I wanted you to meet someone who decided to turn to become a van dweller in his 1991 Volkswagen Westfalia.

Kidding about the down by the river part but seriously: he decided to move into his van while still working at his job.

His reason behind it is because one of his dreams has been to become a photographer. He didn’t have to do this, as you’ll learn in a moment.

So he got rid of his house payment by living in a van made for traveling. In the video he’ll show and explain everything, including his:

• $99 foam mattress for sleeping
• Sleeping bag to stay warm
• Dresser drawer underneath couch
• Electronics and accessories

Photo Courtesy of Living the Van Life on YouTube

I encourage you to check out the rest of the details and watch the video tour below: [continue reading…]

I’ve been exchanging emails with a gentleman named Andy in the North West about his tiny house with a balcony.

You can also consider it a “cabin”… It’s really compact but has everything I would need to be more than satisfied.

He sent me photos and I wanted to share them with you guys since he gave me permission to do so but I don’t have too many details on this particular project.

Andy is planning on building several more of these two story units with small balconies since that adds value to the structures.

What are your thoughts of this small cabin design? Could you see yourself comfortably living here?

I encourage you to check out the rest of the construction photos Andy shared with us below: [continue reading…]

Growing up, every kid wants a bedroom of his or her own, customized to personality and full of the things they love to do. That’s the purpose that this multifunctional playroom/bedroom serves.

Of course, most homes simply don’t have the space for a permanent playroom, but Heidi, a thirty-something mother of two, used tiny house logic to transform her daughter’s bedroom into a four-year-old’s dream come true.

With the help of her carpenter husband, Heidi turned an average sized bedroom into a little girl’s ideal space. A desk and chair, dress up area, spacious shelving unit and loft bed all fit comfortably in their design.

A vibrant wall paper makes the play space pop and gives the design a more spacious feel. Homework is more exciting for a four year old when completed at their own personal desk in a chair their size.

Photos Courtesy of Heidi

I encourage you to check out the rest of the photos and details below: [continue reading…]

While on YouTube the other day I ran into Yestermorrow’s tiny house 227 documentary thanks to Eric who commented and informed me about it.

Quite a while back, I put a post together on this sustainable building school. You can get all of the details on how to get involved there.

This is part of Yestermorrow’s semester in sustainable design and building course. The school teachers over 150 hands on workshops every year.

They cover design, construction, woodworking, and concentrations in sustainability. This particular project consists of a 227 square foot house on a trailer.

In the film, one of the student builders, Ben Berton says, “I think tiny houses are relevant, especially for the younger generation because, I feel like the younger generation tends to be more of a transient generation. And if you have a tiny house, especially if it’s on a trailer, your house can move with you.”

Photo Courtesy of Yestermorrow on YouTube

Jose Galarza, the Directory of this semester program, says, “This kind of education would be really great if it happened in the college atmosphere.”

That’s something I’d really love to see, and I’m sure you agree with that statement as well. Teaching students not only to live more consciously but to show them how to design and build, too.

I encourage you to watch the video yourself, share it if you like it, and talk about it in the comments: [continue reading…]

Guest Post by Andrew Odom of Tiny r(E)volution

Since December of 2010 when we first stumbled across the tiny house living lifestyle we have had a dream to build our own, custom, tiny house trailer.

Having both lived in more traditional “sticks and bricks” homes and having both seen our fair share of consumer debt, mortgage bubble worst-case scenarios, and the like, we realized that we wanted something different; something more that could only be found in something less, so to speak.

We no longer wanted to live the status quo and fall prey to what we now realize is an antiquated “American Dream.”

We had no desire to get to know Fannie or Freddie and we knew that we wanted to further develop our micro-homestead, our self-sustaining lifestyle, and our desire to have a home that grew with us rather than us having to figure out how to fill it up.

So for the last three years or so (even before our tiny house dream) my wife, Crystal, and I have worked hard at simplifying our lives.

We have minimized the number of clothes we own, the amount of books/CDs/DVDs we own, the types of food we eat, our dependency on cars and travel in general, the number of square feet we need to exist indoors, and our overall debt!

Because of this exchange, we have maximized our quality of life, our love for each other, our concern for the world around us, our ideas of true entertainment, our health (both mental and physical), and our general dispositions.

In regards to our tiny house trailer, we are about 15% into it. We have secured our trailer (30′ long former travel trailer), sandblasted the entire thing, painted it, replaced the tires, replaced the leaf springs, etc. (see photos below).

[continue reading…]

A few days ago I received Derek Diedricksen’s latest edition of Humble Homes, Simple Shacks in the mail so I was pretty excited to be able to review it so you can see what it’s all about before you order it.

In this video I’ll give you a sneak peak of the book that way you can figure out whether it’s something you’d find useful or not.

It’s a really fun book with tons of ideas. Some very practical and others are straight up funky. Either way the book will certainly get you thinking.

Well, enough yapping on here. Click the “play” button below to watch the complete review.

If you decide you want to order your own copy, you can do so over at Amazon.com.

Click here to order your copy of Humble Homes, Simple Shacks through Amazon.com.

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When you ask Simon Dale why he’s doing what he’s doing, he has a simple answer: it’s fun!

He has nearly completed building his second unique, sustainable, low-impact home in Wales, designed to nourish the residents as well the natural environment.

Dale has a more down to earth response to why he builds the tiny sustainable houses that have come to be known as hobbit homes.

“Our society is almost entirely dependent on the availability of increasing amounts of fossil fuel energy,” Dale writes, and if we don’t start drastically decreasing the energy we use we as a world will be faced with an “ecological catastrophe.”

The method of reducing consumption that Dale is passionate about is building homes that respect, repair and connect with the immediate natural environment.

Please don’t miss other exciting tiny homes – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter!

Photos Courtesy of Simon Dale and Low Impact Woodland Home

The first natural home he built, which also happened to be the first major construction project he’d ever tackled, is tucked in the side of a quaint hill in Wales, is wood heated and solar powered, and was built in less than six months for under $5000.

I encourage you to learn how by checking out the rest of the article, photos, and videos: [continue reading…]

The Fieldsleeper is a unique motorhome designed by a company named Tonke. I found out about these gorgeous campers thanks to the famous Lloyd Kahn over at his blog. By the way, Lloyd’s recently released his latest book, Tiny Homes: Simple Shelters, that you can order now through Amazon.

But anyway you’re here to see the Tonke Fieldsleeper 1 Camper because it’s that AMAZING motorhome that DETACHES from itself. Pretty smart concept! And the exterior has a very yacht-like style. It’s very cool! If you like mahogany and gloss, you’ll LOVE this…

Don’t miss other stories and updates like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!

Tonke’s Fieldsleeper Detachable Motorhome Tiny House / Caravan

Photos Courtesy of Tonke Campers

If you want you can check out the rest of the pictures and watch a video of how it works: [continue reading…]