Kyu's Tiny House Blog

[kyuuei]

lol! This iron may regularly set your clothes on fire, but it's flattened compact design fits nicely in a drawer!

Yeah!

I don't really like IKEA, but I'm sure some people would like a fold-up dish stand. Maybe to keep the kitchen from looking cluttered when company is over.

I'm sure there are some people that appreciate it. I just don't get it. It's a practical piece of equipment.. there's no need to buy one that hides away when it's a standard piece in most modern kitchens.

 

[kyuuei]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbHmOsQipto

I really really amazing video of this man's garden and home. But what I thought was really interesting wasn't even on the video--he was talking about making a greenhouse into the bathroom too.. So you'd go there to bathe, and the water would run off and then feed the plants. I thought that was a pretty cool concept.

This week I might go attempt to inquire about the cost of the small home I saw.

 

[kyuuei]

I finally checked out the tiny house I keep seeing. The guy said, as is, the model I saw was $39,000. Yikes! It's also top-notch construction, and its bigger, and he says it can actually be any size I want and adjustments can be made. The whole thing is customizable (I didnt know that wasn't a word until just now...) but that's still the price I'd be looking at. Too expensive... but still very nice.

 

[WhoCares]

I see a lot of 'perks' written on tiny blogs about appliances and products when they fold up and out of the way..

Example: this Ikea dish stand that hangs from the wall (nice!) and folds up when not in use (why?) to be an inch thick. I mean, I guess it's nice that it folds up.. but most people have to wash dishes on a daily basis. It really doesn't make much sense to buy something that folds away when it is used daily.

I never understood that being a selling point. It's great for things you don't use all the time or change frequently--I opted for a card table in my small apartment because I could fold it out of the way by myself with no trouble whenever I needed more standing room for guests at my house, or to make room for people to sleep--but when it comes to daily things those should be fine just where they are.

Its about usable benchspace. After living in a caravan for a time you realise the usefulness of being able to use your sink as extra benchspace while cutting up veges etc. moving the dish stand helps with that. Many tiny homes have caravan style kitchens.

 

[kyuuei]

http://trendmosaic.com/coolest-way-to-recycle-a-bottle/

I've been dreaming up ways to have some visual appeal to make it more unique and less.. well.. ranch-like. This thing is beautiful and inexpensive.

Oh. I also inquired about that small home. Two stories, more square footage than a tiny house, as is with a wrap-around porch was $39,000. This thing, for $39,000, was easily bigger than my sister's apartment. $10 grand into making the interior something nice would easily make a spacious, affordable living unit. It turns out the place showcasing it was a retailer for Tuff Shed, and they said it could be made much different than that--smaller, one story, no wrap-around-porch, etc. So the price isn't set in stone or anything. Still.. This thing is more than affordable.. Big enough to be cozy, and small enough to stick in a back yard. Also, Tuff Shed actually has some really awesome reviews for their durability and high quality construction, and none of their displays looked even touched from the hurricane that went through here a few years ago. It's an awesome option.

So far, we're crossing our fingers, and trying to get the ball moving on all the legality issues we have with my father's side of things so that we can move forward with this seamlessly. As far as packing up the house goes.. We have half the storage shed gone, selling things on craigslist, slowly moving clutter out of here week by week, and we have one room completely cleaned out to start stacking packed away boxes in so that they aren't in the way and they're in a central location for when we do move. This is the hardest part of the whole process I think.. Once we get this all sorted out, we'll be golden.

The property we keep talking about the most is the one with the two A-frame rental homes on it. We have to see them in person to find out what condition everything is in.

 

[kyuuei]

Dear God. This woman's blog is so inspiring and amazing.

http://www.everydayminimalist.com/?page_id=3288

So far my favorite posts:
http://www.everydayminimalist.com/?p=1382 A suitcase series that inspires me to, someday, marry my feminine and boyish clothing together.
http://www.everydayminimalist.com/?p=2296 A 6-week trip in a carry on.

My wardrobe is cleaned out, posted on craigslist, and ready to be carried off to a new home hopefully.

 

[kyuuei]

Really awesome small bedroom nook.

So, we've had to decide on a plan of action. We cannot sustain this lifestyle anymore, I've wasted too much money trying to get the banks to work with us, and at the end of the day they aren't going to do it without my giving up on my education for a while. Since I won't do that, we have a couple options.

Option 1: My parents go live in Pittsburgh for a year in my grandmother's old house, fixing it up as they go, since it is rent free but needs some work. I couchsurf with my friends for that year's time, and continue to go to school, and when my dad's VA hits we buy the land outright.

Option 2: We buy a really small place now outright. A small plot of land for around $10k, put two small trailers and a storage shed on it, and hunker down there until the VA hits. We probably wouldn't live in the best area, and we'd have to get rid of much of my parents' stuff to make them fit in such a small space in comparison to here.. but we'd own the place, so it'd be rent free, and we could afford to live there longer in case anything goes wrong with the VA and we're stuck waiting longer than 1 year for the benefits. They could afford to live off of their current income without me, and I'd have space of my own as well.

We're checking out some properties right now.. I found a couple in our price range, I need to go visit them and investigate more.. when I get some damn time..

 

[kyuuei]

So many amazing floor plans in ACTUAL use right now!!

From this article: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/super-small-with-style-to-spare-under-400-square-foot-homes-188557

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dane-leahs-craigslist-kingdom-small-cool-contest-168616

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/suzis-nod-to-history-small-cool-contest-169916

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/jasons-charm-potential-small-cool-contest-169134

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/mels-complete-balanced-small-cool-contest-169919

 

[kyuuei]

So, Ikea had a tent sale. The things I bought:
- A build-in gas stove top, three burners
- A range hood
- A set of three drawers
- A sink cabinet with matching sink
- A medicine cabinet

Total price: $236. They had some awesome stuff, but this stuff was the cheapest with the highest quality for the price, and the rush of people made the guys mark things down really low. The stove top alone was originally $500. Pretty awesome!

We have a really good layout right now of what we need to accomplish to get our land secured and at least my parents' house set up. I saw a refurbished trailer home for $12,000 the other day... I think I might have to delay my house yet another year in order to pave the way for debt-free living for all of us. I'm okay with that for now, unless I can find a way to finance my house for 0% interest for 12 months. So far:

- The money we'll finally get from our settlement with the truck accident will pay off the debts my parents currently cannot get out from under via bankruptcy.
- The money I currently have saved will go towards land improvements and necessities, such as a septic system, electrical runs, some gravel for a drive way, and fencing. This was going to be my house money, but I cannot do anything about needing this stuff. I can always get more money.
- The money we're earning from selling stuff is going towards our petty cash and daily expenses, as well as the pocket cash we'll need to eat off of while moving, and also rent the U-haul for the big stuff.
- The money we'll get from my father's inheritance is going towards the land itself--to get the best plot with the best location we can afford.
- My bonus from the army will buy me a truck we can use to help with moving so that we only need to rent a u-haul for one day, and any excess will go towards setting the house up for success (like, for example, buying a storage shed.)

Petty cash that we have is going to go towards setting up some things to make the place live-able and nice immediately--we have a lot of things that can make some free improvements to what we have currently. We have almost all the materials (less than $100 needed) to build our garden/party area and fire pit, the ability to make the storage unit somewhat climate controlled, and the ability to build a really cheap off-the-grid outhouse that runs off of water-harvesting barrels and solar powered lights. All of that stuff is pretty much free since we have all of the items we need for it already.

My parents will be financing the house (as they'll be allowed to own one house and one car on bankruptcy) but the land and truck will be in my name.. and after that, no more monthly payments of 950$ a month for a house that cannot hold us anymore.

Even though I'm somewhat starting from scratch, it doesn't feel so daunting anymore. The idea that the money I've already been using to pay for something I don't like (our current house) can now be shoved into a savings account for a couple years and I can build a beautiful tiny house that is in the image I intended it to be in all along. If I keep hunting I can find a decent deal for a temporary place of my own.

http://www.phoenixsailingcharters.com/rainwater.htm <--- This will be my off-the-grid outhouse. Except I'll use a pump like this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvIFMGuqBp8

 

[kyuuei]

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/nowme-rashid-love-living-small-small-cool-contest-190035 A really awesome functioning tiny house. Apartment therapy has a lot of them posted.. I would probably switch the bedroom and kitchen though. No sense in having such a tiny kitchen and no personal space for sleeping when the walls are there anyways, but to each their own.

 

[kyuuei]

Memorial day was a major step forward for us. We have the second to the last (but the most important) leg of money coming into our household. Now we can absolutely start shopping for land *with intentions to buy.* We know exactly what we can spend, and what have to play with.

While I am holding my tiny house off for this year (in pursuit of more adventures, so it's not so bad.. this leisure time is required by my soul, and I'm nothing if not a follower of my heart. Illogical little beast.) I may not be holding off as long as I anticipated in at least getting started. I've been weighing the costs of different aspects.. and I think that if I build it myself with my father, slowly over time as I gain access to money, I can build my tiny house in a year or two's worth of income from nursing school. Within three years I can probably have it up and running. My idea right now is to maybe buy a broken down RV/camper and I can live out of that whenever I need space to myself, and slowly put my house together as I gain the funds.

This gives me the option to make some really unique changes to my household--like the way it is heated and cooled and powered--so that when it is built it could be completely net-zero if I design it right while it is being built.


Right now my father and I are disagreeing on how to fence in the house. He wants to put a fence in just around our immediate house. I say we need a fence around the whole property so that not only do we have clear definitions for outsiders and ourselves, but also we don't have acres to chase the dog or kids around on. At least there will be a fence to stop them at the end of it. We may end up doing a hybrid of both.

 

[Beorn]

Just saw this and thought you might like it. Even if you can't get a hobbit house for yourself in the near future doesn't mean you couldn't make one for your animals.

 

[kyuuei]

Just saw this and thought you might like it. Even if you can't get a hobbit house for yourself in the near future doesn't mean you couldn't make one for your animals.

It's amazing! Its like a hobbit tree house!

 

[kyuuei]

OH MY GOD. Am I ever in love with this kitchen.. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/bef...n-for-a-park-slope-kitchen-the-sweeten-190579



My only critique is that the cabinets don't go all the way to the ceiling. I just find it to be a total dust trap when they don't build into the ceiling.. Why spend the money on cabinetry and not just extend it all the way up to make an extra shelf's worth of *covered* space? It's something I see a lot of with cabinets and I just don't get it at all. No one wants to dust up there! The less dust traps in a kitchen the better. Anyways, it has dining space, prep space, it's just beautiful all around.. and that corner next to the fridge is perfect for a small counter-top oven. Love love love the lay out.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

OH MY GOD. Am I ever in love with this kitchen.. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/bef...n-for-a-park-slope-kitchen-the-sweeten-190579



My only critique is that the cabinets don't go all the way to the ceiling. I just find it to be a total dust trap when they don't build into the ceiling.. Why spend the money on cabinetry and not just extend it all the way up to make an extra shelf's worth of *covered* space? It's something I see a lot of with cabinets and I just don't get it at all. No one wants to dust up there! The less dust traps in a kitchen the better. Anyways, it has dining space, prep space, it's just beautiful all around.. and that corner next to the fridge is perfect for a small counter-top oven. Love love love the lay out.

Urrbody loves granite counter tops haha

 

[kyuuei]

Urrbody loves granite counter tops haha

They're timeless, and match most anything as long as you don't go with something outrageous in color. It's really easy to update a kitchen and leave the granite when it's already there.

 

[Beorn]

OH MY GOD. Am I ever in love with this kitchen.. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/bef...n-for-a-park-slope-kitchen-the-sweeten-190579



My only critique is that the cabinets don't go all the way to the ceiling. I just find it to be a total dust trap when they don't build into the ceiling.. Why spend the money on cabinetry and not just extend it all the way up to make an extra shelf's worth of *covered* space? It's something I see a lot of with cabinets and I just don't get it at all. No one wants to dust up there! The less dust traps in a kitchen the better. Anyways, it has dining space, prep space, it's just beautiful all around.. and that corner next to the fridge is perfect for a small counter-top oven. Love love love the lay out.

That was my thought, too. I really like the way it looks, but I'm particularly concerned with the books over the stove. They better have a good fan/ventilation and use it every time they cook or else I could imagine vapors doing damage to the books over time.

 

[gromit]

My friends in Denmark just got an apartment/condo, and the bathroom is so cool and clever, I think. Although it's apparently pretty normal in Copenhagen.

You pull the shower curtain across the toilet area and then you adjust the water temp at the sink, pull this little plug which diverts the water to the shower head. Drain is in the floor, and you use a little squeegee afterward to push the extra water toward the drain and then replace the bathroom rug.

I was in love with how space-efficient it was!

 

[kyuuei]

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/bef...lyn-kitchen-transformation-the-sweeten-187067

This kitchen got a lot of bad comments.. "It was fine how it was you greedy rich people!" It surprises me how many people think these guys didn't need a new kitchen (despite it's more open and efficient lay out now, and having donated the cabinets and countertops) because the old one was fine... but a lot of people have old, perfectly functioning kitchens that are merely outdated, and that's reason enough to renovate. Like you have to have something from the 80s for it to be dysfunctional.

I thought the reno was really awesome and well done. Not how I would have done it, but the concept of most of the kitchen lining the wall is a great one for smaller homes.

My friends in Denmark just got an apartment/condo, and the bathroom is so cool and clever, I think. Although it's apparently pretty normal in Copenhagen.

You pull the shower curtain across the toilet area and then you adjust the water temp at the sink, pull this little plug which diverts the water to the shower head. Drain is in the floor, and you use a little squeegee afterward to push the extra water toward the drain and then replace the bathroom rug.

I was in love with how space-efficient it was!

Photos plz?! Can you find something online similar?

 

[Beorn]

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/bef...lyn-kitchen-transformation-the-sweeten-187067

This kitchen got a lot of bad comments.. "It was fine how it was you greedy rich people!" It surprises me how many people think these guys didn't need a new kitchen (despite it's more open and efficient lay out now, and having donated the cabinets and countertops) because the old one was fine... but a lot of people have old, perfectly functioning kitchens that are merely outdated, and that's reason enough to renovate. Like you have to have something from the 80s for it to be dysfunctional.

I thought the reno was really awesome and well done. Not how I would have done it, but the concept of most of the kitchen lining the wall is a great one for smaller homes.

Yeah, I agree with your perspective. What I like about the reno is that they didn't put a stove or sink on the island. By leaving it clear it allows it to not only function as a large prep area, but also genuinely function as a dining area which would be clutch for a tiny home or small apartment without a designated dining area. What would be really cool is if instead of solid cabinitry they had rollable storage under the island on the kitchen side so that you could remove and replace it with foldable bar stools when entertaining.