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Small Cabin in the Woods: Living The Simple Life Off the Grid


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One of our readers, Mark built his own off the grid small cabin.

Recently he had to move and has been missing his 16’x20′ cabin. Tomorrow I’m going to show you Mark’s micro house that he uses as a camper with his Toyota Tacoma truck.

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Tiny/Small Cabin in the Woods

mark-lacroix-small-cabin-6

The porch that you see below is the entrance for the cabin.

Living Simply: Off the Grid?

mark lacroix small cabin

In total, it cost him around $16,000 in material costs to put this off-grid cabin together.

mark lacroix small cabin

The walls inside are ten feet high so it feels really spacious.

mark lacroix small cabin

I love the high ceilings and simplicity of it all.

mark lacroix small cabin

Many of the materials- like the cabinets below- were free because they were reclaimed.

mark lacroix small cabin

The upstairs sleeping loft walls go up two feet before the roof starts going in so there’s plenty of room.

mark lacroix small cabin

Thank you so much for sharing your cabin with us Mark!🙏

Interested in contacting Mark to purchase plans? Here’s his Facebook.

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If you enjoyed Mark’s off grid tiny/small cabin, “Like” and share below then tell us what you liked best about it in the comments. Thanks!

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 27 comments… add one }
  • john
    March 8, 2013, 4:37 pm

    Wow…nice little house…you’d have to light it on fire to chase me out of it!
    I think 1980 wants it’s cabinets back though…lol.
    A two foot knee wall upstairs is tight for a stationary cabin, on wheels we don’t typically see one at all, making a true ‘A’ frame loft space. With the dimensions being 16′ wide, and with a 2′ knee wall, i’d imagine he had about 6.5 foot of head room at the peak…great for a tiny house, but a 4′ knee wall would have opened up more width for headroom making the loft a true bedroom as opposed to simply a sleeping loft…better for a stationary cabin, on wheels the extra height would be a problem if you plan to travel with your home.
    I honestly think most folks would just move a tiny home to a spot somewhere and stay put for years and years. People grow roots like trees in one area and tend to live there for as long as they can, it’s just our nature. The phrase ‘settling down’ comes from weariness of a nomadic lifestyle, many go through being nomadic while young or in retirement, but eventually we all tire of moving about so much…

  • Rebecca B. A. R.
    March 8, 2013, 7:08 pm

    I’ve seen where people have painted the ‘wood’ strips white also on those types of cabinets before, and it really made them look less dated. A little paint is a cheap and simple fix. Great cabin!

  • Robin
    March 8, 2013, 11:24 pm

    What a great cabin! I love the whole thing, reclaimed and all. Very nice indeed.

  • Bk
    March 9, 2013, 11:22 am

    Any shot we can see a picture of the bathroom or is there an outhouse and stream somewhere?

  • gene fritsch
    March 9, 2013, 12:23 pm

    Great job. I love tiny houses and even more I love tiny houses that are simple to build. Too many angles makes it hard to build well at least for me. Keep up the good work!

  • LaMar
    March 9, 2013, 12:28 pm

    Nice design and similar to my 14×14.

    I see you used 10 foot walls for more loft space. I dropped my cieling to 7 feet and used 8 foot walls to get more space. I use a ladder instead of stairs.
    The metal roof is nice for rain water harvesting and you could put some solar panels up for your own power supply.

    I also recycled cabinets plas sinks, shower, wiring, plumbing, water pump and lots of stuff rom my old camper for the cabin to save money. Recycled doors and windows are prtty easy to find around any city.

    Looks like a Vogelzang wood stove and those work well. I have a small wood stove and propane backup heat in case I need to be away from the cabin for awhile.

    Good work and thanks for sharing!

  • Spence
    March 9, 2013, 12:29 pm

    What an awesome place, especially for 16K! I wonder what he uses for power? I noticed a stove. I’ve thought about using either a wood powered or natural-gas generator and until I can get a self sufficient micro-hydro & solar combination.

  • jerryd
    March 9, 2013, 1:53 pm

    I’m so jealous of you who live where wood like this is cheap!! Here in Fla wood prices are so high if you can even find one to fit your need. I build nearly everything out of wood including MC’s and cars but I’m having to go to other materials as wood prices rise.

    Great Job on the cabin!

    • Lisa E.
      August 5, 2014, 2:55 pm

      I hear you. I live in Central FL, and I want to build my TH on wheels, but the cost of materials are gobsmacking here. (Time for a new governor…)

      • jerryd
        August 5, 2014, 3:05 pm

        Hi Lisa,, worse is it’s Koch through Georgia Pacific fixing the prices in the south. Prices have went up 200-300% since the housing boom when with far less demand, prices should have dropped.

        And our Gov Scott, repubs have to go as they have given the state to utilities, developers, big ag and making people pay them to!!

        It is a great place for tiny homes though. I’m 12 miles SE of Tampa working on a 4 unit tiny house compound.

        • Lisa E.
          August 6, 2014, 1:10 am

          Are you planning on expanding that compound? One of these days I will be looking for a place to park my TH.

          And more on the wood: Many of our large forest preserves (like the Tongass) are being strip mined for the trees which are being sent to China with the bark still on them for processing. Once the Chinese turn them into boards they are sold back into the US. China pays a 2% trade tariff, while US manufacturers are required to pay a 22% trade tariff to do business (the joys of NAFTA).

          If you are going to be expanding your compound, I’d like to keep in touch. Finding places to park is a big deal until we can get enough TH parks and compounds like yours so all the TH people have a place to go and not be harassed or have to pay insane RV park prices (like 1K a month for one parking space the size of a shopping mall parking space.

  • Dick Jeffers
    March 9, 2013, 2:40 pm

    Loved it! Wish I had seen it twenty years ago.

  • Randle
    March 9, 2013, 3:00 pm

    Noticed the oven/stovetop combo and wonder who makes them and details.

    Thank You!

  • Karen Batchelor
    March 10, 2013, 4:02 pm

    Thanks for sharing this. I love that you built your tiny house with mostly reclaimed materials. The great workmanship really shows even from the photos.

    Can this house be moved somewhere else if you wanted to relocate?

  • Amelia
    May 15, 2014, 9:40 pm

    Does anyone on here know a website I can find small rental cabins? The ones I continuously find are the luxury cabins. I basically want a small box that has a bed for me and my dog to stay for a couple of days. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  • Martha
    August 5, 2014, 3:00 pm

    I love it and the high ceilings give it a feeling of spaciousness. Critiquing “dated” cabinets belongs on HGTV’s House Hunters, not a minimalist type tiny home website. I would gladly prefer reclaimed cabinetry if it was free or dirt cheap, and I think it looks fine. If you want updated cabinets then what about granite countertops and stainless steel appliances? Would have liked to see a reference to a bathroom (or lack of it), as well as a photo taken up in the loft.

    • Isabella
      August 5, 2014, 3:41 pm

      Absolutely agree with Martha. Using reclaimed anything is better for the planet and if it is free or cheap so much the better for the homeowner! Quality of life is not necessarily improved with acquiring the most up-to-date trends or upgrades which will soon be outdated as well.

      • Comet
        August 7, 2014, 8:52 pm

        LOL the “80’s want their cabinets back”–I have untouched 1977 cabinets—extremely DARK wood–but they ARE solid wood–trashy looking cabinets. And THIS cabin has NICER and MORE cabinets than I do in my HOUSE. Also more counter space. And nicer counter space.

        And the “Fashionista” comments do belong on another site.

        But that one was funny!

  • 2BarA
    August 5, 2014, 11:10 pm

    I agree with Isabella and Martha about the cabinets. They could always be painted. This cabin is brilliant and even more so for the cost. I would have liked more photos of the interior.

  • Rebecca
    August 6, 2014, 2:02 am

    Cabinets are fine. Outdated is better! I switched to blond furniture cuz no one in NM wants it and I picked up awesome stuff for nothing. I’d paint the trim black just cuz I love black and white. Great job and a beautiful home.

  • Marsha Cowan
    August 6, 2014, 3:06 pm

    Really nice home!

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