Tiny House Living

Kent at Tiny House Blog has been assembling a great resource page of tiny house plans. One of the newest additions is this Little Red Cabin which was featured in his Little House in a Landscape series.

Little Red Cabin Plans

It’s always nice to have a blast from the past for gaining perspective. A reader of Tiny House Blog passed this onto Kent the other day reminding us that tiny houses are not really a new idea at all. Well I guess reading Walden again will tell you that too… in any event these house trucks are really great to see and read about.

Blast from the Recent Past

Kent Griswold has setup a website dedicated to the Sonoma Shanty. You can buy a kit or finished house from Stephen Marshall at Little House on the Trailer or the plans from Kent at Sonoma Shanty. Kent has posted several larger views of the plans themselves at Sonoma Shanty for those of you that want to get a closer look at the plans. Here is a recent testimony by Nick from Indiana who bought the plans:

I have to say I am rather impressed with the plans, the ability to mix ease of construction and functionality in this design is really pretty amazing. Example, using the 12/12 roof, provides simple construction and yields sufficient loft space. You’ve also eliminated the need for a birds mouth. These are all things a person new to construction would likely mess up. For those of us who have previously built such things, the elimination and simplification of these adds significant time savings, less room for error and waste, and ease of assembly. I am very satisfied with the plans.

Architect Gregory Smith send this photo into Tiny House Blog for Kent’s regular Tiny House in a Landscape feature. It’s a historic weekend cabin near the edge of a river in Cisco Grove, California. I wanted to share it with you because it’s an excellent example of how a free locally sourced material can be used to build a home. It would be heavy meticulous work to build a tiny rock house but it would be cheap and the thermal mass would keep you cool in summer and warm in winter.

Tiny House in a Landscape

Gregory Smith, Architect

Kent Griswold and Stephen Marshall recently announced some pricing on the new Sonoma Shanty tiny house. Their idea is to make tiny houses more attainable and affordable.

Do-it-yourselfers would probably prefer a set of plans or a kit. Those wanting more construction experience might want to take their tiny house construction workshop. Other folks might just want an affordable turn-key tiny house. All these options are available and you can see the initial price list on Tiny House Design.

Prices and details may change in the future so be sure to visit Kent’s Tiny House Blog and Stephen’s Little House on the Trailer for the most current information and pricing.

Kent Griswold and Stephen Marshall have been colaborating on a tiny house solution called the Sonoma Shanty. It’s a simple 8′ by 15′ tiny house that is easy to build and low-cost. Kent will soon be making the plans available for sale through his website and Stephen will be hosting regular full-day workshops where you’ll learn to build a Sonoma Shanty. Stephen will also be offering a kit version of the house and complete finished houses too. To learn more about the Sonoma Shanty visit Kent’s Tiny House Blog and Stephen’s Little House on the Trailer.

I grew up in Northern California and actually remember when Real Goods was located in Ukiah. They’ve been selling the greenest products for years and are experts in everything from passive and active solar, to construction techniques, to living off-the-grid, to organic gardening. Mendocino County is the perfect place for an organization like Real Goods. There many remote and hidden homes tucked way off-the-grid and plenty of folks who have escaped the San Francisco Bay Area in search of a simpler life. It’s where I was born and dream of returning.

Many years ago Real Goods moved it’s store to a spot just a few miles south of Ukiah to a tiny town called Hopland that shares its main street with Highway 101. Hopland was once a major hop growing center but now its mostly surrounded my vineyards. Just as you drive into town from the south is Real Goods, which is much more than a store now, it’s a sustainable demonstration community for alternative energy technology and simple living.

My friend Kent Griswold lives about 45 minutes south of Hopland and stopped by there the other day to photograph all the tiny houses they’ve built during workshops. They now have an amazing collection tiny homes that show off a variety of different green building technologies. Visit Tiny House Blog to see all Kent’s Real Goods tiny house photos. If you ever plan a trip through northern California be sure to stop by Real Goods. Photo credit to Kent Griswold.

My friend Kent Griswold took a drive over to Jay Shafer’s place to photograph the latest Tumbleweed Tiny House under construction. These photos are hot off the press. There are now over 30 pages of construction photos of this tiny house and I suggest starting with the most recent photos and work your way backwards.

This is also the house Jay is planning on taking on his coast-to-coast tour. He’s going to take this tiny house from San Francisco to New York and is scheduled to begin May 25, 2009. Visit Tiny House Journal to see more tiny houses under construction. Photo credit Kent Griswold.

Kent Griswold, the fellow behind Tiny House Blog, has busy setting up a website that showcases tiny house construction stories. Over time Kent has gotten to know many of the tiny house builders and owner-builders. Tiny House Journal consolodates all the information and photos he’s gathered over time on the most successful tiny house construction stories. Pictured is a Tumbleweed Tarleton built by Will Pedersen from Abbotsford, BC Canada. This house cost him around $18,000 Canadian in building materials (about $14,500 US). Take a look at Tiny House Journal.