TINY HOUSE, BIG OBSESSION!

It's official.  I'm obsessed.  I am obsessed with the Tiny House possibilities of my dreams.  At first it was merely fascination...now, it is pure OBSESSION!!

Hardly realizing what I was doing, I started watching and re-watching the shows "Tiny House Nation" (fyi network), "Tiny House Hunters" (HGTV), "Tiny House Hunting" (fyi network), "Tiny House, Big Living" (HGTV) various tiny house vlogs on YouTube, etc.  Then, I began stalking their Pinterest and Instagram pages....stalking.  I'm not proud.  I've lost nearly all interest in fictional t.v. programs and humorous frivolous pursuits of entertainment....but, it does keep me from whining about the lack of new "The Fosters" episodes as I await a new season...;-

Now, it's the blogs!!  I am in full-on research mode.  I want to know EVERYTHING.  

I made the ultimate admission the other day.  I ran into my brother at the local yogurt shop (shout out to Yogurt Island in Oakley, CA!) and blurted out that I really, really, really want to build a tiny house.  I advised him to watch the above mentioned shows.  I'm pretty sure I saw panic in his eyes...maybe some dismay...and his blood pressure probably spiked.  You see, he's the one that really knows how to wire, plumb, etc.  I am handy with saws, hammers, drills, etc. D is barely in survival mode with most tools (his grandfather didn't expect him to hold a 16 lb. hammer correctly by age seven, just saying)....but my bro is the one that can really turn a project from confusing and potentially disastrous into workable.  He has probably already packed and moved three states away....pretty sure I'll never hear from him again.

My little sketchbook is continuing to fill with ideas and sketches and I have titled it, "Think Tiny, Live Large". Lists of resources, questions, ideas, quick chicken-scratch sketches, and mere doodles abound.  I have started to pause my little shows to take a note.   I feel like I'm in college all over again.

I have found a few plans that are ready-made, reasonably priced from $99 to 300 (www.shelterwise.com and www.padtinyhouses.com...LOVE these sites).  I'm not 100% certain that the floorplans are really for us, but the framing and structure is very impressive along with the modern aesthetics I really am fond of.  An advantage to this constant viewing of "Tiny"...I am really developing a sense of what I like aesthetically and what I definitely do not like.  Floor plans are proving to be more challenging to be quite so perfect.

I  discovered that PAD (Portland Alternative Dwellings) offers basic tiny building workshops at $350 for a weekend.  I do love trips to Portland....well worth the cost, I am completely confident!  Now to find the time.  It's about a 10 hour trip so maybe the November workshop will be at a better time.

Steps 1 and 2 (besides really saving the chunk of change needed to carry out steps 1 and 2), in my mind is starting the search for a suitable trailer as well as polling people that live nearby, but more rural for possible build / park sites.  Step 3 is to take one of those workshops along with purchasing Dee Williams' eBook, Go House Go ,  a guide to building tiny that draws upon her own experience.  From the synopsis, she seems like someone that takes learning to the best level; learning from our mistakes and carrying out a plan to improve upon  results while helping others.

What obsession will strike next?  What new things will I learn about going tiny?  Will a fun name come along for my future tiny home?  You know, they really need to have a fun name...next obsession identified.

The beginning of my "tiny" sketch pad...