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Posts Tagged ‘Jay Shafer’

Teeny, Tiny, and Small…Tumbleweeds a blowing up

April 3rd, 2010 8 comments

Tiny House - Whidbey by Tumbleweed Houses

Tiny House - Whidbey by Tumbleweed Houses

I’ve been a fan of theTumbleweed Tiny House Company for a few years now. Last Christmas, I purchased The Small House book for my father-in-law who was retiring and considering alternative housing options. At that time, I also signed up for the Tumbleweed newsletter. Recently, I had a chance to check out all the latest house plans Tumbleweed is now offering, my how they’ve grown!


A few new Teeny home designs, homes starting at 65 sq. ft. (yes, that’s right, under 100 square feet!) up to 135 sq. ft. include (all portable homes):

  • The Weebee: 102 square feet of efficiency on wheels. This home doesn’t need a foundation and can be towed around on a utility trailer. Most Tumbleweed homes include a sleeping loft that isn’t included in the total square footage. Cost for this home: $48,997 ready built.
  • The Fencl: The largest of the “Teeny” homes at 130 sq. ft. This home also has a sleeping area in the front of the large room and a sleeping loft above the kitchen/bathroom. It includes a black and gray water plumbing system. It sells ready-made for $53,997.

Some new Tiny home designs, these homes range between 261 sq. ft. to 557 sq. ft include (these homes are not portable, they require a foundation.):

  • The Bodega: Starts at 261 sq. ft. with just a sleeping loft, add a single bedroom and increase your square footage up to 356 sq. ft. This home includes a fireplace and full kitchen and bath. The materials to build this home start at $22,500.
  • New Vessica: 278 sq. ft. or 372 sq. ft. again, these homes include a loft but it is not counted as part of the total square footage. This design is new and I didn’t see a price for materials directly from Tumbleweed Houses. The plans can be purchased for $695.
  • The Whidbey: 461 sq. ft. or 557 sq. ft. the Whidbey includes a small front bedroom and a sleeping loft. The loft in this plan is the entire length of the house. Since it’s not counted in the total square footage, this adds a lot of room. The estimated materials cost starts at $35,000.

Small house plans that are slightly more roomy range from 681 sq. ft. to 837 sq. ft., again these homes require a foundation (only the house plans can be purchased through Tumbleweed Houses):

  • B-53: starting at 743 sq. ft. or adding a third bedroom expanding the footage to 837 sq. ft. is a larger model of the tiny Loring house plan. The Loring is one of my favorite plans, and I absolutely adore the larger model as well. Plan price: $695.
  • The Ernesti: Staring at 681 sq. ft. the Ernesti has two full bedroom on the second floor. Very similar to the B-53, but slightly smaller on the second floor. Plan price: $695.
Teeny House - Fencl by Tumbleweed Houses

Teeny House - Fencl by Tumbleweed Houses

If anyone is seriously interested in Tumbleweed Houses, they are currently looking for someone to host the Fencl as a vacation rental this summer in the US. Click here to find out all the details if you have a site with RV hookups and sewage availability.

Also, Jay Shafer offers consultations if you’re truly interested in building your own Tumbleweed.

Could  you live in one of these homes? Would you want to try it out for the summer?

Categories: House Plans Tags: , , , ,

Little House Plans I Adore

September 3rd, 2009 15 comments

A few years back, when purchasing a home was completely out of the question and outside of our budget, I began to think creatively and come up with alternative options to owning our own home. One option that stood out amongst all others was ordering a prefab kit home. Prefab homes have been around for many years, some of the first affordable prefabs were the Lustron homes made of porcelain and steel in 1950. I was lucky enough to see one on display in New York last year at the MOMA. Unfortunately for the Lustron company, prefab homes didn’t catch on and Lustron went belly-up.


Today, there’s a new wave of prefab homes that incorporate many “green” elements, such as recycled wood and energy efficient designs. A few that I find aesthetically pleasing are Rocio Romero LV homes and the Marmol Radziner Skyline series. On a side note, Rocio Romero is more cost effective and within our budget. Some of the prefab’s I’ve encountered cost more than home’s selling in my neighborhood. Rocio Romero’s website also breaks down the costs of each home with past projects as a guide line.

A Small House Plan - Rocio Romeros Prefab LV Home

A Small House Plan - Rocio Romero's Prefab LV Home

There are also many little house plans that are incredibly unique and space-efficient, like the  Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. Jay Shafer has created and designed some of the tiniest homes using space efficiently. Some of his smaller models fit on trailers and are portable, however I like some of his slightly larger stationery homes, like the Sebastarosa shown below. My father-in-law is newly retired, divorced, and has been playing with the idea of building a portable house on his trailer that he pulls behind his truck. Last Christmas I bought him one of the Tumbleweed books that has lots of creative designs he might eventually be able to use as a guide.

Tumbleweeds Sebastarosa Model

Tumbleweed's Sebastarosa Model

On top of being a cost-effective alternative to purchasing an older or newer home, prefabs give the purchaser more floor plan options. For instance, since you can choose the floor plan that works best with your family needs, there’s less space to be wasted. One thing I notice, especially in new homes, is wasted space in houses. My sister-in-law purchased a brand new home a couple of years ago and they opted for a loft on the second floor. They now regret selecting this option since no one in their family uses it. They also had chosen a dual-staircase model, but ended up with one ‘L’ shaped staircase instead. Sometimes, when you work with a development model, you end up with altered floor plans. When purchasing a prefab kit, you order exactly what you want, no surprises when you move in.

Tiny Portable Tumbleweed House

Tiny Portable Tumbleweed House

Another great bonus with prefab is location. Since you must purchase your land before you purchase your prefab, you can select exactly where you want to live. This can also be a drawback, however. In my neighborhood, we are completely land-locked. There’s not any available land for miles upon miles. We’re hindered by our surrounding mountains and suburban sprawl.  In this case, if my husband and I were able to live in a space under 200 square feet, a Tumbleweed Tiny House might work. We could move from location to location with all of our belongings following behind us. From the beach to the desert, this 200 square foot home could travel just about anywhere.

We’re not ready for this quite yet.