Japanese House Built by Off Grid Champion - Brian Schulz The Japanese Forest House is a confluence of my love of small spaces, my passion for local materials, and my fascination with tradtional Japanese architecture. For those familiar with the intensely refined art of traditional Japanese carpentry, applying the title of 'Japanese' onto my house might be laying it on a bit thick. It's true I've fallen short of the refinement found in the homes of the upper classes, however, the work still embraces the design principles that make the traditonal tea houses (which were, ironically, modeled after peasant shacks) so appealing. Oversized beams, live edge slabs, natural timbers, real plaster walls, and minimal decoration, all encourage a deep sense of calm. What I love about this structure is that it is architecturally honest, meaning that where a lag bolt or a deck screw or a 16 penny nail was used, no attempt to was made to conceal them.
Super modern South African tiny house is bright and green I have often complained that a lot of tiny houses, being modelled on larger houses that get the shrink-ray, are designed for cuteness instead of practicality, with their tiny lofts that peak in the middle. Perhaps instead of using a traditional house as a model, designers should be looking more at learning from more modern designs like Airstream trailers or boats. That's why the INDAWO / lifePOD is so interesting. © Brett Rubin The INDAWO / lifePOD is a lifestyle and design intervention that affords home owners a comfortable, functional experience inside a small space; to live in confluence with the needs of the planet now and in the future .... “Living smaller will save you money in the long run; it could also make you happier.” The climate is warm enough that the designers can make great use of the outdoors and bring in all that natural light. © Pod Indawo
Slumtube: Affordable Housing Made From Shipping Pallets! Remember the efficient and affordable Pallet House from last spring? Well designers Andreas Claus Schnetzer and Pils Gregor have bested their original design with an even lower-cost shipping pallet home that was completed this year in South Africa. The 'Slumtube' utilizes discarded pallets along with other local materials like clay and straw to make an insulated and affordable home that can withstand the extremely hot and cold temperatures of Johannesburg. Schnetzer and Gregor built upon what they learned from constructing modular pallet houses, improving upon their original design to make it even more affordable. In previous designs, the pallets were used as floors, walls, ceilings and cladding, but they required sturdy wood beams, which were the most expensive part of the home. The new round design eliminates some of these expensive beams, but it’s still designed and built to European standards for structural soundness. + PalettenHaus Images © PalettenHaus
Ex-Masterchef's Kathryn Minchew to open a restaurant in her garden SHED A former Masterchef contestant has been given the green light to open what will be one of the world’s smallest restaurants - in her own garden shed. Kathryn Minchew, 32, set up Gloucester Studio in a purpose-built hut in her Cotswolds garden 14 months ago, after reaching the semi-finals of the BBC1 cooking competition in 2008. She was given six months to see if the culinary business would work, beginning in January 2015, and says she had a great response from diners - despite the restaurant only being available for 'exclusive hire'. Scroll down for video Former Masterchef contestant Kathryn Minchew, 32, has set up a restaurant in her back garden in Gloucester Gloucester Studio can serve up to eight guests at a time, but with prices starting at £495, it's not cheap Kathryn has now been given permission to run her tiny eaterie in Gloucester as a fully-fledged restaurant, on a pre-booked basis for no more than eight diners at a time. Former Masterchef semi finalist builds her own MasterShed
Custom Living Tiny Home A custom tiny home built by Tiny Living Homes in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. Refreshing 480sf Country Cottage With Room To Breathe - Tiny House for UsTiny House for Us This Blanco, Texas, dwelling is a great-looking example of a Kanga Room Systems cabin with all the options. The 480-square-foot house has a 16′ x 30′ footprint and comes with a full-length covered front porch plus an eight-foot screened porch on one side, as well as a complete kitchen and stylish full bathroom. When you don’t feel like hanging out on the porches, a peaked roof and two ceiling fans keep the air circulating during muggy weather. The front porch adds precious square footage that comes in handy on a smaller house like this. Kitchen storage seems to be mostly left up to the occupant rather than built in. Aside from leaving space for the fans, the high ceiling results in standing room in the loft and a living area that’s positively stately. No worries about hitting your head in the spacious sleeping loft. Well chosen tiles and fixtures make for a modern yet traditional bathroom. With its own fan, the screen porch looks like a great place to unwind on hot nights.
Building Small Has a Big Payback Building Small Has a Big Payback by Sigi Koko Let's get one thing straight right away...When I say "small", I don't mean living in a shoe box. What makes a space feel comfortable is sizing appropriately for the intended use. For example, the nook above is in a house with kids. Why build small? Building to the size you need (and no more) offers many tangible benefits (besides feeling more comfortable and intimate). this is a mini strawbale cottage on an old 2-car garage footprint 4 design strategies So how to build smaller without feeling cramped? Below are 4 design strategies that make small spaces feel comfortable without feeling claustrophobic. 1. connect to outdoors One way to make a small space feel more expansive is to connect it visually and/or literally to the outdoors, using windows or glass doors. we replaced a small back door in this urban Washington DC home with a huge sliding glass wall to connect the kitchen with a screened porch 2. excellent well-lit space 4. integrate storage
Bigger isn't always better: Standout small homes - Images Constraints often fuel creativity, so it is perhaps unsurprising that despite inherent limitations in size and budget, the small living movement punches far above its weight in terms of innovation. With the end of 2014 fast approaching, Gizmag takes a look back at 14 of the best tiny homes that we’ve reported on this year. The following projects hail from all over the world, but share a somewhat similar design elements. With a few exceptions, they are generally wooden, transportable dwellings that are relatively inexpensive and can operate off-grid. Most reflect a lifestyle that increasing numbers of people are choosing to embrace, too: living simply and inexpensively in a home with a small physical (and carbon) footprint. Without further ado then, and in no particular order, here's our pick of our favorite tiny houses for 2014. Salsa Box Designed by Portland, Oregon-based firm Shelter Wise, the Salsa Box proves just how far a mere 9 sq m (96 sq ft) of space can go with the right design.
Scrappy Tiny A rustic tiny house on wheels built by Tiny Happy Homes in Collierville, Tennessee. Bigger isn't always better: Standout small homes - Images Constraints often fuel creativity, so it is perhaps unsurprising that despite inherent limitations in size and budget, the small living movement punches far above its weight in terms of innovation. With the end of 2014 fast approaching, Gizmag takes a look back at 14 of the best tiny homes that we’ve reported on this year. The following projects hail from all over the world, but share a somewhat similar design elements. With a few exceptions, they are generally wooden, transportable dwellings that are relatively inexpensive and can operate off-grid. Most reflect a lifestyle that increasing numbers of people are choosing to embrace, too: living simply and inexpensively in a home with a small physical (and carbon) footprint. Without further ado then, and in no particular order, here's our pick of our favorite tiny houses for 2014. Salsa Box Designed by Portland, Oregon-based firm Shelter Wise, the Salsa Box proves just how far a mere 9 sq m (96 sq ft) of space can go with the right design.
36 North A 240 square feet (8×30) tiny house on wheels designed and built by Brevard Tiny House in Brevard, North Carolina A modern cabin in the hills | Simply Home A modern cabin in the hills | Simply Home Simply Home is a North Carolina homebuilder focused on small, efficient houses. It was founded by Shawna and Wally Hughes, a licensed general contractor who has been building houses for 30 years. Today Wally will tell us about the small house he and Shawna designed and built for their own family of three. Our cabin sits in the foothills of Western North Carolina with a wonderful view of Chimney Rock State Park. The front of the house faces north towards the mountains. We used a metal roof for it’s ability to reflect heat and it’s durability. Storage space is valuable in a small home and we knew that we needed to plan properly if this size home was going to work. Using natural materials was important to us so we used pine floors and tile in the bathroom and on the countertops. Click a thumbnail to view a larger photo, then click on the photo to advance to the next one. Photographs courtesy of Simply Home. Text copyright 2014 SmallHouseBliss. Related