Every week I like to show you a different option for tiny house plans. Many of my new favorites are coming from a company called Humble Homes, including the McG Tiny House Design with a staircase to the loft.
I’ve been in touch with the owner, Niall, and he’s always creating some outstanding designs. The McG Loft is great because it’s designed with a sleeping loft but a real staircase. So if you’re afraid of the ladders but would still like to enjoy the space saving features of a loft, this might be the one for you…
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The McG Loft Tiny House Plans
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April is a graduate student in English at the University of Oregon.
In this video she’s interviewed on her decision to live in a tiny house on wheels.
Oregon Student Living the Tiny Life
At 19’x8′ the home is just 130-square-feet including the sleeping loft.
It’s got a tiny covered porch and you walk right into the main room. It’s a classic Tumbleweed tiny house design.
Interview: April Anson on Living in a Tiny Home
Photo by Matt Cooper
She says it’s about 114 square feet but I don’t think that includes the loft. It’s 130 including that according to Tumbleweed’s plans.
Using Reclaimed Materials to Build Tiny AND Green
Everything except the studs, shingles, roof and interior walls came from recycled materials.
The flooring came from bleachers from an old gym! Pretty cool, huh?
Welcome to April’s Tumbleweed Tiny House…
Photo Credits April Anson
Come on in! Join us for the complete photo tour (and video interview) below:
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Think you can live in, work in, and share a small apartment?
That’s what I do with my 500-square-foot apartment that I’m showing you today.
Small Apartment Design for Live/Work
I took my apartment’s dimensions, design and layout and did my best to match it.
Then I made some slight improvements that I thought would make it better.
Redesigning My Tiny Apartment in 3D
Check out the best photos (and video) below:
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In the tiny house community we are often talking about the various building codes around the country, and the world, and how they affect tiny spaces. Tiny house bloggers often get asked the question “do you know the building codes in [my city]?”
Building codes are so location specific that they can vary greatly mile by mile. The only way to know for sure about the building codes in your area is to talk to the local government. Unfortunately, you can’t be surprised when they tell you that you can’t live in a tiny house where you want.
Fixing Tiny House Codes and Zoning
Tiny house builders do many things to get around this issue. Some will pick a location because of the friendly nature of the building codes. Some will build on wheels so the house can be moved if it ever becomes a problem. Some will build on unincorporated country land that isn’t likely to strictly enforce codes.
There is one more option that I’m not sure any of us have really considered.
Running for local government.
Click below to read more about my crazy ideas for extreme tiny house code reform.
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I just got home from a week long South Western vacation. The entire week was topped off by a visit to Frank Lloyd Wright’s winter home, Taliesin West.
I started studying Frank Lloyd Wright in college. It was something that Matt and I had in common before we started dating a billion years ago. While we were still both at school we would often travel to Frank Lloyd Wright buildings local to Kalamazoo, Michigan (there are quite a few, surprisingly). We’ve been all over the country to see his buildings: Wisconsin, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania. Now I can add Arizona to my list.
Related: Students Design Build Unique Tiny Dorm Cabins at Frank Lloyd Wright Arch School
FLW’s home in Scottsdale, AZ. Photo by Laura M. LaVoie
His buildings had a greater impact on me than I had even realized. Click below to read more.
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Two weeks ago, I wrote about the LumenHaus, a small, energy-efficient tiny house prototype by Virginia Tech. With its very high-tech features, it’s a neat example, but its $450-650,000 price tag puts it out of the reach of most of us.
But another university group has been focusing on designing small houses with a much, much lower price tag. That’s the Rural Studio at Auburn University.
The Rural Studio is a long-running design-build program that does most of its work in rural Hale County, Alabama. The Rural Studio’s 20K House project has produced a series of houses, twelve so far, so named because they’re designed to be built for $20,000. While some have met this budget and others haven’t, they are all interesting examples of simple but well-designed dwellings.
Take, for example, the Roundwood House. Its designers wanted to explore building applications for “thinnings”, small-diameter timbers that are removed to encourage forest health but are too small to be milled into conventional lumber.
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Here’s a tiny house I hadn’t seen before that I get to show you thanks to SpacesTV and my friend Ali.
And it’s got a one of a kind way of generating free heat which I’ll show you below.
It was designed and built by Yestermorrow Design Build School students.
Yestermorrow Tiny House
It was built in Vermont where Yestermorrow is located and the home is now in Massachusetts.
Don’t miss the video tour below, too (along with the rest of the pictures):
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Elaine over at Tiny House Community has done a great job of organizing the 2013 Tiny House Fair at Yestermorrow Design Build School in Vermont.
She just announced scholarships for the fair that she needs help funding. I’ll just let her do the talking. But I can assure you that the money she raises here will be put to good use this summer.
Scholarships for the Tiny House Fair at Yestermorrow
Before I hand it over to Elaine I want you to know that contributing to the scholarship is completely optional. Please only do so if you really want to. If not no worries! Feel free to check out our other tiny home photo/video posts in the Tiny Houses category instead.
How to Get a Scholarship
Elaine’s going to explain that in a moment below, but basically you submit an essay.
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Every so often I enjoy doing some Q&A on tiny houses and simple living.
And what usually prompts me to do it is an email or question in the comments from other readers.
So here’s a question I got yesterday along with my thoughts. I’d love to read through your thoughts and suggestions too.
Family Desperate to Downsize/Simplify
Below is a copy of the email I received. Let’s let the sender remain anonymous.
Subject: needing to downsize and simplify with a quickness
Message: Hey Alex. I am such a fan. I have been following you on you
tube for a few months now. The Tiny house movement is everything i am
into. Here is my delima… My husband and I just moved up here to
Alaska just over a year ago. Getting a bank to back us for land and a
build, not easy. We are a family of 4. We both work and feel like
hampsters on a neverending wheel. We work to pay rent and so the cycle
continues every month. How do we get out from under it and on our way to how it ought to be?
Pretty tough question, right?
If you want, read my response/thoughts below then add your own in the comments at the bottom.
I have a feeling there are many of us who feel like this too and by us sharing our own experiences, thoughts and tips, we can really make a world of difference for others who are trying to do the same.
Photo by Alex Pino
7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Downsize, Simplify and Consider Moving Into a Smaller Home
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