Tiny House Living

It’s always exciting to run across someone building a tiny house. This is Shay Cameron and back in July 2009 he bought a set of Sonoma Shanty plans and made some significant changes. You can follow along with his progress at his Diminutive Abode blog. I first spotted this at Tiny House Blog.

Diminutive Abode

Stephen at Little House on the Trailer has redesigned their website (using my open source WordPress theme!) and made it easier to learn about their tiny houses. They have an open house every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Petaluma, California.

Stephen makes several different house models including the Sonoma Shanty but there has been a lot of interest around this little 10′ by 12′ tiny house that is intended to serve as a garden office/studio.

A Room of One’s Own

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.

I’ve noticed more and more discussions online centered around the question, what is a tiny house?

I think a home is what you make it so a trailer can make a great tiny house. Tiny houses like Tumbleweeds, Tortoise Shells and Sonoma Shantys are built like houses and will probably stand up to the elements better over the years but little trailers are far more portable. Here’s a story about the restoration of a 1950s trailer.

Tiny trailer meets 50s spaceship

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.