March 3 through 16, 2019 One of my favorite Tom Robbins quotes is, “You should never hesitate to trade your cow for a handful of magic beans.” And that’s a bit how it feels to be planning a tiny house design and building workshop in New Zealand — or “NZ” as my friend and co-teacher…Read more
The heart of small housing is about giving people more options for what to call home. At PAD, we’ve never cared much to discriminate about “small vs. tiny”, or “on wheels vs. on a foundation.” What we care about is people having access to affordable, sustainable places to live in a way that serves their…Read more
Is Portland paving the way for a new generation of tiny house villages for people experiencing homelessness? Tuesday’s City Hall unveiling of the “POD Initiative” designs for “sleeping pods” for houseless people is the best momentum we’ve had in some time. Where the initiate is headed is anybody’s guess, but it’s made some pretty interesting…Read more
A few months ago I announced my intentions to go from Tiny to Tinier, giving my little house to my nephew Jonathan and moving into my 56 square foot Don Vardo, Jolene. In the time since, I not only had to downsize (again!) and move, but also prepare my old house for a 1,500 mile…Read more
By Dee Williams Lately, I’ve been looking at the unexpected education that I’ve gotten over the past 13 years of tiny house living. When I set out to build my house, I knew I’d learn more about how to use a saw. And before I moved into my house,…Read more
By Billy Ulmer Five hundred designers, builders, planners, realtors, students and homeowners gathered in early November to learn how powerful and important it is to build small. The energy in ballroom that morning was electric, and the day was packed with people looking for new ideas for homes that match the needs of our current…Read more
By Dee Williams When you live in an 84-square foot house, you get used to taking about home. People ask you about yours, and they want to tell you about theirs – what it is now, and what they want it to be. But no matter how many conversations I have about home, there are…Read more
By Dee Williams Someone once wrote an article about my tiny house that described me as a “Sustainable Barbie,” which threw my friends and I into hysterics. We joked about the accessories that would be come along with a Sustainable Barbie: a pop up tiny house, a teeny, tiny roll of duct tape, and a…Read more
By Dee Williams If you saw an ad that said, “Superhero Wanted,” would you feel qualified to apply? Most of us would say no. And I think that needs to change. You can be (and likely already are) a superhero in your own life, simply by the way you show up – by waking up…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
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 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
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
By Dee Williams Last month, I flew to Japan to participate in a Tiny House Building Workshop hosted by my friend Yuichi, one of PAD’s former students and a master tree house builder. He worked for almost a year to bring students and teachers together for several weekends to teach the group how to engineer…Read more
By Dee Williams I’ve been dreaming about a possible downsize for a while… and especially since I busted my butt falling out of my loft a few years ago. Limping around for six months with my sacrum slowly knitting itself back together, I started wondering what it would be like to live in a smaller…Read more