I thought it would be good to take another break from the dry stuff and look at some more tiny house ideas and concepts from the movement.
Today I will feature the Four Light Tiny House Company started by Jay Shafer, who is associated with the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company and is arguably THE pioneer and leading spokesman of the tiny house movement.
Jay has done an enormous amount of work, having published several books, holding workshops, custom designing homes and getting involved in the sometimes disturbing political aspects of the tiny house movement...
I moved into my first tiny house sixteen years ago. I’ve been making beautiful, functional, little dwellings for other folks to live in ever since. In 1999 I published my first article about the merits of simple living and began speaking out against the legislated ban on small homes in the US. I believe people should be allowed to live as simply as they choose. Since the recent housing bust, bank bailouts, and subsequent economic downturn, there has been increasing demand for well-designed, affordable homes, and more sensible laws.
Read more.
The three house directly below (which most focus on displaying the facades and interiors--see the website for more details) are built on trailers so as to be able to not violate certain states' local residency requirements. It also allow them to be moved around and towed behind a truck. Imagine taking your house to Florida for the winter and bringing it back to Maine for the summer; while at any rest stop along the way you can sleep in your own bed for FREE!
The Beavan House
The Gifford House
The Marmara House
Jay works with his clients to integrate aspects that they want to have. Everyone has different tastes and preferences. Mixing and matching doesn't seem to be a problem for Four Lights. For a really cool book about DIY tiny house and backyard shed building, click here. It's only $14.95 for the paperback or $12.99 for the pdf. I would encourage downloading Tumbleweeds' free printable pdf catalog as well, click here.
In addition to all the work on individual tiny houses and cottages, Jay has some interesting ideas for tiny house "villages." Seems to me it would be an excellent alternative to the stark and unispired trailer parks, with more efficient housing, and taking up far less space. He is working in California with Sonoma County to set up such an experiment. Here a couple pictures of his idea...
Artist concept of the village layout.
Artist concept of a walk through the village.
Finally, here are some videos about Jay and his work...
Tiny House Pioneer Jay Shafer
Thinking Beyond Trailer Parks
A Tiny Home Tour Jay Shafer's
89 Square Foot Home on Wheels
Jay Shafer The Politics of Tiny Houses
That's all for today. Thanks as always for reading and please consider making a financial contribution to support this blog and the overall project, by clicking the PayPal button on the top right side of this page.
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