Tiny House Tales

Makeover for Tiny House

2011-08-20T14:38:00.000-07:00

Here are "Before" and "After" photos of the house with the new stain job. I can't believe how weathered it had gotten, but she looks very spiffy now!

Back in the Loft Again

2011-08-06T23:37:00.000-07:00

Well, it has actually been since May that I have returned to sleeping in my loft! I was really missing having my office to eat and read in. Funny how just those few extra square feet make such a big difference.

I have recovered completely from the hip revision surgery, although I still don't have quite my normal energy level. This summer I am determined to stain the outside of the house. I have finished the most difficult sides first; the front with the porch and gable above the porch; the south side which, due to the slope of the space I'm parked in, is quite a bit farther off the ground than the north side; and the back of the house, which is has the other gable end and is over the hitch. I will post some pics of the "new" Lusby - she's looking quite smashing with the "Century Redwood" stain.

Art work

2011-04-01T19:52:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the murals I did at the elementary school where I used to teach. The designs are taken from a Native American coloring book published by Dover (they print excellent coloring books, by the way) and a little checking seemed to indicate that my usage would not infringe on any copyright. Each mural took about 40 hours to complete and I really enjoyed painting them. I can't seem to find a photo of my favorite one, a Northwest coast mask, but I'll see if I can get another shot of it. Of course, the school was so grateful for my free artwork, they actually covered part of the mask up with a shelf unit! Go figure.

Surgery a success!

2011-04-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

My hip replacement went off without any complications. This was a "revision" or replacement of the original implant due to parts failure. Yes, I AM one of those people with a recalled Johnson & Johnson DePuy hip as advertised on TV. I certainly wasn't planning on doing this again so soon (my first surgery was in 2006).

Anyway, because I am not allowed to crawl for six months and cannot use my loft, I am now making use of the Lusby's downstairs bedroom. The left photo shows the cats on the futon as it looks folded for a couch. The right photo shows Rosebud stretched out on the futon opened into a bed. Right now I keep it open all the time, since I'm sleeping on it every night. The room is quite cozy for sleeping.

I found that the futon I bought was just too hard for long term sleeping. Fortunately, a kind neighbor here lent me a memory foam pad from her camper and that has saved my bacon! In the past I found the memory foam to be rather too warm for me, but this time I have a sheepskin pad on top and that solves the overheating issue. Post surgically, the house has been great - no hassles getting around this small space. I can climb the ladder as needed, but haven't ventured into the loft since January. I don't know if my female cat will ever allow me back in!

Wow, how time flies!

2010-12-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I last blogged. I'm just lazy, I guess. Well, I will be having hip surgery in January, so I will have time to catch up on this page! I have been busy making changes to the house in order to make it post-surgery convenient and I'll be putting up pics and writing about that soon.

Rain, rain...

2010-01-17T13:07:00.001-08:00

We are truly in the winter weather cycle now. It's been raining steadily for 3 days with only brief periods of sun/dryness. Makes it hard on the dog! Fortunately, the very cold weather has departed, leaving us with our normal 40-60 degree range.

This is a photo of the park area of my RV park and the Chetco River in the background. Although the deciduous trees are bare, January is a very green month here. I even saw a daffodil in bloom the other day!

2009-12-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

This is the cute little electric "stove" that has been doing most of the heating work this year. I've only run the propane heater 3 times - on mornings when the temp was in the 20's. Cold for us! I bought the stove online for under $100. I've since seen them in stores for about the same price. It works well for this little space and the "fire" adds so much atmosphere - I love it! My electric bill has doubled - up to around $10 month with the stove, but it would cost me over $200 to fill the propane tank, so I'm pleased with the savings. I'm only using the propane for cooking and water heating.

Some New Pics!

2009-12-30T14:54:00.000-08:00

This is the sleeping loft with a full size mattress. I keep a down comforter tucked on the side, a fire extinguisher, a phone, paper towels (I have cats) and a trash bag upstairs. You can also see the carbon monoxide detector on the ceiling.

My ridiculously large propane tank was begging for some holiday cheer, so I made "Frosty, the Pro-man"!

Tiny House Podcast!

2009-12-15T15:16:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Terry Phelan, an architect very much into green thinking, contacted me to be part of a podcast with Jay Shafer, the architect who designs the Tumbleweed houses. If you would like to hear that podcast, go to the link below, find Terry under "Show Hosts" and then access the podcast list for the "A Tiny House Can Set You Free" cast. It runs about 20 minutes and I am on about 2/3 of the way in. Let me know what you think!

/webtalkradio.net/index.php/show-podcasts/119-living-shelter-design?format=feed&type=rss

Back to normal!

2009-12-12T12:08:00.000-08:00

Last night temperatures here returned to their normal range - thank goodness. I didn't have to leave the taps dripping to keep the pipes from freezing. I just hate wasting water. Of course, normal temps means back to rain as well. It poured nearly all night and it's raining now, but I think we will have some brief periods of dry so I can at least walk Rosebud.

I know just about everyone in the country is experiencing wild weather this week. Makes one appreciate how vulnerable we are to climate change.

Brrrrrrr....!

2009-12-08T12:07:00.000-08:00

Well, it got down to 24 degrees last night. It was 28 the night before. Not very cold compared to SOME parts of the country, I know, but very unusual here. Things here are just not made for freezing weather.

My November electric bill came in at $10 - double the normal bill, but I was expecting an increase. Still, it is something I can live with!

A reader asked about the insulation. It is 3 inch solid foam panels in between the studs. Seems very effective.

Home for the Holidays!

2009-12-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

Well, it's hard to beat the charm of this tiny house during the holiday season. Even without a fluffy blanket of snow, it looks cozy and cheerful, and, well, CUTE!

I've added some more lights and was able to snap a picture at sunset, so lights and house show up.

The temps are dipping around here, but the house holds heat very well. I'll check on my November electric bill tomorrow and let you know whether my idea of heating only with electric was a good one or not!

A Beautiful Day!

2009-11-27T19:59:00.000-08:00

This photo is of the house a couple of weeks ago - the trees were so pretty.

Here's a photo of the lights on the porch. Hard to get the full effect

It was a gorgeous day here on the south coast. I took Rosie for a hike up the Chetco river on a forest service road around 3:30 PM. The sun was getting low in the sky and it was chilly and very refreshing.

2009-11-22T23:35:00.000-08:00

We had a real shingle-shaker last night! It poured rain and the wind came in sustained bursts that were hard to believe. My neighbors here live in RV's and I guess many got rocked pretty hard. While the wind was loud in here, I only felt a little movement on a couple of the really strong blasts. It felt so cozy to hear the rain and wind, snuggled up under a down comforter in the loft.

Saturday I went to my storage and managed to locate my box of Christmas decorations and I have it stored in the trunk of my car until I can find time to decorate. I think this year I will outline the porch in lights. Last year I put LED candles in the windows that faced the road. That really made the house look like one of those Christmas village miniatures! I suppose that with some good planning I could outline the whole house. We'll see.

Feels Like Fall!

2009-11-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

The winter storms have started here on the southern Oregon coast and I love it. It's wonderful to hole up inside with a good book, warm and cozy while the winds whips and rain lashes the house. I pop on Vince Guaraldi's Christmas CD, light an apple-cinnamon candle, turn on the wood stove (fake fire and all!) and bliss out. We might not get snow here, except on brief, rare occasions, but it still feels like early winter does back east in Illinois where I'm originally from.
The house holds heat well and I'm experimenting with NOT using the propane furnace this winter. Propane is kind of expensive and since I also use it for water heating and cooking, I want to conserve it as much as possible. My electric bills have averaged about $5 per month and even if they double using the little electric stove, it will still be cheaper than propane. I don't run any heat at night.
We haven't yet had an extended period of cold/clouds, so many days the sun pops out for a while and heats things up pretty quickly. One side of the house faces south which gives me maximum solar gain in the winter. For the summer I installed matchstick blinds on the outside of the house and they kept the house cool.
The little windows in the gable ends of the house are essential to regulating the temperature in here! I would strongly advise anyone building a tiny to make sure to include them. The air in the lofts can get stuffy and humid very quickly when I'm cooking or on a warm day. Opening the upstairs windows draws fresh air up and clears out the stagnant air at the peak.
The cats and the dog are all curled up, snoozing and if I don't get up and move soon, I'll be asleep, too!

A Year Later...

2009-11-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

It's now been one year since I moved into my tiny house (November 2008-2009) and I'm still loving it! Here is the most recent article I wrote for the Tumbelweed website.

Since I moved into my Tumbleweed house last November, I have been tinkering and experimenting with this special space.
My female cat took a fall out of the loft one night a few months ago - she wasn’t seriously hurt, thank goodness, but I vowed to make the loft safer for the cats. First, I got a larger, but thinner mattress that doesn’t protrude over the end of the loft. Then I had my contractor friend, Rich Weaver, build an extension eight inches wide about two-thirds of the way across the end of the loft. He also designed a lovely wooden railing for added safety. When I came home and saw the finished work, I was struck at how it made the interior of the house feel like the inside of a small boat! I love this new addition and plan to expand on the nautical theme.
Rich also installed wooden blocks to hold the ladder for climbing. He always takes care to make things look attractive and I was very pleased with the blocks’ effectiveness and look.
I’ve added wire shelves in the kitchen, and in the bathroom - in a somewhat unusual way. Both the office and bathroom have very little space for storage, so I decided to make use of the ceiling space between the rafters. By installing the shelving on the ceiling, I can put all of my tall/long items overhead! Of course, I’m a tall gal, so this is ideal for me.
Expanding rods are wonderful tools in a tiny house! I use them for all the window curtains, drying rods and for flexible overhead storage between rafters.
While my pots and pans hang cheerfully over the kitchen window, I found a great out-of-the-way spot for those pesky lids - the shelf brackets! I put a couple of nails at the bottom and the lids just snuggle right in.
An extra mesh bag has found a new calling as overhead storage in one of the closets - keeps my bike helmet and rain gear out of the way.
I’d love to hear about other folks’ storage solutions for small spaces - please feel free to comment with your ideas.

And so it begins...

2009-11-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

This article was first published on the Tumbleweed Tiny House website.

Do you remember the first time you threw a blanket over a card table or clothes line and crawled inside? That supremely satisfied feeling of being in your own small space? That’s how I feel in my Tumbleweed house. It’s especially true whenever I climb up into the sleeping loft and peer down at the cozy space below. I had a small house before this one – less than a thousand square feet - but there were rooms I seldom entered. It seemed that the dog and cats and I spent most of our time together in the kitchen, the bedroom, or the living room. Now we must share a smaller space, which, of course, has meant that we’ve all had to make some adjustments.

Both cats have finally learned to climb the ladder. I’m working on a shelving scheme that will allow them to move up and down without the ladder, so I don’t have to play elevator or move the ladder when I’m at home. Rosebud, my standard poodle, is very patient at taking indoor traffic direction from me, but he sometimes prefers to stay outside, supervising activities in the RV park. I’m always surprised when he tries a new spot for snoozing or cat and dog share a space - new behaviors for them!

Everything has a place and needs to be in that place. My stainless steel cookware is a decorative accent over one of the windows and cloth covered boxes keep my personal items at hand but out of sight. No letting my mail pile up for days before dealing with it. Dishes get done at the end of the meal. But I can spend a good hour and the house is spic and span, while in my bigger house, an hour would’ve barely made a dent!

Even in this small house, I still can sit in the living room, curl up with a book on the bench in the office, sit on the porch steps for some sun, or climb upstairs for a nap. I feel like Goldilocks who found a space that is just right!