Do you think you can build a tiny house? This 15 year old kid is doing it right now.

His name is Austin Hay and he’s actually 16 now and a sophomore in high school (but still!).

He started building a Tumbleweed Fencl tiny house because he wanted to downsize, be good to the environment, and to make a financially smart decision.

On his web site he says, “I have started to build a tumbleweed house to show adults and peers that one person can help the big picture. I think its important that we keep this one world we have healthy.”

If Austin is doing it, you can do it too. With a little motivation (think about living pretty much mortgage free) and some leg work: building plans, construction site, and a place to park it when finished.

You could be well on your way too. What’s stopping you? Tell us about it in the comments below. You don’t have to register, just click here to go to the comments.

Photo Credit Austin Hay, Visit his web site by clicking here.

If you want to see a normal example of a tiny house along with small space furniture designs, you’re going to enjoy this post! Read on…

By normal I mean that the home isn’t built on a trailer and instead is apart of an ordinary neighborhood. I think it’s one of those houses that have been grandfathered in with the building codes.

Dirk, the homeowner, has been living in this 250 square foot house since 1999. Since then it’s inspired him to simplify his life and design solutions for storage. On his web site, you can see the transformation that the house has gone through since. He’s added a garage, fencing, and new landscape.

Now he is thinking of adding a second story to the home. Don’t worry, it will still be small after this project (around 500 square feet) but maybe not tiny. I don’t know about you but I am looking forward to checking out his progress. I like the idea of that balcony up there!

You’ll find his designs simple, planned, and smart. His furniture will give you some ideas that you might be able to put to use yourself, like his vertical storage on wheels that are perfect for a multifunctional room. You can see a photo of it at the bottom of this post.

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If you’re starting to commute by bicycle that is awesome because you’re improving your health, saving thousands every year, and helping the environment.

When you commute by bike you are even making people around you consider making the big change themselves some day.

Can you imagine enjoying all of the benefits of riding on bike instead of car? Sure, there will be times when you need that rain coat, or have to get mud guards installed.

But you could save up to $8,000 every year if you are paying for a car right now. That’s enough to be able to rent one when you need to! Maybe it’s even enough savings for you to completely change your life by spending more time with family, pursue something new or old, or to simply ease up your finances while bumping up your health.

Your body’s looking better and your heart is getting healthier when you’re on a bicycle instead of a car. Tammy, the author and bike commuting expert who lives in Portland, OR, will show you how to properly equip your bicycle so that you can go to the grocery store without issues.

After reading the book you will understand the most practical safety techniques. It’s packed with helpful information on buying a bike, getting used to the transition, and other challenges you might encounter and how to overcome them right away (or avoid them all together).

When you order, you’ll receive the ebook instantly.

To get your copy now, click here.

Here’s a fun video on going off the grid on an island for six days.

It’s called Little Deadman’s Cay in the Bahamas — there is only one house on the nine and a half acre island and that’s where he stays with his wife.

The house does have its amenities like solar panels and a windmill.

In the video he says “this is still very much like camping only in a really nice tent.”

They had to take gravity showers outside and give up the Internet, television, and replaced it with each other, reading, and the environment.

Enjoy watching…

Today I have three random small houses to show you. One that I saw personally and the other two are from around the web.

I’ve been pretty busy working on some new sections over at Tiny-House-Living.com my other “resource” style tiny house website which I love working on.

Two new sections there in the works right now — one on cob houses and the other on electric bicycles.

I decided to do a section on e-bikes because they’re a perfect alternative to cars for those who don’t want to make the full plunge and depend on their two legs all the way. Plus you can go faster while still pedaling.

I can’t help it, I love technology. 🙂

On a side note we reached 300 “Likes” on our Facebook page today, woohoo! Thanks everyone!

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Remember that high tech convertible small apartment in Hong Kong? All of the rooms would transform making all of the space multifunctional.

Here’s a 450 square foot Manhattan apartment that has been uniquely redesigned by architect Michael Chen and assistant Kari Anderson.

This one is not as crazy as the Hong Kong one, but probably way more practical.

The teacher/resident Eric Schneider wanted the place to serve as a home where he can cook, store his stuff, sleep, entertain, and work.

What did they do? They knocked down most of the walls and recreated the place with transformer cabinets.

UPDATE: You can now watch a video tour and interview below.

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The Kangoo is a small panel van / leisure activity vehicle made by Renault the French automaker. It’s been in production since 1997 and sold in places like Latin America, Europe, France, and Sweden.

In some models the rear seats and even windows can be removed. This feature became popular for customers who use wheelchairs.

This is an example of somebody who took this vehicle and turned it into a tiny motorhome / camper.

I’m pretty impressed with the conversion. Notice the storage racks up top and the attention to detail just about everywhere.

I’m sure this can be done with the newer Ford Transit Connect in the U.S. — it’s only a matter of time before someone does it if someone’s already not!

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Tiny motorhomes are awesome because they do great on gas, are inexpensive to buy, and can fit just about anywhere (parking space-wise). But we don’t have any THIS SMALL being made in the United States… But *soon* I think we will.

Check these out, they are perfect for simple traveling (not really much room) but enough to get you from place to place efficiently while giving you a place to sleep. More than one person in here? I’m not sure?? The Toyota one definitely looks big enough for two but not sure about the other… particularly that little gray one… it’s TINY. Another downfall is that these engines may not be able to handle going uphill too well but I could be wrong on some models. Anyways this will make up for it in fuel costs. Would you consider an RV this small?? These three photos are thanks to Geno’s blog who traveled to Japan to get these photos. Check out his blog here.

Don’t miss other super-cool tiny motorhomes and such, kind of like this, join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more! 

A tiny motorhome…

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