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This 450 Not-So-Square Ft. Yurt is a guest post by Jen McGeehan – share yours!

Our little love yurt is nestled within an Ohia forest, one of the few remaining (they were almost completely wiped out when the sugar cane industry arrived!) on our island in Hawaii.

The God of our universe is still in the business of financial healing and restoration! Travel to paradise as one financially devastated couple take a flight-of-faith, leaving the economically-challenged mountains of Southern California for the unknown off-grid lifestyle of a rented yurt on the Big Island of Hawaii.

The country-wide real estate and banking collapse of 2008 sent millions of American families into financial ruin. Many hung on for dear life, believing the market would correct itself within a year or two. By 2010, no correction was in sight.

In my book, “My Year In A Yurt“, I tell the true story of how my hubby, Pat, and I filled a 40-foot Matson container, shipped our two vehicles, along with our twenty-nine year old equine and three-year old goat, and flew the friendly skies in search of a simpler way of life.

Our enormous debt of over $600,000 came as invisible baggage, as did the painful memory of handing our realtor the keys to our 3,000 square-foot home after three and a half years on the non-existent real estate market. As foreclosure and bankruptcy – additional unwanted travel companions – reared our heads, I sent yet another urgent prayer to heaven asking for God’s divine intervention.

Please enjoy, learn more and re-share below. Thank you!

My Year in a 450 Not-So-Square Ft. Yurt

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Images © Jen McGeehan

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This is a guest post by Kelly Patton – share yours!

I started the life of a tiny dweller when I moved to the country in Northern California. I landed at a sweet community spot where other artists and farmers lived, and was thrilled at the idea of having my own space, no matter how tiny. It was common to find people living alternatively and exploring a range of creative and inexpensive spaces.

Many of these people were artists, and other creative types living comfortably in trailers, buses, cabins, attics, warehouses and barns. Over the course of 1 year I moved around the land from a veggie powered school bus, to a studio with an attic loft in a warehouse, and a small 8’x8′ shack. There was a community kitchen and bathroom available on the land, and the people shared these amenities. It was a very sweet and community interactive situation.

That experience gave me the notion that I could live with less furniture, and so I found ways to make my things more mobile in case I wanted to move my studio at any given opportunity. I learned more about what I could do without, and more about my basic needs in daily life.

As an artist, I tend to collect lots of little fascinating relics and natural objects as reference for my drawings. These objects don’t move everywhere with me, but have proven to be useful as they reflect the environment around me and appear in my paintings. In a special way, they are preserved in the artwork, so there is an ongoing acknowledgement that all stuff is replaceable and this helps me curb my long term hoarding. Please enjoy, learn more and re-share below. Thank you!

Kelly Patton the Traveling Artist and Tiny Dweller

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Images © Kelly Patton

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This earthbag tiny house story is a guest post by Atulya K. Bingham – share yours! 

My name is Atulya K. Bingham. I never thought I’d build my own house. I hadn’t so much as considered it. As far as I knew, I didn’t particularly even like building. I’d never so much as banged in a nail.

Then one night it became clear. As a rain-laden gust of wind lifted the back of my tent clean off the platform, I realized I was going to have to make a home. If I didn’t, either I’d be washed off the Turkish mountain I was camped on, or dragged back to the dreaded day job.

As pools of water collected at the bottom of my sleeping bag, the decision was forged. A friend of mine a few hours along the Turkish coast had built some earthbag bungalows. He’d said the process was straight forward.

There were only two problems: I had just $6000 left in my account, and a month before deep winter set in. After a couple of days of online research, I took a deep breath and embarked on what became the earthbag adventure. It was an endeavor that by its completion had taken me to places I had no idea I could go, and brought in all kinds of on-lookers, doubters, helpers, and life-savers.

Today I’m sitting inside that beautiful handcrafted home. It’s small, 6 meters diameter, but it feels like a palace to me. Not one drop of cement was used and it is 100 percent solar powered. A house isn’t simply a shelter. It’s a life. My home has enabled me to leave behind a world of mind-numbing work and unhealthy lifestyle choices and has given me the chance to live my dream of becoming an author. Please enjoy, learn more and re-share below. Thank you!

One Woman’s Path to Freedom with an Earthbag Tiny House

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Images © The Mud Home

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This is a yurt glamping (glamour camping) set up at the Green Acres family homestead near Austin, Texas in the countryside town of Elgin, Texas.

On the property you’ll also find a Vintage Spartan and an Airstream which is also available as a vacation rental experience. If you want to try out living tiny in an alternative shelter, this is one way to do it!

The yurt sleeps two adults and two kids using a queen mattress and a blow up mattress for the kids. Nearby is a modern bathhouse and barn with a modern kitchen. Please enjoy and re-share below. Thank you!

Yurt Glamping at Green Acres near Austin, TX

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Images © Airbnb

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This is a guest post by Kelly Patton on her 432 sq. ft. Artist Studio Yurt in Northern California. 

This yurt is comfortable rustic living, or as I call it, fancy camping. It is nestled in the woods of Northern California and it is the perfect dwelling for the nature artist and writer that lives here. It was built by the land owner, 15 years ago, I rent it and have lived here for 2 years. Inside you will find a full kitchen with a classic Wedgewood stove, and the very efficient country wood burning stove. Fragrant cedar siding lines the interior and four Low-E windows add natural light. Please enjoy, learn more, and re-share below. Thank you!

Please don’t miss other tiny house gems like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more! 

432 Sq. Ft. Artist Studio Yurt in Northern California

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Images © Kelly Patton

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What happens when you combine the shape and size of a yurt home with the durability and sturdiness of a cabin? You get these innovative Freedom Yurt-Cabins, which have many of the benefits of a cabin at a reduction of the cost.

Ranging from about $12,000 to $17,000—which the manufacturing company points out can be even cheaper than purchasing a traditional, fabric-walled yurt—Freedom Yurt-Cabins come in three different sizes ranging from 217 square feet to 387 square feet. The yurt-cabins also contain insulation in the walls and roof, windows, and an awning over the door to the structure.

What is particularly interesting about these yurt-cabins is that they can be customized to fit your needs and wants. Aside from size, you can purchase additional features such as an extra window, a tinted dome, and a fan mount. Because the structures are made of finished wood, you can also paint the yurt-cabin however you like.

Freedom Yurt/Cabin Combo

Yurt Home Cabin Exterior

Images © Freedom Yurt-Cabins/Joel Gray

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Nestled in the woods of the Netherlands is this little yurt cabin. I think you’ll like it because it seems to be equipped for full time living with everything you need.

With a pond near by and the stillness of the woods this is a great spot for deep contemplation or tranquil place to live.

Invite the outdoors in with the large glass front doors. I love the exposed beams on the ceiling in this cabin and be sure to check out the bathroom and laundry room combo.

What do you think of this little cabin design? Could you live in something like this full time?

Little Yurt Cabin in the Netherlands

Yurt Forest House in the Netherlands

Images © Airbnb

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If you’re anything like me you also happen to like yurts. Or pretty much any “alternative living” type of structure.

So I wanted to show you this private yurt cabin in Malibu, California today.

It’s surrounded by a fully functioning organic citrus farm and vegetable garden which I think makes it even better.

I’ve always wanted to stay in a yurt so I’ve got something like this on my mind for my next vacation, how about you?

Please don’t miss other exciting tiny homesjoin our FREE Tiny House Newsletter!

Malibu Yurt Retreat

Photo Credit: Airbnb

I encourage you to enjoy the rest of the tour inside the yurt below:

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I’ll admit – it has been a long time since I was single. Over 18 years, in fact. Since I live comfortably in 120 square feet with one other person (and a cat) I started to think about what kind of space would be right for a single tiny house owner.

Before I provide my list of tiny house designs for singles I do want to say that the perfect tiny house for anyone is whatever tiny house they want to live in. But, without further ado, here are 5 designs that I think would be great for just one person.

Renzo Piano’s Tiny House. This teensy tiny house made the circuit a few weeks back. The approximately 8X10 tiny house is a lifelong dream for 75 year old award winning architect, Piano. The tiny house, called Diogene, may have been named for the Greek philosopher Diogenes who believed the artificial growth of society was not compatible with happiness. When the tiny home hits the market in about three years it will cost around $45,000. This minimalist home appears to have everything that a single person might need to be comfortable.

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I encourage you to see more tiny house ideas for single people below:
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