Change of Address

A couple of weeks ago I was inundated with ads for Jay Shafer’s Tumbleweed Houses (http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com) and I have to tell you I became completely intrigued by the subject.  I found his tiny homes to be elegant and a really great idea.  I actually began dreaming of how cool it would be to have a tiny house of my own with no mortgage and none of the stuff that I really don’t need.  In addition, the utility bills would also be miniscule which is something I am always interested in but especially this time of the year.  Here are 10 tiny houses for simpler living that caught my eye:

1. I feel obligated to start with one of Jay’s Houses after all, he got me started on the quest in the first place.  The first one of his homes that caught my eye was the Epu which you can see in more detail here: http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses/epu/.  It is 89 square feet, which sounds ridiculous but when you see pictures of the interior you can see how elegant this home actually is (yes I said ELEGANT).  You can get this home ready made for just under $46K or you can build it yourself for under $20K.  This sounds like a lot but if you think about it, it’s probably less or not much more than 1 or 2 years of your current mortgage.



2. If the price of a TumbleWeed home has got you down, then you might want to take a look at http://tinyhouseforsale.com they have a cool looking cottage that they sell (pre-built) for just under $20K.  Of course, the base unit does not come with a kitchen ($1,500) or a bathroom ($2,500).  They explain that these make great cabins, home offices for your backyard, or even a nice guest house for visitors/in-laws.



3. As I read about the different ways to support sustainable living combined with ever-increasing levels of design and style I found myself being inspired by some homes/offices/cabins created by Modern Cabana http://www.moderncabana.com/MC_main.html.  That link is to their gallery where they have several designs below $20K.  With that said, most would need additional work to be usable as a home (plumbing and electrical work).  They are however beautiful examples and something that I could easily see putting in my backyard as an unbelievable home office.



4. There are some simpler solutions too that seem to be really environmentally friendly mostly due to reusing old shipping containers.  I dug around and found it fairly difficult to get people to make these for you at what seems like a reasonable price, but it is very easy to get design plans to build your own.  I was able to find a very creative home/cabin solution over at http://www.softstainless.com where he will build one for you for around $10K.  That’s some pretty inexpensive shelter for a moderate climate.  If you need insulation though, you are on your own for that (as well as for a toilet).  It’s super cool to me though take a look below:



5. What if you need something slightly larger?  I mean up to this point we are talking about some small homes.  The good news is that they are several small homes that most would consider tiny by today’s standards, but will also feel a bit more permanent (no wheels on this one).  One of my favorite small homes that I could definitely see myself living in on a permanent basis one day is the Loring also from TumbleWeed (see link above).  This home comes in two sizes the 261 and 356 square feet versions.  Both have space for a washer and dryer and it’s possible to put central A/C in both (a must for me).  The estimates for both of these houses come in under $31K which is a great deal for a perfect sized home (in my opinion).  Plus look at how beautiful this is:



6. Another small permanent home option was designed by Cusato Cottages, LLC.  All of their home plans are for sale at Lowes for $700 each.  The home that caught my eye was the KC 308 (308 square feet).  This home looks like another great permanent small residence.  The estimate for building this home is around $35K but as with all of the other homes this does not include the cost of land or site preparation costs.  Here’s a look at yet another great little home:



7. Okay these are all pretty traditional looking homes just on a tiny scale so how about something a little different?  I love this project and the website located at: http://www.caneloproject.com/pages/canelobuildings/cottage.html.  Now this home is being shown more for an idea than as a prefab home that you can easily buy.  You will need to build this and when you read further that it is constructed with straw, clay, and other similar materials you know it will be an adventure.  I can only imagine what it would be like to spend time in a home that you literally molded with your own hands.  Here’s a quick look at one example:



8. From an environmental perspective there are still a few things that have to be addressed in a tiny or big home and that is the need for power for lights, a refrigerator, a toaster oven or something to cook on.  There are lots of different answers to that including elaborate power inverters that utilize marine batteries to solar power.  One of my favorite solar tiny homes can be seen here: http://www.simplesolarhomesteading.com/.  This owner says he built his cabin for under $2K, but I’m sure that doesn’t include the cost of the solar panels and power inverter system that keeps his batteries charged.  Here’s a look at this clever 400 square foot home (which you can get plans for):



9. How about we take a look at a tiny cabin/home that is built completely out of recycled materials?  I cam across a GREAT site that I highly recommend for getting more tiny house inspiration here: http://www.tinygreencabins.com.  They offer some great models but I especially like the WildFlower cabin which starts at about $18K for 120 square feet and after you add all the extras bathroom, solar panels, etc. you can go as high as about $40K.  It’s not particularly inexpensive but it is a complete solution that would be a fantastic place to live and this cabin simply looks great:



10. Finally, I took a look at a site that offers some really cool almost storybook designs here: http://www.weecabins.com. These range is size from 150 square feet or so and up and they all will cost you around $25K as designed.  In addition, they offer you the ability to get a wee wee house (out house) to match your design.  Of course, that’s just awesome and something that I would definitely be interested in.  So I promised a storybook/fairy tale style, take look and tell me if you agree:

I have truly been inspired as I researched and wrote this article.  I knew that it would be fun to research tiny homes, but I really have a desire to get one at least for a vacation home on a lake somewhere close by.  I am incredibly compelled by living a simpler life free of the clutter by necessity and all done while making less of a carbon footprint.  It feels right to me and I’m positive that I would love it.  I think I’ll start though by making a visit to a tiny bed and breakfast or tiny cabin resort somewhere near me (I guess a new vacation research project just got started…).

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