RSS FeedSmall Homes
Online Groups, Blogs, and Websites:
Angel Wing Cottage
Senior small home co-housing project.
Building Gypsy Rose
Kevin Rose’s two year account of building his tiny home. Mr. Rose spends his summers on a sailboat, Raven, and his winters in the Gypsy Rose. This is one of the most detailed descriptions I’ve found of the process of building a tiny home interspersed with writing on a wide variety of topics probably of interest to small housers.
Constructing a Simpler Life
The blog of Amanda and Tyson who are in the process of finishing the shell of a tiny home they purchased inexpensively. Amanda is a graduate student in documentary photography and has just been okayed to do her thesis on the small home movement.
The Folly Fellowship
A British organization dedicated to the preservation of architectural follies. Also maintains a Flickr pool of photos. There’s lots of inspiration here for, admittedly eclectic, small homes.
Jewel Box Home
I have to admit to questioning the author’s definition of what constitutes a “small” home, but she provides some useful suggestions for living and entertaining in smaller spaces.
LittleDiggs
A wonderful blog featuring a variety of unconventional small spaces.
Living Small
Written by a couple living in a 505 sq. foot home in Seattle. Focused on small home, green and community-minded simple living.
The Mad Housers
A non-profit group in Atlanta building tiny houses for the homeless.
Mark Terrano’s Blog
Read an account and see photos of a Tumbleweed Tiny Home being built.
The Not So Big House
The website of Susan Susanka, architect and author of the Not So Big House series.
RowdyKittens
A blog focused on social change and simple living.
Small House Building
Anne went through the process of building her own 1000 square foot house in rural Wisconsin. Her website goes through the technical side of of building a house, dealing with inspectors, subcontractors, and suppliers, etc.
The Small House Society Online
Provides a very good collection of information for people trying to learn about small home design. The people involved with this site are deluged by requests from the media. Please take the time to read what they’ve made available online before pestering them for info.
Shedworking
A UK Blog featuring sheds that are used for work. There’s a lot of great ideas here that could easily be adapted to small homes and some inspiring photography.
Small House Musings
A blog written by a small home enthusiast covering a variety of topics related to small home living.
Small House Style
Contains information on builders and plan for small homes along with a bookstore.
The Small House Society Yahoo Group
An active discussion list of people interested in small home design.
Small Space Living
Blog covering a products that may be of interest to small housers. (Although, I tend to find too many of the products they detail too specialize to really want them in my own, limited space.)
Tiny Free House
Per Michael Janzen: “I’m embarking on a little experiment. I’m going to build a tiny house that’s cross between Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond and a Tumbleweed-like Tiny House on wheels. The only difference is that it will cost me nothing. Any money I spend will be recouped by selling discarded things I find and most of the wood will come from old shipping pallets.”
This Tiny House
Written by Hillary who is in the process of remodeling a tiny trailer and who currently lives in a small home in the San Diego area.
Tiny House Blog
A fantastic blog detailing a variety of small home options. Features an engaging writer and fantastic photography.
Tiny House Design
Blog written by someone interested in small house design. Essentially it’s a collection of stories and tidbits he’s found of interest.
Tiny House Forum
A new discussion forum on small home living.
The Tiny Houses Yahoo Group
The other list I’ve found of people interested in small home design. This list seems to draw a least a segment of people who are interested in radically small designs (120 square feet and under)
TinyHouses.net
Pictures and artwork of small homes.
Together We Are One
Blog of a young woman building a tumbleweed tiny home.
Turnbull Tiny House
The blog of Elizabeth Turnbull who designed and built her own tiny home in which to live while she’s a grad student at Yale.
Uncommon Path
A blog which says it is “A Place for ideas of tiny house living, materials and eventually construction progress. A way to free your self from the “Norm”.
VardoForTwo
One of two blogs belonging to Mokihina Calizar, a Hawaiian storyteller and poet who suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. She and her husband Pete are in the process of a building a gypsy vardo to serve as their chemical-free home. This blog details their progress. Her other blog, Sam and Sally, shares additional anecdotes of their life and samples of Mokihina’s writing.
Builders, Instructors, and Design Plans:
Cobb Cottage Company
Run by Linda Smiley and Ianto Evans who are feature in Little House on a Small Planet. They provide information and training on cobb home construction.
Cusato Cottages
Initially designed as housing Katerina refugees, these are gaining a following amongst fans of small home design. You can actually buy kits now for your very own Cusato Cottage from Lowes.
HabitaFlex
I wouldn’t have believed this one until I saw the video. It’s a foldable, transportable small home.
Little House on the Trailer
Small home builder based on Sonoma, CA who builds up to about 400 square feet. The interiors of his buildings are beautiful.
The Martin House Company, LLC
One of the lesser-known builders of tiny homes. To my eye, these are beautifully crafted. I’m in serious lust with their wooden shower.
Sidekick Homes
Sing RV
Builder of tiny, trailer-able homes and kits. Also willing to do rent-to-own.
Small Home Oregon
Admittedly I could be biased because they’re based in Oregon, but I find their small homes completely charming. Plus, like a few other of the small builder, they seem to really “get” the motivation of a lot of small housers.
The Small House Project
This website is generously providing free tiny home plans for houses designed to be on wheels. This website is the creation of Joseph Kenyon.
The Tiny House Company
Builders of the famous “Little gray cottage” featured frequently in the news. Probably second in press coverage only behind Tumbleweed.
Tiny Texas Houses
These incorporate salvaged historical elements in some beautiful ways.
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company
Perhaps the best-known of the Tiny House builders. Jay Shafer, the owner, has been interviewed extensively and appeared on programs such as Oprah.
Great Examples of Small Architecture:
b0ttleman’s granny house
A 400-square foot garage conversion
Jay Shafer’s Weebee
This is probably my favorite of Mr. Shafer’s small home designs.
Jim Reed’s ShelterOne
A 100 x 100 foot home in San Francisco. The computer area is a little claustrophobic for me but, otherwise, this has some neat features.
The Mobile Hermitage
Gregory Johnson’s Tumbleweed Tiny Home. Mr. Johnson is the founder and president of the Small Home Society and author of Put Your Life on a Diet.
RonMaurer.Net
Mr. Maurer has built a 621 sq. ft. home and is now working on a 140 sq. ft. “sugar shack”.
This Tiny House
A 1950′s travel trailer that is being retrofitted to be a live-in. It’s already been on some interesting adventures.
Articles:
The Cost of Frugality
Explanation of the cost per square foot of a tiny home.
Trailers
A great article by Steve at Tumbleweed Tiny House Company on what to look for in a trailer for a tiny house.
Viva La Tiny Revolution
Civil disobedience as it relates to tiny homes.
Books:
(Note — Additional titles are listed in the Bookstore but here are some good ones to get you started…)
500 Ideas for Small Spaces
This book is essentially a visual dictionary of small space design ideas organized by subject. All text is written in English, French, and German and it’s pretty apparent the original language was not English. This book is a fun read for the translations alone
A Little House of My Own
by Lester Walker
This book provides pictures and information on 43 small homes of varying types. Great for inspiration and entertaining reading.
A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder by Michael Pollan
A lyrically written account of a writer, with no building experience, who decides to build his own writing studio.
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
I’m a woman and a writer and I’ve frequently wished for my own space with a door from which to create. I don’t care if she drowned herself. It’s going to end up on my list of inspiration. Deal.
A Tiny House to Call Your Own: Living Well in Just Right Houses by Patricia Foreman and Andy Lee
Written by people involved with the Tiny House Company. Focuses mainly on the benefits of “small” living.
Decorating Your First Apartment by Karen Fisher
Out of print but probably my all-time favorite book on interior design for small spaces.
How to Live in Small Spaces: Design, Furnishing, Decoration and Detail for the Smaller Home by Terence Conran
While this looks like a coffee table picture book and contains lots of fantastic photography, it also contains a great deal of practical advice on small space living. This is probably one of my favorite books on the subject.
Living Big in Small Apartments by James Grayson Truelove
This is a essentially a picture book of several high-end small spaces. There are some interesting ideas in here and the photography is spectacular. I’d recommend checking this one out at your library.
Little Retreats by Jane Tidbury (photos by Peter Aprahamian)
Another photo collection of pictorial inspiration.
Little House on a Small Planet: Simple Homes, Cozy Retreats, and Energy Efficient Possibilities by Shay Salomon
As far as I’m concerned this is THE bible on simple housing. If you can only afford one book on the subject, this is the one I’d recommend. It will be on my keeper shelf for a long time to come. (And thanks to Ms. Salomon, that’s a much smaller shelf.)
Living Small: The Life of Small Houses by Dennis Fukai
Provides an interesting history of the evolution of American architecture. Also has a lot of practical suggestions for designing a small, functional, modern home.
Small House Book and Portfolio by Jay Shafer
Small Spaces for Modern Living by Caroline Atkins
Contains lots of very practical ideas for small space living, along with wonderful photography. I actually purchased a copy of this book for my “keeper” collection on the subject after checking it out at the library
The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live by Sarah Susanka
While I agree totally with Ms. Susanka’s premise that we should design homes for the way we actually live rather than get stuck in tradition, her designs are still a bit grandiose for the way I, personally, want to live. Her books provide a great deal of food for thought, though, and they are beautifully photographed.
Portable Houses by Irene Rawlings and Mary Abel
Another resource on stimulating out-of-the-box thinking on home design.
Put Your Life on a Diet: Lessons Learned from Living in 140 Square Feet by Gregory Johnson
This is a wonderful little book detailing Mr. Johnson’s experiences living in the Mobile Hermitage, the Tumbleweed Tiny Home he built for himself. This book gives a lot of useful food for thought for anyone considering small-space living including chapters on downscaling physical possesions, personal health, ecological health, and greening your home. My copy of this book is filled with notes of things to keep in mind while rebuilding my little space
Small House Book and Portfolio
The Small House Book (vol. 1-3) by Jay Shafer
At roughly 3 x 5″ inches apiece, these are more pamphlets than books. However, they contain some great design information for people considering building a tiny house.
The Tiny Book of Tiny Houses by Lester Walker
A small photo collection of tiny homes including George Shaw’s writing hut and Thoreau’s Walden.
The Very Small Home: Japanese Ideas for Living Well in Limited Space by Azby Brown
This contains gorgeous photos and lots of blueprint designs.
Tumbleweed Tiny Houses Portfolio of Homes by Jay Shafer
While Mr. Shafer is probably best known for his 120 square feet designs (and under), this book contains designs up to 770 square feet, which might appeal to couples or families.
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Oh, come on! You can’t possibly seriously consider moving into a small home and NOT read Walden. Sheesh
Online Groups, Blogs, and Websites:
Angel Wing Cottage
Senior small home co-housing project.
Building Gypsy Rose
Kevin Rose’s two year account of building his tiny home. Mr. Rose spends his summers on a sailboat, Raven, and his winters in the Gypsy Rose. This is one of the most detailed descriptions I’ve found of the process of building a tiny home interspersed with writing on a wide variety of topics probably of interest to small housers.
Constructing a Simpler Life
The blog of Amanda and Tyson who are in the process of finishing the shell of a tiny home they purchased inexpensively. Amanda is a graduate student in documentary photography and has just been okayed to do her thesis on the small home movement.
The Folly Fellowship
A British organization dedicated to the preservation of architectural follies. Also maintains a Flickr pool of photos. There’s lots of inspiration here for, admittedly eclectic, small homes.
Jewel Box Home
I have to admit to questioning the author’s definition of what constitutes a “small” home, but she provides some useful suggestions for living and entertaining in smaller spaces.
LittleDiggs
A wonderful blog featuring a variety of unconventional small spaces.
Living Small
Written by a couple living in a 505 sq. foot home in Seattle. Focused on small home, green and community-minded simple living.
The Mad Housers
A non-profit group in Atlanta building tiny houses for the homeless.
Mark Terrano’s Blog
Read an account and see photos of a Tumbleweed Tiny Home being built.
The Not So Big House
The website of Susan Susanka, architect and author of the Not So Big House series.
RowdyKittens
A blog focused on social change and simple living.
Small House Building
Anne went through the process of building her own 1000 square foot house in rural Wisconsin. Her website goes through the technical side of of building a house, dealing with inspectors, subcontractors, and suppliers, etc.
The Small House Society Online
Provides a very good collection of information for people trying to learn about small home design. The people involved with this site are deluged by requests from the media. Please take the time to read what they’ve made available online before pestering them for info.
Shedworking
A UK Blog featuring sheds that are used for work. There’s a lot of great ideas here that could easily be adapted to small homes and some inspiring photography.
Small House Musings
A blog written by a small home enthusiast covering a variety of topics related to small home living.
Small House Style
Contains information on builders and plan for small homes along with a bookstore.
The Small House Society Yahoo Group
An active discussion list of people interested in small home design.
Small Space Living
Blog covering a products that may be of interest to small housers. (Although, I tend to find too many of the products they detail too specialize to really want them in my own, limited space.)
Tiny Free House
Per Michael Janzen: “I’m embarking on a little experiment. I’m going to build a tiny house that’s cross between Henry David Thoreau’s cabin at Walden Pond and a Tumbleweed-like Tiny House on wheels. The only difference is that it will cost me nothing. Any money I spend will be recouped by selling discarded things I find and most of the wood will come from old shipping pallets.”
This Tiny House
Written by Hillary who is in the process of remodeling a tiny trailer and who currently lives in a small home in the San Diego area.
Tiny House Blog
A fantastic blog detailing a variety of small home options. Features an engaging writer and fantastic photography.
Tiny House Design
Blog written by someone interested in small house design. Essentially it’s a collection of stories and tidbits he’s found of interest.
Tiny House Forum
A new discussion forum on small home living.
The Tiny Houses Yahoo Group
The other list I’ve found of people interested in small home design. This list seems to draw a least a segment of people who are interested in radically small designs (120 square feet and under)
TinyHouses.net
Pictures and artwork of small homes.
Together We Are One
Blog of a young woman building a tumbleweed tiny home.
Turnbull Tiny House
The blog of Elizabeth Turnbull who designed and built her own tiny home in which to live while she’s a grad student at Yale.
Uncommon Path
A blog which says it is “A Place for ideas of tiny house living, materials and eventually construction progress. A way to free your self from the “Norm”.
VardoForTwo
One of two blogs belonging to Mokihina Calizar, a Hawaiian storyteller and poet who suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. She and her husband Pete are in the process of a building a gypsy vardo to serve as their chemical-free home. This blog details their progress. Her other blog, Sam and Sally, shares additional anecdotes of their life and samples of Mokihina’s writing.
Builders, Instructors, and Design Plans:
Cobb Cottage Company
Run by Linda Smiley and Ianto Evans who are feature in Little House on a Small Planet. They provide information and training on cobb home construction.
Cusato Cottages
Initially designed as housing Katerina refugees, these are gaining a following amongst fans of small home design. You can actually buy kits now for your very own Cusato Cottage from Lowes.
HabitaFlex
I wouldn’t have believed this one until I saw the video. It’s a foldable, transportable small home.
Little House on the Trailer
Small home builder based on Sonoma, CA who builds up to about 400 square feet. The interiors of his buildings are beautiful.
The Martin House Company, LLC
One of the lesser-known builders of tiny homes. To my eye, these are beautifully crafted. I’m in serious lust with their wooden shower.
Sidekick Homes
Sing RV
Builder of tiny, trailer-able homes and kits. Also willing to do rent-to-own.
Small Home Oregon
Admittedly I could be biased because they’re based in Oregon, but I find their small homes completely charming. Plus, like a few other of the small builder, they seem to really “get” the motivation of a lot of small housers.
The Small House Project
This website is generously providing free tiny home plans for houses designed to be on wheels. This website is the creation of Joseph Kenyon.
The Tiny House Company
Builders of the famous “Little gray cottage” featured frequently in the news. Probably second in press coverage only behind Tumbleweed.
Tiny Texas Houses
These incorporate salvaged historical elements in some beautiful ways.
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company
Perhaps the best-known of the Tiny House builders. Jay Shafer, the owner, has been interviewed extensively and appeared on programs such as Oprah.
Great Examples of Small Architecture:
b0ttleman’s granny house
A 400-square foot garage conversion
Jay Shafer’s Weebee
This is probably my favorite of Mr. Shafer’s small home designs.
Jim Reed’s ShelterOne
A 100 x 100 foot home in San Francisco. The computer area is a little claustrophobic for me but, otherwise, this has some neat features.
The Mobile Hermitage
Gregory Johnson’s Tumbleweed Tiny Home. Mr. Johnson is the founder and president of the Small Home Society and author of Put Your Life on a Diet.
RonMaurer.Net
Mr. Maurer has built a 621 sq. ft. home and is now working on a 140 sq. ft. “sugar shack”.
This Tiny House
A 1950′s travel trailer that is being retrofitted to be a live-in. It’s already been on some interesting adventures.
Articles:
The Cost of Frugality
Explanation of the cost per square foot of a tiny home.
Trailers
A great article by Steve at Tumbleweed Tiny House Company on what to look for in a trailer for a tiny house.
Viva La Tiny Revolution
Civil disobedience as it relates to tiny homes.
Books:
(Note — Additional titles are listed in the Bookstore but here are some good ones to get you started…)
500 Ideas for Small Spaces
This book is essentially a visual dictionary of small space design ideas organized by subject. All text is written in English, French, and German and it’s pretty apparent the original language was not English. This book is a fun read for the translations alone
A Little House of My Own
This book provides pictures and information on 43 small homes of varying types. Great for inspiration and entertaining reading.
A Place of My Own: The Education of an Amateur Builder
A lyrically written account of a writer, with no building experience, who decides to build his own writing studio.
A Room of One’s Own
I’m a woman and a writer and I’ve frequently wished for my own space with a door from which to create. I don’t care if she drowned herself. It’s going to end up on my list of inspiration. Deal.
A Tiny House to Call Your Own: Living Well in Just Right Houses
Written by people involved with the Tiny House Company. Focuses mainly on the benefits of “small” living.
Decorating Your First Apartment by Karen Fisher
Out of print but probably my all-time favorite book on interior design for small spaces.
How to Live in Small Spaces: Design, Furnishing, Decoration and Detail for the Smaller Home by Terence Conran
While this looks like a coffee table picture book and contains lots of fantastic photography, it also contains a great deal of practical advice on small space living. This is probably one of my favorite books on the subject.
Living Big in Small Apartments by James Grayson Truelove
This is a essentially a picture book of several high-end small spaces. There are some interesting ideas in here and the photography is spectacular. I’d recommend checking this one out at your library.
Little Retreats
Another photo collection of pictorial inspiration.
Little House on a Small Planet: Simple Homes, Cozy Retreats, and Energy Efficient Possibilities
As far as I’m concerned this is THE bible on simple housing. If you can only afford one book on the subject, this is the one I’d recommend. It will be on my keeper shelf for a long time to come. (And thanks to Ms. Salomon, that’s a much smaller shelf.)
Living Small: The Life of Small Houses
Provides an interesting history of the evolution of American architecture. Also has a lot of practical suggestions for designing a small, functional, modern home.
Small House Book and Portfolio by Jay Shafer
Small Spaces for Modern Living by Caroline Atkins
Contains lots of very practical ideas for small space living, along with wonderful photography. I actually purchased a copy of this book for my “keeper” collection on the subject after checking it out at the library
The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live
While I agree totally with Ms. Susanka’s premise that we should design homes for the way we actually live rather than get stuck in tradition, her designs are still a bit grandiose for the way I, personally, want to live. Her books provide a great deal of food for thought, though, and they are beautifully photographed.
Portable Houses
Another resource on stimulating out-of-the-box thinking on home design.
Put Your Life on a Diet: Lessons Learned from Living in 140 Square Feet
This is a wonderful little book detailing Mr. Johnson’s experiences living in the Mobile Hermitage, the Tumbleweed Tiny Home he built for himself. This book gives a lot of useful food for thought for anyone considering small-space living including chapters on downscaling physical possesions, personal health, ecological health, and greening your home. My copy of this book is filled with notes of things to keep in mind while rebuilding my little space
Small House Book and Portfolio
The Small House Book (vol. 1-3) by Jay Shafer
At roughly 3 x 5″ inches apiece, these are more pamphlets than books. However, they contain some great design information for people considering building a tiny house.
The Tiny Book of Tiny Houses
A small photo collection of tiny homes including George Shaw’s writing hut and Thoreau’s Walden.
The Very Small Home: Japanese Ideas for Living Well in Limited Space
This contains gorgeous photos and lots of blueprint designs.
Tumbleweed Tiny Houses Portfolio of Homes by Jay Shafer
While Mr. Shafer is probably best known for his 120 square feet designs (and under), this book contains designs up to 770 square feet, which might appeal to couples or families.
Walden
Oh, come on! You can’t possibly seriously consider moving into a small home and NOT read Walden. Sheesh
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