I think many people have seen the Dee Williams YouTube video of her driving her tiny house on wheels around Olympia, Washington.

Or possibly you have read the Yes! Magazine interview with her in their winter issue.

I recently came across this news story featuring her on MSNBC.com. What I particularly like about this interview is that provides examples of what different people’s motivations were for downsizing and also some financial information.

Plus, I love the small Portland home that is included in the story.

Many tiny home builders often consider a variety of materials that are not commonly used in today’s cookie cutter homes.  One material that you are likely to have never heard of is Papercrete.

Papercrete is a combination of what seems like some pretty unlikely elements.  Recycled paper, cement, water and sand are combined to create a material that is surprisingly strong and extremely cheap.  Most environmentalists like Papercrete because it uses recycled paper and sand. However, some also dislike the fact that the material also uses cement.  Many people feel that Papercrete, while an interesting concept, is just not a viable building material.

There are a few developments that might be of interest where the future of the material is concerned.  Econovate is a company that sees all the millions of tons of paper waste as a real building opportunity.  They point to some interesting facts; such as that fifty percent of all paper waste in the UK is actually sent to China for recycling.  This process, of course, creates CO2 due to the transport of the paper waste.  Econovate feels that if there was a way of dealing with all this paper waste around the world that a major reduction in pollution could occur.  Their concept for how to deal with the issue is a pretty brilliant one. The Econovate plan could address both pollution and the global housing shortage.

Papercrete Wall Panels and Papercrete Blocks are two of the ideas that Econovate is currently excited about.  Their concept is to actually create wall panel sections and building blocks using Papercrete.  The hope is that this very environmentally friendly project would be ready by 2011.  The research and development is currently being done in conjunction with the University of Cambridge, and has numerous “heavy weights” helping with the funding.

What is most exciting about Papercrete is that some bright people decided not to give up on this potentially exciting material.  Papercrete is cheap, comparatively eco-friendly, and could help reduce CO2 emissions considerably.  If Econovate and the University of Cambridge are successful, tiny homebuilders might have a very cheap new building material very soon.

If you are looking for an easy to construct and very inexpensive small home, you will want to take a look at the U-Dome from World Shelters.  World Shelters specializes in producing low-cost temporary housing for humanitarian needs.  But tiny homes, such as the U-Dome, might be what some tiny home enthusiasts need as well.

The futuristic dome shape is UV resistant, fire retardant, uses shingled construction and is easy to assemble.  This 200 square foot tiny hoise is one of the cheapest options available at merely $2,500.

There are some limitations to the design, but for price tag this can only be expected.  The U-Dome is made from white semi-translucent panels, which will last three to five years before UV-degradation begin to damage the material.  This will eventually lead to cracks and other damage.  World Shelters is fairly certain that if the material is painted it might last for up to ten years.  So, the U-Dome isn’t designed to be truly permanent, but at $2,500 dollars each that isn’t too much of an issue.

The bathroom and showing facility is a separate attachment called the Shower Dome, and they recommend a Zodi brand shower unit that produces one gallon per minute.  One gallon per minute could seem like roughing it to many, but you would definitely save on the water bill.

Other considerations are mostly environmental as well.  In terms of being able to handle the environment in other ways  it turns out that the U-Dome is insulated, can handle winds up to 65 mph and is designed in such a way that it is difficult for snow to accumulate.

The U-Dome may seem a bit to bare bones for some, but the price is amazing and the U-Dome could very well make a great cabin.  The concept has merit and the price point definitely grabs one’s attention.  If you are looking for a very inexpensive housing option, then it’s going to be tough to beat the U-Dome.

Logical Homes takes an approach that is not surprisingly, rather logical.  They are designing homes of various sizes, and clearly one of their goals is to be different.

Logical Homes decided that the way homes are being built just doesn’t make much sense.  Homes have been built basically the same way for decades.  The designs at Logical Homes are very much in keeping with the age in which we live. For example, these homes incorporate recycled and repurposed materials.

While Logical Homes builds homes of all sizes, they have two designs that roughly fall into the tiny home category.  One is the Aegean 640,  a one bedroom and one bathroom house that comes in at 640 square feet.  The look of the home is really striking with a large overhanging porch that has a built in “skylight” to accommodate a tall tree or two.  This single story house cost $270,000, which breaks down to about $156 per square foot.

The Aegean 896,a slightly larger version of the Aegean 640,  costs $298,000, (which breaks down to $172 per square foot.)  The main difference with the Aegean 896 is that it has a second bedroom. Logical Homes has three basic different designs, the Aegean, the Catalan and the Seto.  The size of homes varies tremendously.  The largest model, the Seto comes in at a very spacious 3,580, with five bedrooms, three and half baths, and with a cost of $620,000.

What makes Logical Homes a real interesting contender in the tiny home market is their choice of materials and approach.  They primarily use converted steel cargo containers, which have a wide variety of benefits for would be homeowners.  The steel frame of cargo container is largely immune to terrible things like… mold, rot, termites and pests.  If you really hate bugs, a modular home made out of steel may be a good fit as bugs, generally don’t eat metal.  Because you are replacing brick and wood with metal (in this case steel), Cargo containers also exceed most residential building codes.

Right now Logical Homes are serving California, Nevada and Arizona.  But with a concept this strong, don’t be surprised to see a rapid expansion.

Here is a tiny home that you can only find in Australia, but might be making its way to the rest of the world soon.  The strong concept behind The Pod makes it a definite possibility for export abroad.

The Pod was born out of fire, quite literally.  The architects behind The Pod wanted to design a quick and strong pre-fabricated concrete structure to replace the scores of homes that were lost to the recent fires that ravaged many communities in Victoria.  1:1 Architects in Melbourne began working with Ecotec Building Solutions on the prototype of this concept.

The Pods can be quickly assembled, and each has a bathroom and kitchen.  While they are intended to be temporary housing, there is no reason that these sturdy structures could not be used as an excellent tiny home.  Some really great touches have been added to the homes, such as pre-installed electrical conduits, which are a great idea when dealing with concrete.

Some real logic and ingenuity has also been put into the design.  The Pods are designed so that two can fit on the back of a standard semi-trailer, and a crane can be used to place the Pod once it is at site.  By designing the Pods to work in this fashion, it is possible for delivery and assembly time to be dramatically reduced.  Further, because of their modular nature, it is hoped that the Pods can potentially serve as a foundation for a new home for people who have been victims of the fires in Victoria.

To date, the project has received the backing of numerous companies in Australia.  As of April 8,2009, the first Pod has been delivered.  This event was covered widely in Australian on ABC1 and the Herald Sun.

Part of what makes the concept so impressive is the quick turnaround and its practicality.  Opting for a concrete structure guarantees that the Pod will be a quick and viable option for fire victims who  need new homes quickly.  For those looking for a tiny home, the concept put forth in the Pod might really do the trick.

If you haven’t heard about the Woodland Home, and you are a tiny home/sustainable home fan, you’ve been missing out.  This home built in Wales is a very interesting concept indeed.

Built by volunteers for about $5500, this tiny home looks much like something out of The Lord of the Rings films.  The core concept is to build a home using as few processed materials as possible.  To this end, the builders utilized a variety of techniques.  They dug into a hillside and built part of the home in this fashion, the used straw bales for the floors, walls and roof and used lime plaster. 

The choice for lime plaster is a rather interesting one, as lime plaster takes far less energy to manufacture than does cement.  Most people are still unaware the concrete, while very durable, is also very energy intensive to produce.  Most environmentalist consider concrete to be very destructive as a whole for the planet.  The choice to use lime plaster was most certainly a good one in fitting with the Woodland Home theme.

The Woodland Home is packed with other features that would also make environmentalist jump with glee, such as using scrap wood for the floors, skylights in the roof to cut down on electricity bills, as well as solar panels.  The Woodland Home also collects rainwater and has a composite toilet.  In short, this is one very environmentally friendly little house.

The creators of the Woodland Home are very straightforward about how important it is to construct in this fashion whenever possible.  One of the most important reasons that they chose to construct using “organic architecture” was to be as natural as possible, and avoid toxic building materials.  In short, they wanted to build a home that had very little impact on both the environment and their own personal health.

More than likely the Woodland Home is using concepts and features that we are likely to see incorporated into many homes in the future.  Clearly, currently building practices are not sustainable in the long run and homes like the Woodland Home are pointing the way as to what is possible.  In this sense, they are true trailblazers.  You can learn more about this unique tiny house from Simon at www.simondale.net/house.

Some design concepts just speak so well to the times.  This is the case with the modular home concepts dreamed up by the people over at System Design Studio.  The System Design Studio is based in Barcelona Spain, and is really generating some impressive ideas that are worth a keen look.  One the most exciting is their concept for a modular home.

The System Design Studio modular home concept centers around the concept of taking three separate units: bathroom, kitchen and storage, and building a living area around them. Other modules can be attached to this core, thus expanding it.  This is how to add such rooms as a bedroom.  But what makes the design so potentially interesting is how much thought System Design Studio has given to transportation and space maximization of their modular home design concept.  The home’s design to expand from compact module to extended module is truly brilliant.

The compact module compressed the structure down considerably.  It can be transported on a railway, and the compact module can fit onto a train.  When in extended module form the module unfolds considerably, yielding much more living space.  No doubt, this is a great design.  Being able to partially fold up the module for transport is a fantastic concept.  Moreover, if modular homes become the norm in the future, the idea of compressing the space for transport is extremely attractive.  Such functionality could make moving and transporting modules very easy, as modules could be transported via the railways or even as ocean freight.  While their home design is only a concept, it is an exciting one, full of tremendous potential.

Not surprisingly, environmental concerns are a major aspect of System Design Studio’s modular design as well.  Each unit is designed to incorporate solar panels and uses high-efficiency LED lighting.  A system for collecting and using rainwater is also central among the design principles.  The overarching concept is for the home to be very self-sufficient and eco-friendly.

Studio Design also creates a wide variety of sleek lamps created from recycled materials which are currently available.  These designers have an array of interesting eco-friendly design options on their very high-tech looking website.

Check out System Design Studio’s website for more information- this site is definitely worth a look!

What defines cool?  Oh isn’t that always a hard one.  Its the sort of term that is difficult to pin down, and the answer often varies from person to person, and culture to culture. However, one thing is pretty clear- most people would consider the Loftcube to be pretty darn cool.

The Loftcube concept comes to us from Berlin.  The idea is to take a start using all the free space available on the top of large buildings for the modular home idea that is the Loftcube.  The Loftcube comes in at 420 square feet and has about 8 feet of ceiling space.  But what makes Loftcube so cool are its looks.  Since the Loftcube sits on four legs, it is elevated a few inches off the ground. Also it has a customizable interior.

The Loftcube, with its sleek rounded, curved walls and  tall, nearly floor to ceiling windows, is a design which is very appealing to the eye.  This more resembles a work of art from a museum (or a movie set prop from a late 1960′s science fiction concept) than it does a modular home.  And that’s what makes it cool.

The design team has done a fine job showing the world how they built their concept.  They have several videos online that walk visitors through the process in detail.  This nice touch helps make the entire process more accessible.

One of the first things visitors to the website will notice is how fantastic the interiors of the Loftcube can be.  In many tiny homes the interior space is often an afterthought, but not with the very modern and stylish Loftcube.  In this regard the Loftcube really excels.

In fact, one would be very hard pressed to find a more impressive utilization of 420 square feet in a tiny home.  The sheer coolness of this tiny home’s interior will likely make most feel as though they are actually in a larger home.  Now, that is great design.  Designer Werner Aisslinger and the Loftcube team have created something with the Loftcube that will certainly change people’s minds regarding tiny homes and modular design.

The world of small homes is exciting, in part, because there is so much variety.  Homeowners are given so many potential choices.  With tiny homes it really is possible for people to find a home that fits their specific needs very well.  Take for example, the concepts put forth by the people at Easy Domes, built on The Faroe Islands  in Denmark.

Easy Domes have a shape that many would find unique.  The homes are based on the Icosahedron polyhedra which sounds a lot like an obscure dinosaur, but is really just a type of geometric shape. Think hexagon. What really makes these tiny homes so interesting is that all the sections are pre-made and can be assembled quickly and easily.  Assembly is done with good old-fashioned nuts and bolts. Yet, the final product certainly doesn’t look old fashioned.  Even the transport is done via a container and there is no need for a crane.

Easy Domes have done a very nice job explaining the materials used and the process on their website Easydomes.com.  They have three options on their site ranging from “The Tuft,” which is a designed to be a spare time cottage, to the Duo-Domes, which are designed to be homes large enough for a small family.  It is possible to link several of the easy homes together to form even larger structures.  In fact, there is no theoretical limit to how many could be attached together!

The design and ease of construction are what make these domes so interesting.  This design seems to be very flexible as no special skills are needed for assembly, nor are any special tools.  Apparently, the Easy Domes can be built on just about any surface.  (The website doesn’t list water or lava, but we can probably cut them some slack on that one.)

Because of their design, Easy Domes states that their creations can handle extreme storm winds, earthquakes and even be covered with earth.  The shape of domes, in general, is known to be extremely strong and does stand up much better to intense weather. For example, domes can stand up to such things as hurricane winds far better than our traditional peak style homes we are all so familiar with.

The easy dome concept has a tremendous amount going for it.  They are highly energy efficient, have a very novel and interesting look, can be assembled by “average people” and require no special tools to do so.  The “Tuft” is a tiny prefabricated option that is really worth a look for those seeking a tiny home.  (If you are really curious, you can even rent one near the village of Kvivik in the Faroe Islands right now!)

Upon occasion we come across a concept that truly incorporates a bit of genius.  Angel Wing Cottage the rather clever idea of Deana Main.  Based in Monroe, North Carolina, Angel Wing Cottages are developing a senior citizen alternative living community centered on energy effective tiny homes.  If you are over fifty-five, this should definitely be something to consider.

The Angel Wing Cottages have three cottages to choose from.  Cottage One is 544 square feet and has a pleasant design.  What really makes these cottages from Angel Wing Cottages so interesting is their “hidden little secret.”  Angel Wing Cottages are built to be tough.  How tough?  They have been designed to handle winds of up to 140 miles per hour.  This tough design meshes into the overall design philosophy well.  Angel Wing Cottages are designed to be long lasting and require low-maintenance.  One can see how this idea would be attractive to seniors.

Other aspects of the Angel Wing Cottage concept will no doubt also appeal to seniors, such as the fact that the cottages are built on site, are Energy Star certified and are meant to be affordable.  Numerous other aspects of the concept make the Angel Wing Cottage concept even more interesting.  Part of the plan is to have fresh vegetables grown in the community, and shared community hybrid rental vehicles as well.

It is definitely refreshing to see a concept that improves the health of residents built into the concept from the ground up.  Fresh vegetables have been proven to be more nutritious than vegetables than have been grown hundreds or even thousands of miles away and picked days earlier.  Hybrid vehicles should also provide for cleaner community air.  This holistic approach to living and the environment should be applauded.

One of the key elements of the Angel Wing Cottage concept is that this is a community of seniors.  It would be easy to just focus on the tiny home aspect of the project, but part of what makes it so very interesting is that the Angel Wing Cottage concept is a community of tiny homes for seniors.  That core concept is just brilliant.

Additional information about the project can be found at Angel Wing Cottage.