Lloyd House was the featured builder in Builders of the Pacific Coast. His skill and ingenuity and joy in building were stunning, as shown in more than a dozen homes in the book.
Lloyd left his cliffside compound on the west coast of Vancouver Island a few years ago and converted a 1992 Econoline van into a 70 sq. ft. home and now lives on Hornby Island. There are photos of it by Michael McNamara in Tiny Homes.
I dropped in on him as soon as I got to Hornby and on a grey, drizzly afternoon, we got reacquainted. I love the company of Lloyd and my friend Louie, both a few years older than me; we grew up in a different world. Did I want dinner. Well yeah-uh. We had chard soup and a big salad with greens from Barbara’s thriving greenhouse.
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| The band of windows brings the outside in. It’s an exquisite space. 10′ × 7′ = 70 sq. ft. |
This was a bit like a homecoming. Many of the builders in Builders of the Pacific Coast were on Hornby, plus I got to hang out with good friends for a few days. The Hornby Community Center is a wonderful structure, built by the community in an era of less money, more time. No grant or government $$. It was a good crowd, and a bunch of the Island ladies brought homemade deserts.
Godfrey sold his 39′ junk-rigged steel sailboat and has down-scaled. I stopped by his place in Victoria yesterday on my way north on Vancouver Island and saw the work-in-progress. It’s a total delight. Surprisingly spacious inside; he removed the centerboard (it’s mounted on the side). He’s got a sliding Lexan roof some can stay dry while sailing in the rain. Tiny stainless stove he welded up. All his carpentry is sculptural — the structural pieces look like bones. More (much more) on Godfrey to follow. https://www.godfreystephens.com
I took a Beechcraft 1900C prop-driven airplane this morning from Vancouver to Victoria. One sparkling seaside city to another. This is such a wonderland of water up here, it’s all breathtaking from the air…
I have a radio interview in about 45 minutes at CBC Victoria, lucked out to find Bubby Rose’s Bakery, and a piece of “Shaker Lemon Pie,” I swear the best piece of pie I’ve ever had. More later…
The rain didn’t hold back the people. Biggest crowd ever. By the time I started, the aisles were full. About 250 people. I signed books for maybe half an hour. These are my brothers and sisters up here. People kept coming up and telling me how they’d built things, inspired by our books. I was given photos of little homes and house trucks, a rare Bob Marley CD, and a little jar of cayenne pepper. Maybe a dozen people told me they were either building something right now, or about to start. I told them it’s not that everyone has to live in tiny houses, what’s important is going in the direction of smaller. Everyone likes the idea of no mortgage, no exorbitant rents. A definite measure of freedom in these trying times.
“Scenes from the 1914 silent film by Edward Curtis. Also known as ‘In the Land of the Head Hunters.'”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAjR6jI3WQ0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Land_of_the_Head_Hunters
Lloyd House was the featured builder in Builders of the Pacific Coast. His skill and ingenuity and joy in building were stunning, as shown in more than a dozen homes in the book.
