So I thought I might continue on our little tour of our tiny house, our construction choices, and the outcome.

Since I am currently enjoying some beautiful summer days I thought I might talk a little about our outdoor living space.

The first outdoor space we built was our front porch and since we used plans to build our post and pier foundation based on deck plans, no front porch was in the original design. We always planned to build one but we needed to have the house built first.

Our front porch may be the smallest deck ever constructed. It is essentially a free-standing structure using just four deck blocks for stability. It is attached to the house by the porch overhang. It provides a small covered spot to take off our muddy shoes before going inside.

I encourage you to read more and see our photos of the process below.

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I thought these Gypsy Caravans created by Kees Hoekstra of Roulottes were pretty neat and would like to share them with you today. Kees has been building gypsy caravans since 1992 and was a graphic designer/illustrator in Amsterdam.

With his knowledge in graphic design, Kees borrowed some tools from a friend and set off to France for 20 weeks restoring his caravan. After he was finished people starting asking if it was for sale/rent and that inspired him to create his own business. Since there weren’t many original caravans left, he decided he needed to build them from scratch. He then moved to Czech Republic where he set up a workshop and hired carpenters.

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Graphic Designer Borrows Tools And Restores This Gypsy Caravan Tiny House To Perfection!😍

Today he sells his creations which are used for campsites, hotels, backyard workshops and more…

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I wanted to show you this tiny cabin with its 18′ vaulted ceilings in Asheville.

It’s a vacation rental you can actually stay in if you wanted and I find it to be the perfect size house.

It’s really spacious compared to a little house on wheels but has a similar design concept.

A cabin that’s a little larger, more spacious, but still very small relative to even today’s smallest homes.

Jenny’s cabin is 16’x25′ so it’s approximately 400-square-feet with a large deck.

And for those of you who don’t like the idea of upstairs sleeping lofts, maybe something like this is what you might want instead? Come on, let’s go inside!

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I’m so glad Deb Nardi sent me this article on Ken Ilgunas, a Duke graduate who is now telling all about how he lived in a van to stay out of debt while finishing his grad studies at the University.

By the way, before that, he had completed his undergrad studies in Buffalo, and ended up with $32,000 of debt because of it.

And he was turned down for 25 paid internships after that with his college degree. So he was working at Home Depot for $8 an hour.

Before he went back to graduate school, he dedicated two and half years to working and paying off the student loan debt he accumulated.

Even after all of this, Ken was NOT willing to give up on his education. In fact, he seemed to be even hungrier for it. But how would he afford it without getting another student loan?

His solution? To create his own “Walden on Wheels,” as he calls it.

Photo Ken Ilgunas

“The van was more than just a way to save money. I wanted it to be an experience, to see how little I could spend. I didn’t want to be borrowing money from my parents any time I had a hardship.”

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Have you ever wanted a to convert an existing structure like a shed, barn or garage into a tiny cottage or other type of home? It’s a great way to transition into a simple lifestyle especially if you have a solid structure that you can already use.

With a good architect or some of your own design and DIY skills you can create an amazing tiny house out of an existing structure.

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Beautiful Garage to Cottage Conversion

Let me take you inside below:

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I thought I’d show you Nancy’s tiny house.

It’s approximately 14’x9′ and is really unique because it’s a flexible, breathable structure.

And it’s made from materials around the sheep pasture where it’s located in Turangi, New Zealand.

These materials include bamboo, silage netting and wool from the thousands of sheep there.

By the way, Tika Whare means “true home” in Maori. And Maori are the people of New Zealand.

Photo Credit Nancy Milliken

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Just wanted to let you know that I’m on my way to the Vermont for the Yestermorrow tiny house fair this morning.

I’m so excited to get to hang out with 30+ other tiny house enthusiasts along with the likes of Dee Williams, Jay Shafer, Derek Diedricksen, Brian Levy, Lee Pera, Abel Zyl Zimmerman, Peter King, Dan Louche, Mariah Coz, Tammy Strobel, Logan Smith, Abe Noe-Hays, Gwendolyn Hallsmith, Lina Menard, Sam Harrington, and more. I’m so excited!

I’ll do my best to update the blog and our Facebook while I’m there and Yestermorrow will be doing the same thing here.

Photo Credit Four Lights Tiny Houses

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I thought I’d share this tiny house community that’s been around for more than 100 years in Toronto with you.

It started many years ago when for less than 100 dollars you could buy a lot and you were sold the lumber to build your own home.

It is located in Craven Road in Toronto and the houses are all under 500 square feet.

Tiny house community in Toronto that’s more than 100 years old

Photo Credit: Rick Madonik/Toronto Star

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