Our new book Small Homes: The Right Size is now available at independent bookstores, and Amazon — as well as from us: www.shelterpub.com/building/small-homes
Shameless Commerce Dept. This is, I think, the best building book we’ve ever done. (Yes, I’m sure I’ve said this before, but it keeps reoccurring to me.) Shelter is everyone’s favorite; it captured the times, it inspired thousands of homes. Builders of the Pacific Coast is in some ways, my best book. It’s an odyssey of discovery where the reader rides shotgun with me over a 2-year period. Cohesive and focused.
BUT Small Homes is so useful to so many people in this era of astronomical home prices and rents, that I think it’s hugely important. It offers alternatives to people looking for rentals on Craigslist or homes on Zillow. Here are 65 very different homes, of different materials, in different parts of the world. The idea, as with all our building books is to use your hands to create your own shelter.
Two things I’ve discovered about this book (after seeing the finished product):
- There are a lot of homes out in middle America – Minnesota, Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, more so than in any of our other books.
- It sparkles. Largely due to Rick’s considerable Photoshop skills, a motley assortment of photos from contributors have been rendered in colorful detail. I was stunned when I saw the first book off the press. The photos draw you in.
Tags: alternative energy, architecture, books, builders, building, carpentry, communication, design, homes, homesteading, natural materials, recycling, small homes, small towns, tiny homes Article in New York Times Sunday by Alex Williams
“…’Mom, are you on acid?’ her daughter asked sarcastically.
Ms. Waldman froze. It was not yet the moment, she decided, to answer ‘yes.’
Ms. Waldman had discovered microdosing, an illegal but voguish drug regimen in which devotees seek to enhance creativity, focus and mental balance by ingesting regular, barely perceptible doses of hallucinogens like LSD or psilocybin mushrooms.
Forget ‘turn on, tune in, drop out.’ To recent converts like Ms. Waldman, who recounts her microdosing journey in a new memoir, A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life, to be published by Alfred A. Knopf next week, it’s a new psychedelic era. For them, LSD is less a kaleidoscopic mind expander than a humble mood enhancer, as subtle and quotidian as Prozac.…”
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/07/style/microdosing-lsd-ayelet-waldman-michael-chabon-marriage.html?_r=0
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLq7tSlBdxY/
I’m still experimenting with posting my Instagram videos here. This is kinda dark, but the skies were red at sunset after the rains.
Some random pics from the Fair yesterday. It’s an absolutely wonderful event. I’m finding a ton of interesting things here. For anyone interested in building, farming, homesteading, doing stuff for selves, there are countless items, ideas, demonstrations, lots of speakers on a variety of subjects.
I had 2-300 people at my Tiny Homes on the Move event yesterday. Biggest crowd I’ve ever had, and we had fun. They were with me or rather, they were with the builders/owners of these nomadic homes. A lotta rapport.
We have been contacted by the producer of a TV series on off-grid homes. They are looking for people who have recently started living off the grid. If you’re in this category, send us the story of why you moved off the grid, along with some photos of the home, and of you and your family. Email to: shelter@shelterpub.com.
The Good Life goes on! Couple who spent five years building an eco-home in the country have been allowed to keep it despite not applying for planning permission
Matthew Lepley, 34, and Jules Smith, 54, left London five years ago to build their dream house in the countryside. They decided not to apply for planning permission because the process “uses too much paper and electricity.” They used railway sleepers, lorry tyres, and scrap metal to build the house in Beaworthy, Devon, but no power tools. The home has an outdoor compost toilet, no power or running water, and an underground pantry instead of a fridge. The couple were told by Torridge District Council they may have to tear down their home after neighbours’ complaints. But now a government planning inspector has ruled that the house may stay because of its eco-credentials. Angry local residents say: “It’s disgusting how some people are treated one way and other people treated another way.”
Click here for complete story and lots of photos.
Photo: SWMS.com
Sent us by Anonymous
Dave is a creative writer who lives inside the iconic Astor Place Cube in New York City. The cube’s 8X8 panels add up to 64 square feet which adds up to 512 cubic feet. For Dave, who is 5’8″, that is plenty of space to move around, write, cook, sleep, work out and even play guitar. Dave uses a bicycle generator to power up the lights and a handful of electronic gadgets.
Coming down a dirt road at 7 this morning, heading into town for latte and wi-fi (+ ginger scone), Third Rate Romance playing on 102.3 FM, “Real Country,” enjoying the real country surroundings, redwoods and tan oaks, then on Highway One from Pt. Arena to Gualala, Gregory Isaacs singing Tan So Back, reggae an integral part of Mendo culture, my Honda Fit continuing to be a nimble delight to drive, sunny morning on the coast, healthy kelp beds off shore, the ocean blue…
Louie and I went down to the Pt. Arena pier yesterday. This salmon boat was being hauled out of the water. Later we went into Franny’s Cup & Saucer, one of the best bakeries anywhere, to get some almond croissants for afternoon tea; this sign in window, ain’t it the truth…
In a few minutes, I’m heading north along the coast and will cut across the mountains to Philo, thence northeast to Hopland and this year’s SolFest.
This event hasn’t happened for several years. It was so popular and crowds got so large that it put a strain on the town of Hopland (California). Now it’s back, for one day only — Saturday, August 17th. We’ll have a booth, selling books, and I’m doing my presentation,”The Half Acre Homestead” at 4 PM.
Hopland is about 2 hours north of San Francisco on Highway 101. The Hopland Brewery is apparently closed now, but for great beer/dinner on the way back south, the Ruth McGowan Brew Pub in Cloverdale is a winner — you can see the beautiful copper and stainless brew kettle and tanks from the bar, and can take home a growler or two of fresh brew.
From Fair Companies, a treasure house of tiny homes and planet-respecting builders
