Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter (The Shelter Library of Building Books) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0936070528 ISBN 13: 9780936070520

Publisher: Shelter Publications, 2012

Synopsis

There's a grassroots movement in tiny homes these days. The real estate collapse, the economic downturn, burning out on 12-hour workdays -- many people are rethinking their ideas about shelter -- seeking an alternative to high rents, or a lifelong mortgage debt to a bank on an overpriced home.

In this book are some 150 builders who have taken things into their own hands, creating tiny homes (under 500 sq. ft.). Homes on land, homes on wheels, homes on the road, homes on water, even homes in the trees. There are also studios, saunas, garden sheds, and greenhouses.

There are 1,300 photos, showing a rich variety of small homemade shelters, and there are stories (and thoughts and inspirations) of the owner-builders who are on the forefront of this new trend in downsizing and self-sufficiency.

At the heart of our 1973 book Shelter were drawings of 5 small buildings, which we recommended as a starting point in providing one's own home. Now, almost 40 years later, there's a growing tiny house movement all over the world -- which we've been tracking over the past two years.

Many people have decided to scale back, to get by with less stuff, to live in smaller homes. You can buy a   ready-made tiny home, build your own, get a kit or pre-fab, or live in a bus, houseboat, or other movable shelter. Some cities have special ordinances for building "inlaw" or "granny flats" in the back yard. There are innovative solutions in cities, such as the "capsules" in Tokyo. There are numerous blogs and websites with news, photos, and/or plans for tiny homes, documented here.

If you're thinking of scaling back, you'll find plenty of inspiration here. Here's a different approach, a 180º turn from increasing consumption. Here are builders, designers, architects (no less), dreamers, artists, road gypsies, and water dwellers who've achieved a measure of freedom and independence by taking shelter into their own hands.

About this title

About the Author

Lloyd Kahn ran a newspaper in the U.S. Air Force in the late '50s, worked as an insurance broker for five years in San Francisco, then as a carpenter for about ten years. He was the shelter editor of the early Whole Earth Catalogs, published Domebook One in 1970, Domebook 2 in 1971, and Shelter in 1973. He lives with his wife Lesley on a half-acre homestead in Northern California.

From the Back Cover

SCALING BACK IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Homes under 500 sq. ft.

• Owner-built
• On land
• On wheels
• On water
• In trees
• No mortgage
• No rent
• 1,300 photos
• 250 buildings
• 150 builders

"Before McMansions, before the counterculture was granite and marble, there was Lloyd Kahn, champion of the hand-built house...progenitor of the new do-it-yourself movement."
-The New York Times

From the Inside Flap

Shelter Publications, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2011, has published a total of 30 books (this is the 31st). Our production studio, built of recycled lumber, is in the middle of a vegetable (and flower) garden in a coastal town about an hour north of San Francisco, and we are hooked into the world with five Mac computers and a DSL connection.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

RETHINKING NORMAL
Tammy Strobel

Tammy Strobel is an author (Simply Car-free and Smalltopia), website designer, and media consultant living in Sacramento, California with Logan. Here she describes the downsizing of their possessions and the difference it made in their lives.


Five years ago, we lived the “normal middle class” suburban lifestyle. We were newlyweds with flashy rings, living in a two-bedroom apartment, driving two cars, commuting long distances to work and living well beyond our means.

We were living in Davis, California, which is notorious for expensive real estate and a negative vacancy rating (more people than rooms). In reflection, we had a life with too much stuff and stress.

Initially, we resisted the idea of moving into a smaller one bedroom apartment because we were more concerned about appearances and space for guests than for our financial well being. Realizing the source of our stress was our financial situation, we decided something needed to change. This “change” began by defining our values and prioritizing our needs over those of potential future guests.

After creating many long pro/con lists, the scaling down process began. We sold one car and moved into a one-bedroom apartment near the train station, the grocery store and downtown amenities. Driving everywhere was still a big part of our lives, but with lower rent we began chipping away at our debt. Our lives began to change for the better.

It wasn’t until last year that we stumbled across Dee Williams’s tiny house, the Small House Movement, and the concept of simple living. After doing a lot of research and making many to-do lists, we decided to move from Davis to mid-town Sacramento. We scaled down even further, to a 400-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment within walking distance to my work. Dee inspired me to go small and start thinking big.

Thinking big required setting goals and decluttering. Slowly we began focusing on the quantity and quality of our belongings.

Downsizing can be stressful, but the benefits are tremendous. Moving to a smaller apartment in the city opened up amazing possibilities. Once we sold our one remaining car, life became even better because we saved money and worked less. It sounds like a cliché, but without the car and the TV, we had the time, money and energy to prioritize our health, happiness and life goals.

Below are a few tips that worked for us:

1. Going small. Downscaling to a tiny one-bedroom was a slow process that required a lot of work and many trips to the thrift store. Moving into a 400-square-foot apartment forced us to declutter our lives and seriously question why we needed so much stuff.


2. Divorcing our car. After months of talking about the pros and cons of selling our car, we decided to follow in the footsteps of a Wisconsin graduate student and divorce our car.


3. Becoming debt-free is indescribably liberating. Discovering the concept of simple living helped us become debt-free. After giving away the TV and selling our car, we realized how many hidden ownership costs we were paying. We also discovered an amazing book, called Your Money or Your Life, that fundamentally changed our relationship with money.


4. Happiness counts. Purging our lives of clutter and debt has not only made us happier, but we have purchased less stuff. Since we started the downsizing process, we feel psychologically “lighter.” Since we eliminated our debt, I know I have options to engage in activities that make me happy. For instance, I’m a lucky person and enjoy my job. But if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have to be tied to the position. That is a huge bonus of being debt-free and actually having money in savings.


5. Downsizing is a process, and it doesn’t happen overnight. I hope our personal story will help you remove clutter from your life, one step at a time.

Good luck in your own simple living quest. Above all, pursue happiness and not more stuff.

Edition details

• Publisher: Shelter Publications
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0936070528
• ISBN 13: 9780936070520
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 228