired tonight.
Where was this lovely house?

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 9 years ago

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Lynne Smith wrote:Judith,
Do you still live in the house? It's really cute!

Oops! Sorry, I see you live in a bigger house now. My eyes are tired tonight.
Where was this lovely house?

I would love something that size again and design but built correctly...this house was a group project without a lot of group knowledge......it stood for a long time until our 'neighbor' up the mountain burned his pasture during a serious spring drought and it got the cabin and many, many acres of forest. This was years after we moved from there but we were actually there with rakes doing fire lines along with half the county when it caught. Got some great pictures of it burning.
The house was in stone co. We still own the land and are trying to do a little permaculturing down there when we can.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 9 years ago

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Lynne Smith wrote:I have been looking at tiny homes for awhile. I watch the TV show too.
I have lived on a sailboat for over 6 years awhile back. A 30 footer. And 8 feet wide. It never bothered me at all. It was like camping out everyday. I miss it.
I have been trying to find areas or land to put one on.
Even a private piece of land or farm would be great.
I have also thought of redoing the boat and move back on it.
It is on a trailer still and landlocked. Poor girl....I think she missed the water.

I missed this when I wrote my reply above............living on a sailboat sounds wonderful...have you had it on the water here in arkansas?

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Lynne Smith

Posts: 66

posted 9 years ago

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Sorry to hear about your home. That has to be really rough to see your home go. Does that farmer still own his land?
One thing I would love to have is a underground home. It is most always much safer from things.
Unfortunately around here, you can't dig, you have to blast through the darn boulders. Lol. Do you have alot of those too? Gee I miss good regular dirt with no boulders!!

No, we haven't had the sailboat on any lakes up here. She will probably never sit in water anymore. We aren't able to sail anymore. But it is another option for a tiny home.

It is on a trailer. And it sits higher up off the ground. It is hard for intruders to get into.
My husbands health isn't too good so if anything were to happen to him, I guess I would have a paid off " home " to live in. I just need to find land to park it on.
Living on it was fun. A little tight quarters, but fun like camping. Most women couldn't do it, but I could.
I will see if I can find a picture of this tiny home.

Lynne Smith

Posts: 66

posted 9 years ago

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Here she is. 30 foot but trailerable.
I could pull it easily.
This was in Florida. We were selling our house and moving.
Sold it right before a hurricane hit and took the whole house out. Now all that exists is the land. A empty lot.

OnTrailer2-2.jpg

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

2382

posted 9 years ago

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Lynne Smith wrote:Here she is. 30 foot but trailerable.
I could pull it easily.
This was in Florida. We were selling our house and moving.
Sold it right before a hurricane hit and took the whole house out. Now all that exists is the land. A empty lot.

It's beautiful...and looks like it would be totally livable on land

Sounds like you got out of Florida just in time.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Lynne Smith

Posts: 66

posted 9 years ago

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Yes we got out within 2 weeks before that happened.
I have these gut feeling things. I could predict if it was going to be a bad hurricane and landfall within a 30 mile range. I told him we had to get out. Asap!
We lived there for 14 years. Six years on the boat. I miss the boat.
I feel bad times are Coming soon.
I hate those gut feelings....
That's one reason I want to be squared away in a place.

Lynne Smith

Posts: 66

posted 9 years ago

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I forgot to say the boat was made to be able to stay out as long as the food did.
We had a R.O. System. And water tanks for 80 gallons. Water would last us pretty good.
We had some friends come by while anchored out. Asked them if they wanted fresh water. They liked the sea water. Lol...they looked shocked when we told them where it came from.

Water and ice are very good for bartering on the ocean if a person goes there.

On the subject of tiny homes....
We used a solar sun shower bag for taking showers while out. Ours was a 2 gallon one. They work quite well!
I was thinking if a person had a tiny home, they could use it like that outside. Of course with a curtain up or a fold out wall... Just a thought.

Lynne Smith

Posts: 66

posted 9 years ago

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This boat was built by us. It is a kit boat. Luger is the NE of the designer. It was shipped in two parts. The hull and bottom. You had to do all the cut ours like the windows, hatches, and the engine room.
So we know how everything was made. The walls,etc.
It was fun to build.
It is totally able to live in off grid.

Building a tiny home is a lot like building a boat. Think small and hidden cubby holes.
Plus the toilet. It is pretty similar to a composting one if you wanted.
The trailer was three axles. And held a bit over 12,000 lbs I believe. It was custom made.
Personally I probably would like a outhouse. Lol.
Away from the house if you have land.

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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I think this qualifies as a 'tiny house'

...link to more pictures The Free Spirit Sphere

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Lynne Smith

Posts: 66

posted 9 years ago

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I have saw that one on TV. It's really cool. I like the wood look too.
I like the treehouse series on TV. I guess they could qualify as tiny houses too.

James Cheney

Posts: 3

posted 9 years ago

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Here is supposedly a fairly cheap option for building tiny houses. Under $5000 for some of them.

http://archedcabins.com/index.html

Olivier Asselin

Posts: 63

Location: Ariege, France

posted 9 years ago

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We recently released a video about a Tiny House in Montreal, check it out :

Possible Media - This is where you start
www.possiblemedia.org | Follow us on Facebook | Subscribe to our Youtube channel

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

2382

posted 9 years ago

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I like the idea of 'repurposing' an already existing building as these students have done... HERE

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

bob rossta

Posts: 2

Location: Columbia, MO

posted 9 years ago

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I wanna share my little rough-home. 90% recycled with whole timber framing.. been living in it for 3 years now, i built it to last maybe 10. it is suspended between trees, started between 3 and now between 5ish as i have added on. it is just shy of 300 ft now. my rocket mass heater is the centerpiece now. i have an obsession with old windows so i pay the penalty in the winter.. it's wonderful all other 3 seasons.. a small battery bank and 0.5kw solar panels handle my minimal electricity... I have around $3500 in the whole project.

i ended up building a guest tree house in the large oak tree next to my tree cabin. it's ~120ft plus a loft bed out of cedars from my farm, pallets, and rough cut amish white oak. right at $250 to build.. im gonna add a party deck with a rocketfired tub.

and a shot from across my frogpond

building my homestead has been the most rewarding experience of my life!
thanks for letting me share,
ros

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

2382

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Welcome to permies, and thanks for posting, Bob...Your home is beautiful...I don't think you can have too many windows...especially living off grid. I imagine there is some movement when the wind is blowing that must be nice. And the guest house looks great too.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Ed Coulson

Posts: 3

Location: England

posted 9 years ago

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In England this TV series has just come onto our screens. I am already hooked although I don't think I could live in one. Just not tidy enough !!!

Horsham tree care Tree surgery Horsham
Tree specialist Horsham Tree surgeon Horsham

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

2382

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Ed Coulson wrote:In England this TV series has just come onto our screens. I am already hooked although I don't think I could live in one. Just not tidy enough !!!

Yeah, as much as I love the idea and the crazy designs of some of the homes, I'm not sure my husband and I could manage it. We are trying to 'downsize' to move into a smaller house (haven't found it yet) but we are thinking 1000 sq ft . One of the challenges for us is that we both have different projects going all of the time. Anyway I am trying to think small when I sort our *stuff*.

and welcome to the forums, Ed

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

2382

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I really like this one but I don't think I could live in it, maybe as a guest 'cottage' on the back forty

Tiny House Looks Like A Shell

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

Posts: 8887

Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

2382

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Josephine's Retreat
We stayed here for a few nights while traveling by train....sweet little one room cabin with an outhouse.
It was built for Josephine as a writers retreat. I'm not sure of the square footage... less than 200 though not counting the porch.

a note...I see the prices have gone up, of course. I think we paid half that, maybe even less, hostel prices are really reasonable...even for couples and 'older' folks

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Beverly Temmer

Posts: 37

Location: Mukilteo, Washington

posted 9 years ago

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This one is interesting....

https://lunchboxarchitect.com/featured/carbon-positive-prefab-house/?utm_source=Lunchbox+Architect&utm_campaign=e18ff671ab-Carbon_Positive_2_26_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5c43683f48-e18ff671ab-159700085

Jocelyn Campbell

steward

Posts: 6593

Location: Everett, WA (Western Washington State / Cascadia / Pacific NW)

2165

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posted 5 years ago

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I've recently been inspired to look at tiny home designs and tiny home living.

The first one that caught my eye is admittedly an upper-end (price wise) model called The Elsa by Olive Nest Tiny Homes.

Two-part tiny house comes with its own mobile porch & greenhouse (Treehugger article)

Certainly a lovely design even if the $81,000 price tag causes an involuntary gasp.

QuickBooks set up and Bookkeeping for Small Businesses and Farms - jocelyncampbell.com

Jocelyn Campbell

steward

Posts: 6593

Location: Everett, WA (Western Washington State / Cascadia / Pacific NW)

2165

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At the other end of the spectrum we have Miguel Elliot's designs which are very, very affordable.

He is fond of making what he calls a "palatable cobin" - a cob cabin which starts with pallets that he infills with straw and covers with cob. Here's one that Miguel put on a trailer:

This was from Hobnob with cob: a tour of west county cob (Sonoma West article) which shows many of Miguel's other "cobins."

Each cobin cost about $12,000, he said: $2,000 in materials and $10,000 in labor.

So quite affordable though of course many of these are super tiny, too.

QuickBooks set up and Bookkeeping for Small Businesses and Farms - jocelyncampbell.com

Jay Leopold

Posts: 7

Location: Valley of the Sun, USA

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posted 4 years ago

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Something is happening. Small home contractors like ThinHaus are shifting production from foundation based, stick-built houses to moveable tiny houses. We could have easily taken the money from our last sale and used it to build another house here in Phoenix. No one would have thought twice about that decision. Instead, we decided to use that money to design and build three new ThinHaus models ... helping three families to find a new home instead of just one for the same money. Turns out, we aren't the only ones coming around to this way of thinking. As the third major builder of tiny homes in Arizona, we are seeing more and more interest. There will be others and that is good. We could all build around the clock and not supply enough innovation and stock. Americans with less money, less mobility and less need for stuff are finding the tiny house idea to be very appealing. Even the cities around the nation are coming on board. Something we've learned here in the Valley of the Sun ... inside living space and outside living space are very different and you really don't need that much of the former if you have tons of the later, like we do here.

Steel-studded-frame-for-our-ThinHaus-Model-A2410.jpg