This 105 sq. ft. English Shepherd Hut Wagon Cabin is a guest post by Victoria Schon – share yours!

My name is Victoria and I discovered the English shepherd hut by way of a beautiful article written in the September 2013 issue of The English Home Magazine. I was immediately drawn to the beautiful photos of a little hut on cast iron wheels sitting peacefully in the beautiful and expansive English countryside of windblown summer grasses and wild flowers.

Inside, the hut was charming and inviting, decorated with fabrics of soft warm reds and ivory. The small space was filled with books, pillows, fresh cut flowers, a bed and a desk. This quaint tiny space felt cozy, quiet and rejuvenating. As I pictured myself there, I felt relaxed and inspired. At once I fell in love with the romantic notion that these little huts had restorative powers and I wanted to experience this for myself. I then filed away the article from which to draw inspiration in the future should the need arise, and moved on with my day.

Then something quite unexpected happened a year later. In the summer of 2014, I was driving my dog to the groomer. While stopped in traffic I glanced over to the side of the road to discover sinking into the ground, an old Wyoming sheep herder wagon at a farm market that looked as though it had been there for years! I had driven by that corner for the past 15 years and never even noticed it! I was instantly struck with inspiration and I envisioned myself building an English shepherd hut to match the one I had seen the year before in the magazine article.

As an interior designer, I could also put to use my experience in custom home construction and project management. This little project was going to utilize my complete skill set, experience and creative talents, and it was going to be so much fun! I could not wait to get started!

Please enjoy, learn more and re-share below. Thank you!

105 Sq. Ft. English Shepherd Hut Wagon Cabin

Images © Victoria Schon

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This is a 5′ x9′ Tiny Travel Trailer guest post by Kay Beam – share yours!

I built a 5′ x 9′ tiny travel trailer. I wanted something to camp in with hard sides so that I could bring my granddaughters with me. I made the walls 5′ high with a dropped floor so that I could stand up in it. At the dropped floor the inside height is 5’8″; I’m 5″6″, so there’s 2 inches to spare.

The floor and walls are made of ¾ inch plywood, and the roof has luan placed on spars. The walls and roof are skinned with aluminum. I ordered manufactured windows and a door.

It weighs just under 1,000 pounds, and tows very easily. It has an inside kitchen and a place to shower. There is a shower pan with a drain in the floor, and a shower curtain that hangs from the walls. The shower pan stores under the bed and I bring it out and place over the floor drain when I need to use it.

There are electrical and water hookups, and I’ll be installing a water heater. It took me about 180 hours to build and cost around $5,000.

I ordered a custom made trailer chassis and built on top of it. The trailer is very comfortable and convenient. I’m very happy with how it turned out. It was a fun project!

Below is a breakdown of the building costs. Please enjoy and re-share. Thank you!

5′ x 9′ Tiny Travel Trailer

Images © Kay Beam

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This is a $400 camper bike built by artist, Kevin Cyr. What started out only as a art project soon turned into an actually structural project.

Kevin had been traveling in Beijing, China and noticed how so many Chinese people carried just about everything on their bikes. The only thing he had not seen was a house on a bike. This sparked his imagination and he soon had the drawing in hand and decided to bring it to life.

The bike weights approximately 200 kilograms so it’s a bit heavy for traveling. In an interview with Mads Phikamphon of Ice Bike.org, Kevin says, “the camper is based on a 1977 Apache pop-up my parents owned.”

Although he has only taken naps in the camper it could possibly be fit for full time living. Kevin says, “It’s actually very scary to sleep in because the camper is so tall, 9 feet, and the bed is way up top. It sways and rock when you climb up the bunk.”

Do you think this could be an alternative housing solution or is it just too extreme? Either way, it’s fascinating, isn’t it? Please enjoy and re-share below. Thank you!

Man Builds $400 Camper Bike in Beijing

Images © Kevin Cyr

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This is a guest post by Michael Scheer about his two off-grid cabins in Northern Arizona.

My name is Michael and about 5 years ago I wanted an off grid place for vacation and retirement. Like many others I am tired of bills, bills, bills and knew I would never have enough money to retire on unless I became debt free and my home was paid off.

A couple years passed and as things happened I had a friend who went through a divorce (I recently moved out of my ex-girlfriends home 8 months prior) and he needed help monetarily in order to buy a home and asked me to move in. The move cut my rent in half and enabled me along with my bonus check to purchase some land I found in northern Arizona at about 6500 ft elevation. Summers are mild with highs in the low 90’s high 80’s and winters are in the 40’s and 50’s with light snow. I picked up 6 acres for less than $4k.

Months later I decided to put in my first cabin. I bought a 10′ x 18′ cabin shell from Weather King Portable Cabins for approximately $4,200. I put in paneling, bed, couch, small coleman table/sink combo and shelving. I also purchased some solar panels and four 35amp hour batteries for power. I camped out until the cabin was delivered, this was in late May.

I had everything unpacked and was getting ready to work on the cabin when long behold a blizzard hit, my paneling was flying across the land, stuff was getting wet and the temperature went from 75 degrees to 30 degrees in a matter of minutes. Luckily, I have one neighbor (only one) who lives about 100 yards away who came to help, we got everything inside and covered and the learning experience began. Please enjoy, learn more and re-share below. Thank you!

Man Builds Two Off-Grid Cabins in Northern Arizona

Images © Michael Scheer

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This is the story of a young couple who bought a 1993 Ford School Bus and turned it into their rolling tiny home. And for the last 5+ years, they have been living and traveling out of it!

During the conversion, they decided to keep all the windows to have the maximum amount of sunlight in the bus. There are wood floors and wainscoting throughout the bus giving it a bright and open feel. So in the living area, there is plenty of lounging space and white Christmas lights for evening lighting. Very cool! The kitchenette has a stove, microwave, and small refrigerator plus plenty of cabinets. In the bathroom, there is an RV size shower and toilet. I love the pebble stone floor in the bathroom. The bedroom is at the rear of the bus. They left the exit door functioning so they can open it up during the day to enjoy nature wherever they may be at the time. Pretty cool, right? Take a look below and let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Please don’t miss other tiny house stories like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!

Couple Converts 1993 School Bus into their Makeshift Tiny Home!

Images © On the Road: The REAL American Dream – is alive.

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Here is a guest post by Steve Whelan on his DIY Teardrop Trailer.

It took $2,000 and about 5 months to build part-time. Why build it? I was bored and needed a project! I am an artist as well, “targeting” my work as “Urban Art” with a twist. The military aspects of my work bring on a different feeling of peace. It’s 4′ wide, 8′ long, based on “Big Woody” plans with my customization. It features all the basics to survive. Gas, propane, water

Don’t miss other awesome stories like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter with more! 

He Built A Military Style Teardrop Trailer For Only $2,000 USD

Images © Steve Whalen

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This is a modern backyard garden studio cabin in Seattle, Washington.

It’s called the Orchid Studio and it’s designed to function as an art and gardening space that’s separate from the main house on the property. It’s a cozy and relaxing place to read, draw, paint, meditate, nap, sew or knit. When you go inside you’ll find that there are lots of windows for natural light, a full bathroom, living area, and enough space to add a kitchen if you wanted to later on.

Don’t miss other cool tiny homes like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!

Art and Gardening Studio Cottage in Seattle

Images © First Lamp Architecture Construction

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This is a guest post by Beth Livingston on Coral Sands Waterfront Tiny Home Vacation Community.  

Established in 2008, before the recent surge in popularity of tiny houses, we like to say, “We were tiny when tiny wasn’t cool!” We are a community of folks who enjoy and share lake living and recreation such as fishing, boating, and water skiing but don’t want to pay a mint for it.

We have a unique ownership arrangement because we converted an old campground to land-condominiums. This allows each community member to not only own their own tiny cabin on their own waterfront lot but also to become part owner of the entire peninsula and share common expenses to keep costs down. By using park model RV tiny homes in our community, the result is an affordable, low-maintenance, lakefront tiny vacation home with its own dock. Low maintenance is key because it allows more time to be out on the water, enjoying lake life! Please enjoy, learn more and re-share below. Thank you!

Waterfront Tiny Home Vacation Community

Images © Coral Sands Point Recreational Village

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