My Tiny House

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by terryV

Right on, Maggie! I came from a poor farming family in central Iowa back in the '40s and '50s. As a young boy, I received one new pair of blue jeans and one new pair of shoes each year. My shirts were made by my grandmother from the cloth from flour sacks.

We didn't know we were poor, because everyone else was in the same situation.

We took care of things. Clothes, socks and underwear as well, were mended until there was nothing left to mend. Shoes and boots were patched multiple times. To this day I have trouble throwing out an old ragged shirt or pair of jeans. "Waste not, want not"

Yep.

Doug's mom gave me a quilt made of patterned feed sacks that she had made.....sacks chosen back in the day, by the woman of the house, who knew who needed clothing.

Most of us have never experienced real hunger or serious want.....even in my poorest days, there was always food and adequate clothing for everyone.


Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Altho doing more with less is often born of necessity rather than choice, it is a very valuable bank of knowledge to have.

Altho I see my past in me every day ...and don't we all...I'm glad I know how to live and do like I learned many years ago.

I could do it again tomorrow, if necessity required, and help others learn.


Maggie

[terryV]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

Altho doing more with less is often born of necessity rather than choice, it is a very valuable bank of knowledge to have.

Altho I see my past in me every day ...and don't we all...I'm glad I know how to live and do like I learned many years ago.

I could do it again tomorrow, if necessity required, and help others learn.


Maggie

Well said, Maggie.

[cramar]

Originally Posted by cameront120

As an Architect, I'm glad to see the interest in smaller, more efficient homes. I'm seeing more interest in using the Passivhaus standard which creates homes that are compact, comfortable and reduce heating and cooling energy by up to 85-90% less than a standard home. Where I live, land is scarce and expensive, so smaller and more efficient homes are beginning to make sense to a lot of people.

I'm interested in the Tiny House movement and a few years ago walked into a 485 sq. ft modernized log cabin that my buddy owns and rents out to vacationers. I loved it! Enough space for me, but not for my stuff. My goal is to downsize my stuff over the next couple of years.

I've studied the Passivhaus movement and also been reading books on the Tiny House movement. It looks like nobody has yet married the two! The trouble with Passive House design is that the ones I've seen on the Web mostly look and are sized like other houses. The problem with most tiny houses is that they are in milder climates and have poor or no insulation. If I was an Architect, I would design a smaller Passive House with simple zen-like looks on the outside and inside, that would be suitable for the climate in Canada.

BTW, this is my favourite PH:
The House « Passive House in the Woods

If someone could design a similar, yet smaller version with half the sq feet, that would be the cat's meow as far as I am concerned.

[weirdstuff]

Not tiny, but still, modest. My soon-to-be new house. The lot is 25' x 125'. We'll break ground in the spring. It's in a commercial zone, so the first floor is about 600 sf of commercial space. Parking for our car and for the space shuttle is in the back.

[Lily&Me]

That is very cool looking!

Is that a little deck up top?



Maggie

[Stefrobrts]

I like the tiny house movement, but often they boast of portability, and frankly if you want to move it around, you're better off with an Airstream. If you don't plan to move it around, then you still need to pay for a lot to put it on, and that will still be pretty expensive anywhere in town. If you are out of town your lot will be big enough to probably require more maintenance than you want.

Here in Portland (land of the hipsters) there was an article about some couple who knocked down and old inefficient house in a trendy neighborhood and built a tiny house on the lot, but they paid $300k for the house and lot, and another $200k between demolition and building the tiny house - not exactly a frugal option!

[weirdstuff]

Originally Posted by Lily&Me

That is very cool looking!

Is that a little deck up top?



Maggie

Thanks! Husband is the architect.

Yes, it's an outdoor deck. I'm thinking it's gonna be "music jam" central, where I can have my musician friends over to jam! The beauty of Southern Cali = year round outdoor living.

I'm super excited about this project, so, I'll keep looking for other threads where I can appropriately post pics too! LOL

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by cramar

I'm interested in the Tiny House movement and a few years ago walked into a 485 sq. ft modernized log cabin that my buddy owns and rents out to vacationers. I loved it! Enough space for me, but not for my stuff. My goal is to downsize my stuff over the next couple of years.

I've studied the Passivhaus movement and also been reading books on the Tiny House movement. It looks like nobody has yet married the two! The trouble with Passive House design is that the ones I've seen on the Web mostly look and are sized like other houses. The problem with most tiny houses is that they are in milder climates and have poor or no insulation. If I was an Architect, I would design a smaller Passive House with simple zen-like looks on the outside and inside, that would be suitable for the climate in Canada.

BTW, this is my favourite PH:
The House « Passive House in the Woods

If someone could design a similar, yet smaller version with half the sq feet, that would be the cat's meow as far as I am concerned.

Thanks for the link to the house in the woods. Here is a 430 square foot Passive House which was just recently certified in Australia:
Castlemaine Passivhaus - CARBONlite | design + build CARBONlite | design + build

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by weirdstuff

Not tiny, but still, modest. My soon-to-be new house. The lot is 25' x 125'. We'll break ground in the spring. It's in a commercial zone, so the first floor is about 600 sf of commercial space. Parking for our car and for the space shuttle is in the back.

Nice to see some good, clean modern design. I, too, designed my house with a flat roof to take advantage of the usable space.

[Lily&Me]

This was in the Mother Earth Newsletter this morning:


Home on the Road: Matthew Hofmann's Renovated Airstream Home and Office - Green Homes



Maggie