Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter

There’s a grassroots movement in tiny homes these days. The real estate collapse, the economic downturn, burning out on 12-hour workdays — many people are rethinking their ideas about shelter — seeking an alternative to high rents, or a lifelong mortgage debt to a bank on an overpriced home.

In this book are some 150 builders who have taken things into their own hands, creating tiny homes (under 500 sq. ft.). Homes on land, homes on wheels, homes on the road, homes on water, even homes in the trees. There are also studios, saunas, garden sheds, and greenhouses.

There are 1,300 photos, showing a rich variety of small homemade shelters, and there are stories (and thoughts and inspirations) of the owner-builders who are on the forefront of this new trend in downsizing and self-sufficiency.

Many people have decided to scale back, to get by with less stuff, to live in smaller homes. You can buy a ready-made tiny home, build your own, get a kit or prefab, or live in a bus, houseboat, or other movable shelter. Some cities have special ordinances for building “in-law” or “granny flats” in the backyard. There are innovative solutions in cities, such as the “capsules” in Tokyo. There are numerous blogs and websites with news, photos, and/or plans for tiny homes, documented here.

If you’re thinking of scaling back, you’ll find plenty of inspiration here. Here’s a different approach, a 180° turn from increasing consumption. Here are builders, designers, architects (no less), dreamers, artists, road gypsies, and water dwellers who’ve achieved a measure of freedom and independence by taking shelter into their own hands.

Beautifully designed, fixed-layout format closely replicates the design of the print version. Extensively hyperlinked, with zoomable images and text. .

Recipient of the 2012 Nautilus Silver Award in the category of Green Living.