What does “living simply” really mean? That was one of the questions on Aldo Lavaggi’s mind when he set out to design and build his own tiny house on wheels. He purposefully chose a very simple design with no running water and no shower, curious about how it would feel to carry in his own water, and how difficult it would be to shower at friends’ houses instead.
But a simple design doesn’t necessarily mean a spartan one. He also designed a space for a collapsible hammock chair to provide “squishy comfort”, which can be rare in tiny houses with lots of built-in wood seating. He installed solar panels as his primary energy source, and used several large and interesting windows so the house could be heated by the sun as much as possible, a technique called “passive solar” heating, even in the cold winters of New York State. He also rigged a retractable stepladder to his sleeping loft, and added an external storage area over his trailer hitch as a small shed for tools.
Young Man Explains Simple Living in a Tiny House on Wheels
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This tiny writer’s cabin retreat is a guest post by Greg Hughes – share yours!
Thought you might enjoy a few pictures of my friend Jeff’s recent project for his wife.
It’s not as slick as some of the purpose built tiny houses you feature but the difference is, outside of money for paint, caulk, and screws, this was almost completely free.
His wife was in need of a quiet place away from their house to do her writing. He looked into manufactured tiny houses but didn’t want to spend that much money.
He noticed an old farm outbuilding on his neighbors land and inquired about it. The neighbor told him they never used it so he could have it for free.
He rented a trailer and dragged the whole building to its new site on his land. After pressure washing, 22 tubes of caulk, paint, and a deck built out of lumber from the family barn it is ready for some creativity to happen within.
Electricity is currently supplied by a 400 foot long extension cord from the main house. The great thing about it is it is located on a remote section of their 3 acre plot and is completely out of site from the main house so his wife never knew what was being done. She has been away and family business and will get the surprise of her life when she returns in a few days.
Please enjoy and re-share below. Thank you!
Husband Surprises Wife with Tiny Writer’s Cabin Retreat
Images © Greg Hughes
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This 160 sq. ft. tiny house for sale is a guest post by Tampa Tiny Homes LLC – share yours!
This brand new, never lived in tiny house is for sale with an asking price of $34,000. Our 20 ft model is 8 ft wide, 12 ft high and the actual tiny house minus the front storage is 20 ft long. The tiny house packs all your living needs into one nice sized living space. Open the pocket door and enter the bathroom. The bathroom is complete with a full sized shower enclosure, full sized toilet and vanity. The ceiling height of shower is 6′ 8″.
There is a nice storage loft above the bathroom. The kitchen has adequate space with plenty of overhead cabinets, base cabinets including a lazy Susan, and a few spots where custom shelves could be made, a new propane stove and stove hood are included.
Crown moulding, high baseboards, and 12 mm hickory floors give a touch of class to this one of a kind tiny home. All the windows and the exterior door are new.
Outside the home there is an enclosed storage space that houses the 20 gallon water heater and allows additional space for storage. The home is built off of a 2015 PJ trailer with two 5k pound axles, led lights, and electric brakes. Please enjoy and re-share below. Thank you!
160 Sq. Ft. Tiny House For Sale by Tampa Tiny Homes
Images © Tampa Tiny Homes LLC
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This 85 sq. ft. tiny house is a guest post by Jordan Check – share yours!
We officially moved into the 85 sq. ft. tiny house on June 1, 2014. We have lived in our small abode for a full year.
From its conception the house has cost about $11,000 out of pocket. Right now we rent the spot we are parked in, we pay $200 a month, and of course $18 for electric on average. After our latest projects like building stairs to the loft (to replace our tiny ladder) and prime and paint the house we anticipate being finished with total spent of approximately $25,000.
Please enjoy, learn more and re-share below. Thank you!
Married Couple Living in 85 Sq. Ft. Tiny Home
Images © The Tiny House Wife
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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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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
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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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Here’s a guest post by Valerie Fredericks on a 160 sq. ft. shipping container home for sale.
This 20′ x 8′ newly built tiny home is an eco-friendly reuse of a shipping container, so you can feel good about helping to conserve our planets’ resources. It is easily adaptable for on or off-grid living, as well as energy-efficient and cost saving with its well insulated interior walls.
The sturdy roll-up lockable door is installed over the 6 ft. slider entryway and is designed with extra security in mind. It keeps your property secure when closed, while when open it allows sunlight in through the dual-paned glass doors.
This shipping container tiny home comes with a small kitchenette (cold water sink and base cabinet) and conventional toilet.
160 Sq. Ft. Shipping Container House For Sale
Images © Valerie Fredericks
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