Our take on tiny houses…and not-so-tiny houses. Here we focus on small, efficient homes, with elements of natural building. There are lots of ways to build small. In particular we’re excited to explore what really works, and to share from our experience building, collaborating, and teaching about tiny houses.
In this post, we’re not going to spoon feed you the best tiny house designs by showing flashy photos. Instead, we’re going to give you a selection of patterns that will act as helpful tools for creating and evaluating your own tiny home designs. By exploring patterns, our hope is to avoid the tendency to […]
People all over the world have been using natural materials to build homes and other structures throughout human history. Here, we dig into the differences between conventional and more ecological building materials and discuss three natural building modalities to consider when building a tiny house: Rammed earth Hempcrete Cordwood Sustainability of building materials: conventional vs. […]
What is timber framing? Timber framing is a construction method that utilizes heavy timbers instead of skinny framing wood (like 2x4s). These pieces are connected by elegant and strong joinery, which interlocks the timbers and incorporates wooden pegs to secure them. As a result, this method is way stronger and more durable than using metal […]
The idea of building a tiny house is so cool and appealing. It’s like taking your childhood blanket-fort building to the next level, taking a step toward making a smaller ecological footprint, and becoming a homeowner, all at once! But, there are a lot of practical questions that come up. Indeed, one of the biggest […]
Turn off the taps and lower your water bill. It’s easy to use rainwater to irrigate your garden. Here are 3 steps to help you get an effective system set up. Once you’re using rainwater instead of groundwater to irrigate, you won’t need to run up your water bill for a green and thriving garden. […]