I got the idea to do a book on tiny houses about a year ago. After all, the main theme of our 1973 book Shelter was the small house. Instead of borrowing money from a bank to buy an existing house, you’d do it yourself. We showed designs, with drawings by Bob Easton, of five small houses, each with a different roof shape.
This idea has really taken off in the last few years. There’s a ton of material out there on tiny houses. So I began exploring the web and copying down URLs of websites with good material. I did this on and off for about a year, while we finished up other projects.
In December, 2009, I started a review of all these websites and all this material. Which I’ve just finished. I have about 100 folders assembled here: tiny houses on land, on wheels, on the water; cabins, shacks, sheds; saunas, studios, greenhouses, chicken coops;. Small living — urban or country. A ton of wonderful material.
Next week I’ll start contacting these people. I’ll be seeking permission to use photos and stories. We can’t pay much, if anything for photos, since our books have 1000-1200 photos each. And, as is usual, I have no idea what the book will be like. My method is to start assembling pages and let the book take on its own form. So here goes, our first major building book since Builders of the Pacific Coast.
Above: my photo of cabin by Vin Gorman (one of the featured builders in the above book).
Looking forward to seeing this book in print! Sounds like it will be packed with inspiring ideas.
yeah- many people will be anxious to check it out- I'm sure it'll be great- and a virtual tidal wave of small house ideas- which is exactly what I need for my book collection…
-Deek
"Humble Homes, Simple Shacks…" Author
yay!
also nowadays even yuppies are looking at small houses in Dwell and telling me about their "recent discovery"
your book will have truly unusual houses I'm sure (and truly tiny!)
thank you so much.