I have been following the tiny house movement for about two years and about a month ago I decided that I wanted to contribute to the movement with my own designs. The goal is to actually build one of my prototypes for my girlfriend and I. The one I have designed is called The Swing House because the porch swing is the most recognizable feature of the home.
The tiny house movement is important to me because I believe that people should be able to control the way they live as much as possible. Small scale housing is a great way for people to get their hands dirty in the process of defining their own living situation. One can say that it is an anarchistic way of dealing with architecture. Government control over housing has been a massive problem, particularly after World War II. Cookie cutter homes offer no individuality and rarely meet the needs of its inhabitants. My goal is to create tiny house designs custom made for my clients. I have the qualifications to do this, so If anyone here is interested in making their tiny house dreams come true, contact me via e-mail at [email protected].
Here are some examples of other tiny homes people have built.
I own a small remodeling and construction company here in Iowa. Although demand for tiny homes is not huge here YET, I can foresee it in the future. I am working on some plans to slowly break into the market and take off with it. Perhaps we can share motivation with one another. Please follow me, as I am already a follower of you.
This is exactly what I want here on Steemit. So many great collaborations can come of this! I will absolutely follow you and keep in touch. :)
Diggin' these designs, @benjiberigan ! Wish you all the best in your Tiny Home journey.
As I came to find out myself, though, the structure you ultimately end up with is largely dependent on navigating your way through (and in some cases, around entirely) the government building and zoning codes you mention above. For example, it was long held in the "Tiny House" community that simply putting a home on wheels was a way to get around draconian regulations.
But that's simply not the case everywhere, all the time. In my own experience, I actually found that there were more hurdles in living in what my Township deemed a "Recreational Vehicle" than there were if I built the same home without wheels, what they called a "Hunting Cabin" (any structure below 500 square feet used for living).
The property tax difference in building a State-sanctioned "dwelling" vs. a "tiny house" are drastically different, too. (The latter is much lower than the former).
It's tough to keep straight. I'm planning on writing a book "Open Sourcing" the methods to deal with such government codes and how best for people to get around them, as the attempts at doing so thus far simply aren't satisfactory or thorough enough to be useful.
Consider all these factors while you design your home, as it's a major disappointment to be on the cusp of construction and have to go back to Square One entirely (been there, done that - learn from such mistakes!)
Hopefully it will help people like yourself in the future and can't wait to see what other tiny home stuff you post going forward.
This is what im talking about! Thanks for sharing such valuable information. We are scoping some land out here and are already encountering all the bullshit that comes along with code. Let me know of any updates on your book! This is massive.
love the tiny house movement
it's amazing what you can get if you are willing to live.. a more simple lifestyle
Absolutely. I think you gain more by living with less.
I love your design and the other ones that you showed. Well done and UPVOTED.
I just wrote an article about beautiful trees. Please have a look but only upvote it if you think that it is deserving.
http://steem.link/7VCcv
oh yeah. i mean, oh yeah!