Straight out of a storybook this sweet little whimsical cottage is a dream come true for Sue Corl and her husband Ron.
The cottages’ design, look and feel was based on Sue’s childhood dream of having a tiny cottage just like Rudolph, Hermey & Yukon Cornelius (from the Classic cartoon Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer).
Thus the name of their tiny home, “The Rudolph Cottage“.
Ron and Sue have been living tiny for over 28 years. After living in a 200 sq. ft. travel trailer for seven years with their two cats and a large dog they decided it was time to up-size (or should I say ‘right-size’?).
So they bought 30 acres of beautiful lush woodland amongst the largest Amish community in central Ohio.
Then they spent over 2 years gathering the perfect materials to create this whimsical fantasy tiny house Sue always dreamed of.
Let’s check it out while I tell you the rest of their very inspiring simple living story…
Couple Build Their Own 520 Sq. Ft. Cottage to Upsize from 200 Sq. Ft. Trailer
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Part of the problems most of us face with tiny housing is that there are laws and zoning that prevent most of us from achieving our tiny dreams because we’re forced to build larger than we really need.
In many cases, we’ve found our own ‘loopholes’ that have allowed many of us to live tiny on our own terms.
But why do we sometimes have to feel that we are living in a ‘grey area’ when we’re not hurting or endangering anyone by living simply?
So if you’re thinking about petitioning your local government to allow the construction of tiny homes here are some tips that might help you get started (and a petition that you can sign really quick to start encouraging change right now).
Tips on how to Petition for Making Tiny Houses Legal from Jay Shafer
“Hi guys. I just finally signed your petition and forwarded it to some other folks.
I haven’t had the time to see what legal strategy you’re already employing, but I’ll offer my unsolicited 2-cents anyway.
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Just in case you’re not aware yet I wanted to let you know that the new Tiny House Nation TV show premiers this Wednesday July 9th, at 10 PM EST on the FYI Network. After that you can catch it every Wednesday night for a new episode. Pretty awesome, right?
The hosts, John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin, travel across the country to show us small spaces and the creative people that build and live in them. From micro apartments in the city to reclaimed trains turned into homes, the point of the show is to share how size doesn’t really always matter and that what really counts is creativity.
Tiny House Nation Television Show: Wednesday Nights!
Image © FYI
Learn more below:
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Anytime the folks over at Faircompanies publish a video I get excited because they’ve always got something new, exciting and interesting to share when it comes to living big in tiny spaces. Today I’m showing you a video tour of a small business in Paris who turned a rooftop elevator engine room into an amazing little office workspace that doubles for leisure, too.
It’s a 183 square foot space that had been completely ignored and unused for years since the elevator engine was removed years ago from the room. Once they discovered this space they started to get even more creative and started designing, gutting and building the space.
Today it’s an incredible little space that offers so much in terms of storage, sleeping, and workspace. Since this little 183 sq. ft. space is rooftop on a building they’re lucky enough to have plenty of ‘underground’ storage. This means they’re able to hide a lot of stuff out of sight. And they were also able to create some nifty little features that anyone might enjoy. Like the sofa bed that’s unveiled directly from the floor!
DIY Rooftop Office Conversion: Leisure & Work In One
Images © Faircompanies
This little room often times has three or four people actively working in it- and sometimes even five or six- so there’s a flip up desk, whiteboard, and another large desk so that there’s functional space for the entire team (see more below):
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When there’s a shortage of affordable housing people are forced into creativity and the solutions that these situations help create usually turn out to be pretty amazing. Like this 387 square feet storage unit turned into a micro home by architect Karin Matz based in Stockholm.
For 30 years the unit had been used for storage. In the 1980s the previous owner had started to renovate it into an apartment but the owner became sick and unfortunately passed away. So up until recently the unit was left untouched.
Instead of completely gutting the place Matz decided that the finished product would tell the story. So she focused on renovating one key area and left the rest of the space to look as original as possible. This way in many parts of the home you can actually see how it used to look before it was a completed home.
Storage Unit Micro Home Renovation
Images © Karin Matz
The result is pretty cool, don’t you think? I think so! If you’d like take the tour of the rest of this little home below then if you want to you can share your best thoughts in the comments down at the bottom.
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Back in September of 2010 I featured something called a Swiss Room Box which turns your current car or van into a camper instantly.
So it’s basically a kit that turns your current vehicle into a micro motorhome with features similar to that of teardrop campers I’ve shown you.
If you were to order it you’d be able to install it in your car within 10 minutes. Once it’s installed it takes about 3-5 minutes to set up and start using on a campsite or wherever you might be. It’s a lot faster than tent camping and so much more affordable than motorhomes or travel trailers. And the Swiss Room Box gives you space for cooking, eating, sleeping, and even showering.
Swiss Room Box Car to Micro Campers Kits (EasyTech Kit)
The model you are looking at here is called the EasyTech by Swiss Room Box:
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This is an Anonymous Reader Submitted Guest Post: DIY Tiny Camping Trailer (Submit)
The trailer is 5X9.5′, weighs 1280 lbs. empty but can still be pulled with a 4 cylinder vehicle. It took about 6 months to build and is super comfortable. I can’t wait to start using it.
It has a TV, DVD player, digital tuner, Stereo, Microwave, 2.4 cu ft Refrig, on board 30 amp RV charger, and deep cycle battery.
2 TV outlets, 6 110 outlets, 2 12 volt outlets. Storage compartment in the front and another storage compartment at the foot of the bed.
All LED lighting except for the kitchen area, which has a 40-watt fluorescent. Under cabinet lighting as well. Also has 15″ wheels…..
DIY Tiny Camping Trailer I Built
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Just wanted to let you know that the Weller Tiny House Plans by Jay Shafer are on sale and 40% off through July 10th, 2014 so right now is a great time to buy them (if you’re reading this before 7/10/14).
This is a 115 sq. ft. tiny house design built on a 7′ x 16′ trailer with all the amenities of home inside including:
- Washroom.
- Great room.
- Kitchen.
- And sleeping loft.
Weller Tiny House Plans (SALE)
© FourLights
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Just in case you missed the Tiny House Movement on TIME in May 29, 2014 you can watch the segment right here today (below).
The article is titled Tiny Houses with Big Ambitions on TIME Magazine. And it featured Dee Williams, Quixote Village, and Boneyard Studios.
Is now finally the time for small homes to be more widely accepted in more neighborhoods everywhere? Do you think all of this publicity will help us lower square footage standards and make them more reasonable? Let us know in the comments after you watch and enjoy below.
Don’t miss other amazing stories like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!
Tiny House Movement on TIME (Video)
Resources
If you enjoyed this video and article on the Tiny House Movement on TIME Magazine you’ll LOVE our Free Daily Tiny House Newsletter with even more stories like it!
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