Category: Small Homes

Houzz Tour: A Tiny, Joyful, Eco-Friendly Home

Jay Shafer, creator of Tumbleweed Tiny House Company, has been building and living in houses smaller than 120 square feet for more than a decade — and his company is encouraging other people to do the same. Men, women, couples, and even a teen in California are buying building plans for inexpensive and energy-efficient houses of their own.

Shafer’s most up-to-date home is just 7′ x 16′. Since he got married and had a child, he and his wife decided to place their two houses near each other, developing a total shared living space of 620 square feet. “I enjoy the comparative liberty a little home affords,” he states. “The more square footage and heating I’m paying for, the more probable it is that I’ll have to do things I do not want to do for cash.”

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Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

This very small house Shafer just built is called the Gifford, and is the fourth largest tiny house he’s lived in. This home now sits next to his wife’s 500-square-foot home on the same plot of land in Northern California. “I like to call it the bunk house, because we all sleep together there,” he states.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

The main room of the home accommodates a workplace and living room. A very small fireplace, two comfortable chairs, desk, and a lot of hidden storage occupy this 6′ x 8′ room. Believe it or not, Shafer has managed to get dinner parties for 5 and workshop sessions for 9 here.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

The sleeping space is nestled into a very small nook up over the great room. The home’s superb insulation helps keep this place warm in winter and cool in the summer.

The size and build of those homes makes them quite energy efficient. None of Shafer’s house layouts have swallowed more than $70 in energy per year in California, and $180 a year in Iowa — a stark comparison for those of us used to paying that much each month.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

Front door opens into a tiny dining and kitchen room. A sink, prep surface, portable electric range, and small refrigerator are all that is needed. Shafer has been the king of storage solutions through recent years. While distilling his possessions down to the essentials is part of this answer, this residence is also filled with shelves, shelves and cabinets. By way of instance, most of the dishes are saved on a shelf over the sink.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

The structure is made from fundamental two’ x 4′ framing, with pine paneling interior, cedar siding and metal roof. Absolutely, this small man took about 600 hours to build.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

Although he’s been building homes for more than a decade, Shafer hasn’t had a formal education in architecture or construction. Mostly he’s learned by doing. His DIY plans encourage people to do the same. “It seems that we need more people making sustainably scaled homes that most folks can manage,” he states.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

This home is 7′ x 16′, including the porch. “It’s important that each inch is used efficiently in a really small house,” he states. “For my first few months doing this, I spent a great deal of time figuring out what worked and what didn’t, and shifting my home’s design around accordingly.”

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

This little bathroom could be the smallest complete bath on earth. It comprises a sink, bathroom, tub and shower in under 10 square feet.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

In most of Shafer’s previous tiny homes, he’s been totally off-grid, amassing his own water and generating his own power. However, for this specific home, Shafer has chosen to hook this up to another power supply using an extension cord. Water is gathered from a nearby spigot. “I would do something more elaborate, but my regional building codes and zoning prohibit a structure this little from being permanently connected to utilities.”

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

“It all depends on your perspective,” he states. “In my situation, it makes perfect sense. It allows us to fulfill my wife’s requirements for a larger space, both of our demands for some privacy, and our baby’s needs — without having to buy a larger home.”

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

According to Shafer, these houses are not only energy efficient — they are sturdier and safer. “The very best thing you can do in order to make a construction safer in a fire or an earthquake is to make it little,” he states. “Shorter spaces imply a more expedient escape, and briefer rafter and beam sizes with larger corner-to-wall ratios mean far less damage during an earthquake.”

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company

Shafer — revealed here facing another of those Tumbleweed versions — loves his setup, but he admits that it is not for everyone. “I wouldn’t want to live in a 120-square-foot home for a family of 3,” he states. “I know a great deal of folks in this world live in significantly less, but in my situation, the sole very good firm is optional firm.”

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