By Billy Ulmer, author of the Life in a Tiny House Ebook. Let’s say you’re working on yourself to become a more conscious consumer, but then it’s the holidays or somebody’s birthday, and you’re suddenly obligated to buy stuff. And just thinking about how to explain to your sister that you’d rather not buy her son the…Read more
Author: Billy Ulmer
Are you curious about tiny homes on wheels, but equally curious about other kinds of little houses? Maybe you’ve considered building a backyard cottage, or dreamed of living in a pocket community of neighbors and friends. If you’re interested in the tiny house movement but are still looking for your specific place within it, then…Read more
By Billy Ulmer, author of the Life in a Tiny House Ebook. Last week I signed up for the “Unshopping Challenge,” a commitment to buy nothing new for a month, except consumables like food and gas. I wanted to take the challenge because I’ve been thinking about my possessions more than usual lately. It’s spring cleaning…Read more
By Dee Williams I’ve been writing about gratitude this year, and the upcoming holiday weekend brings me full circle to several folks who have not only offered me their friendship, but have profoundly altered my course by providing inspiration and encouragement when I needed it most. On Memorial Day Weekend 11 years ago, I hosted…Read more
We’re celebrating two things today – Earth Day, and the paperback release of The Big Tiny, Dee Williams’ memoir about building her tiny house on wheels in 2004. In this new excerpt, Dee shares an example of how making thoughtful choices about your building materials can pay off in more ways than one. Having seen…Read more
People often say they’d like to “start a tiny house community,” but what would that look like? What kind of “home” could balance your needs for independence and interaction with others? Lina Menard found her answers to those questions in the Simply Home Community. Lina’s passion for housing and community building started young. She was…Read more
A couple of extra-exciting things are happening in April, so we’ve turned our free, monthly Tiny House Mixer into an extra-special event. If you’re in Portland on Friday, April 17th, you’re in luck! And a few more tiny house folks might be in Portland that day than usual because the Tiny House Conference is in…Read more
By Dee Williams Years ago, a friend introduced me to 3D checkers. As a nerd, I loved this new spin on an old game; it demanded re-thinking the old moves, and it demanded a certain rigor and creativity that I loved. Designing a tiny house is no different. Over the past several years, I’ve had…Read more
By Billy Ulmer, author of the Life in a Tiny House Ebook Do you like looking at pictures of houses? ME TOO. But…why? When we look at pictures of other people’s homes, what exactly are we looking for? Eye candy? Design ideas? “10 Stylish Ways to Store Shoes”? It took me years of drooling over…Read more
By Dee Williams I recently received a photo from my nephew, showing him and a couple of friends hiking in the Himalaya. It was an amazing gift because I have always wondered what it would feel like to stand, surrounded by snowy peaks many times taller than the Cascade Mountains that I call home. My…Read more
A big goal of our Tiny House Basics Workshops is to help attendees design and build a tiny house that fits them, and to do it right the first time. We answer the questions people have right now, AND give them the tools and resources they need to answer the questions they don’t know they…Read more
One of the funny things about the tiny house movement is that it’s so new and authentically DIY that nobody really knows how big it is, who’s involved, or how it’s working. Media outlets frequently ask us for hard data about how many people live in tiny homes on wheels, and that’s still pretty much…Read more
What is a “perfect day” for someone who lives in a tiny house? I wanted to understand how tiny homes influence people’s lives in and out of the house – you know, where most of life happens – so asked everyone I interviewed what a perfect day might look like for them. While their answers…Read more
By Dee Williams On January 1st this year, I decided to embark on a year of gratitude. I want to spend more time honoring my relationships and expressing my thanks. I also want to put in the effort to find moments of gratitude in unexpected places. It’s easy to feel grateful for kindness, or sunny…Read more
Ever wished you could take a tour through some of our tiny house designs? Well good news! Two of the houses in our store were recently featured on the TV show Tiny House Hunting on the FYI network. Click here to watch the full episode online for free if you have a cable provider. If…Read more