What a wonderful tour that was! I hope those of you who missed it will consider taking the tour next year if they do it again. I took some exterior photos but interior photography was not allowed due to the homeowners’ privacy (yeah I’d hate people taking pictures of my laundry and random house stuff too). Enjoy!
Montessori Floor Bed
I’d like to take a moment to brag on my dear dad who’s somehow always up for a project. Last year, I started wondering about toddler beds and when to switch over from a crib. That led me down the internet rabbit hole to the idea of Montessori floor beds, which I tried in two versions. After completely baby-proofing her room, I opted for the simple version:

It seemed like a good idea, and I was even expecting kiddo to roll off a time or two based on the experiences I read on various Montessori blogs. Floor bed frames on Etsy are crazy pricey for this single mama, so just the crib mattress on the floor seemed like a fine option. What I wasn’t prepared for was MY complete lack of sleep having to go in her room and put her back to sleep several times that first night because she rolled off. (I work full-time so anything that gets in the way of my sleep is swiftly dealt with.)
The next day I rang up my dad with the idea of a short wooden bed frame that would allow her to get in and out but not roll out. That night, I slept next to her bed on the floor just to try to get a little more sleep. My hips are apparently too old for that nonsense! Thankfully my dad is a magical mythical being who had the frame done for night 3:

It’s just high enough that she couldn’t easily roll out of bed, and the cut-out is just large enough for her to get in and out as she pleases. I was also concerned about her discovering her freedom at 3 am but she really didn’t get out much. In fact, in the mornings she would climb out and play quietly for a little and I could get a few more minutes of sleep rather than her crying for me to get her out of her crib.
So she’s been sleeping in this bed since she was about 10 months old and she’s almost 2 years old now. It’s still perfect! I’ve since rearranged and painted her room but I’ll save that for another post.
Until next time, lovelies.
Hey strangers!
I’m baaaaaaack!
Well, sort of. Life has been a crazy ride the last couple years but I’m finally at a point that I can get back into keeping up with my beloved tiny house blog. So what’s been going on? I bought a small house (on a foundation) and have been renovating that. Got married, had a kid, separated, and working full-time for a university.
The focus of this blog will always be on living small, but I do feel that it needs a new direction given the current status of my life. So stay tuned for whatever that ends up being! Hope everyone has been out there living it up!
Tiny House Survey for Thesis
Hi everyone!
As you know, my thesis involved tiny houses and I have a soft spot for other tiny house educational projects. Here’s a survey for someone else’s thesis that I’d really encourage you to take to help her meet her participant goal. It’ll only take a few minutes and will have a big impact for her thesis. Thanks!
Small is Beautiful: A Tiny House Documentary
Good morning, tiny people! I had the recent honor of watching an advanced screener of a new tiny house film: Small is Beautiful: A Tiny House Documentary.
…Wow…
We tiny house lovers have a tendency to romanticize tiny house living, but you won’t find that in this film. Small is Beautiful takes us on a realistic journey into both the pros and cons of building and living tiny. Starting on the tiny journey is not just about the physical house, but also about the inner struggle with living with less and in less space. This film does a great job of showing these external and internal struggles. Beyond the turmoil is the freedom, peace, and simplicity gained by going tiny! You also get to meet people either building or already living tiny and learn about their experiences. I recommend that any tiny house newbie add this to their list of necessary resources. Not a tiny house newbie? It’s still well worth your time to watch.
You can watch the trailer for Small is Beautiful here, or preorder the film here.
In case you’re wondering, this film has some similarities to the other film I saw, (TINY: A Story about Living Small) but is different enough that I highly recommend that you watch both.
Tiny Homes 2015 Calendar!
I am so happy to announce that we have a 2015 calendar featuring some beautiful tiny homes. You can get 8.5 x 11 or 11 x 14 (longer when it’s open on the wall of course) and I am excited to be able to look at each month’s photo(s) and daydream about the tiny house lifestyle. This is a great gift for that tiny house person in your life or even as a treat for yourself. The price is $17.99 + shipping for the smaller one and $27.99 for the larger one. You can buy them here: http://www.createphotocalendars.com/Store/Tiny+House+Calendar-4263418873
This year we only have 2 sizes to offer, but if there is enough interest I will expand the options for the 2016 calendar. Also depending on how this year’s calendar sale goes, we’ll be able to spend more time on the next one to feature more gorgeous homes in the 2016 edition (and maybe even get a better quantity discount!).
Dream of Mortgage Freedom?
Do you dream of mortgage freedom? I sure do. Luckily the Tiny House Family offers an e-course called The Plan: Your Pathway to Mortgage-freedom. It’s a five-week online course designed to lead you through the process of redesigning your life so that you can live on your terms and not the terms of a mortgage. You’ll develop a plan (and put it in action!) based on your unique dreams, style, and life-situation, and you’ll find a community of supportive folks all in the same place as you—ready to make a change. This round starts September 20, so you’ll need to sign up soon as space is limited.
Hari and Karl plus their children are a wonderful example of living sustainably (in all senses of the word) in a small space. Their website is a great resource for tiny house living, especially when it comes to having children living in the tiny house with you! I recommend taking their course because they are living mortgage free in a tiny house AND building their own larger home. Can you imagine being able to custom build your home and avoid a loan to do so? Duh.
They’re a hop and skip away from me and I got to tour their amazing space on the Floyd Tiny House Tour. You can see more pictures of their homestead here.

Tiny House Chat Podcasts
Macy Miller of minimotives and Ryan Mitchell of The Tiny Life and The Tiny House Conference have started a podcast about tiny houses! I’m especially excited because Tiny r(E)volution is on hiatus, so now I can get a tiny podcast fix.
There are 2 podcasts on the site right now. The first is an introduction and the second is about tiny house codes. Check ’em out!
Time Lapse
I’ve been mentally planning for the next tiny house venture and feeling very nostalgic about the first tiny house, so I threw together a quick slide show/time lapse of the exterior build. Miss that wee house!
TINY: A Story About Living Small
Hello, hello, tiny people!
In the rare case you haven’t seen all the rage about the new tiny house movie, here is your information! I had the privilege of viewing the movie a bit ago at Radford University and being on a tiny house panel of sorts for an evening. This movie is awesome! It is such a great way to see the journey that is building a tiny house. I cannot recommend this movie enough, truly. I believe I’ll be getting a hard copy soon and I cannot wait! Here’s the trailer:
If you’re excited too, you can find it on iTunes (documentaries) and on Netflix. Here is the website as well, in case you want more information: http://tiny-themovie.com/