With today’s building codes how can you get away with building a garage so that you can convert it into a studio to live in instead of having to construct an entire 1500 square foot plus house on your land? Is that even possible? Here’s the story of how one guy did it in Hawaii. [...]
Small Houses
Pedaling Afloat with Phil Thiel’s Tiny Houseboats
Phil Thiel of Seattle, Washington, has inspired a whole fleet of tiny human-powered houseboats in the United States, England, and Germany. He calls his quaint canal cruisers Escargots for their slow speed and sells the building plans for just $150. Each 18.5′ by 6′ houseboat fits up to three bunks and is propelled by a [...]
An Essay on Jay Shafer’s Tiny House Dreams
Jay Shafer felt overwhelmed by the 4,000 square foot home he grew up in back in Iowa. Time, energy and resources were spent maintaining space that added very little to their lives on the whole. This distaste for wasted space emerged as a creative influence when Shafer was in his 20s. After college, he started [...]
Smallworks Studios & Laneway Housing’s 500-750 square foot small house
This is Paula and Skip’s Edwardian 500-sq.-ft. small house with a traditional style by Smallworks Studios & Laneway Housing. They specialize in small cottages, ADU’s, and Laneway Housing. Take a look! Please don’t miss other exciting tiny homes – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter! Paul and Skip’s 500 square foot small house in a [...]
1140 Square Foot Small House Made out of Salvaged Cars
Architect Karl Wanaselja and partner Cate Leger created a unique small house in Berkeley, California. They call it the McGee House. It consists of 104 salvaged car roofs which cover the upper side walls of the home. The inspiration behind the upper siding came from fish scales. The lower wall siding is made out of [...]
Man Designs/Builds Japanese-style Tiny Zen Cabin in the Woods
This simple, Japanese-inspired tiny house can also be described as a zen cabin in the woods. I’ve always wanted to use that word in the description of one of the featured homes, shacks, cabins, or retreats here. Looking back, I’d have to say that the tree-house/mushroom/dome cabin I featured a while back was also kind [...]
How to turn an ordinary bedroom into a kid’s multifunctional playroom with study, dress up, shelving, and sleeping loft
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 [...]