Got a small house on a big lot? Add accessory dwellings and call it co-housing. That’s what was done here in Portland, Oregon on this 50′x100′ lot. These tiny 12′x14′ structures (fully permitted in the City of Portland) contain a full bathroom, sleeping loft, partial kitchen, and a front porch to extend the outdoor living space. The residents share a large garden, rainwater harvesting, bicycle parking, and the main kitchen in the adjacent 526 sq.ft. house. (Construction photo above – original house on the right.)

Photo credit: Orange Splot LLC

Baumraum is a German design company that does modern treehouses. This one is situated between an alder and an oak near Osnabrück, North-West Germany. The new hardcover book from Baumraum is entitled Tree Houses: New Architecture in Trees and can be ordered online for 58 Euros. Eye candy for us treehouse enthusiasts I’m sure. More photos here.

Photo credit: Alasdair Jardine

The Wanderlusters are Stephanie and Taylor, formerly Houston residents, now full time wanderers. The couple purchased a 13′ fiberglass trailer (a 1977 Scamp) and renovated it, updating it to a more modern look. During their traveling life they have been spending their time re-prioritizing and deepening their relationships, and of course crocheting. You can read about it all on their blog. (via Design*Sponge)

more trailer renovation photos

On Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting Matt, a guy who is filming a documentary on fiberglass travel trailers. He has been traveling Canada and the US, taking part in rallies where a bunch of strangers camp together with their trailers. The film seems to be focusing on small 13′ fiberglass trailers, especially those made in the 1970s or earlier. (My Compact Jr. just happens to be one of them.) Here is Matt’s trailer trailer on YouTube.

Art director and set designer James Hatt designed this treehouse for a magazine photo shoot which was built in 3 days with a small team of carpenters. The entire process was improvised with creative use of reclaimed materials, especially the stained glass.

After the photo shoot, the treehouse was left for the family who owned the land. More photos.

After purchasing a 40-acre piece of Texas desert two years ago, John Wells built this tiny house in 8 days for $1,600. He completed some more detail work in about 5 months and for another $800. He uses solar and rainwater collection, a homemade swamp cooler and a sawdust toilet.

John thinks of his home as a sustainable and self-sufficient homestead, or the Southwest Texas Alternative Energy And Sustainable Living Field Laboratory. The Field Lab for short. His next building project is a workshop/greenhouse made from shipping containers.

Yes it is isolated terrain but our bearded subject is most certainly not without the internet. You can visit him in his home live via webcam. There’s also his website, blog, flickr photos, and YouTube channel, especially this cute little ditty. Treehugger calls him a modern Thoreau. Michael Janzen calls John Wells his newest hero.

This German Architecture firm renovated a crumbling 18th-century structure without touching it — or so it seems — and won the 2005 AR Award for Emerging Architecture. They removed the roof and simply added the new wooden structure inside of the old stone walls. The new roof protects both structures.

The name of the work is S(ch)Austall, loosely translated as pigsty/showroom. (via AT and The Tiny Life)

Photo credit: FNP Architekten

“Grandpa” Don Botsford, age 79, is a well-known Ann Arbor, Michigan resident. In 1975 he purchased 20 acres of woodland to prevent development, and has since turned it into a private nature preserve. Pictured above is one of two treehouses on the property. It contains a sleeping loft, two bunks, and a tiny woodstove. A solar panel powers a simple table lamp. The floor framing sits independent from the trees so they can sway freely in the wind.

Grandpa Don says, “If someone could build a treehouse, why would they not want to?” Locals may contact him at (734) 662-9200 for a visit to the property.

Photo credit: Ross Orr

Jeff & Arlene downsized… big time. They went from being San Francisco Bay Area apartment-dwellers to Seattle tiny house dwellers by way of building their own Mini-Mobile Cottage. They rented a 20×50 warehouse space and built the 8.5′ x 24′ structure with just over $21,000.

The design is loosely based off the Tumbleweed Fencl design. The end-product has several interior modifications, and ended up being a hefty 7,640 lbs for towing up north.

The couple recently found a new home for the home in Seattle’s neighborhood of Ballard, parked next to a regular-sized house. Jeff is pursuing a PhD at UW and Arlene is still looking for work.

In their new location in Seattle, they are still scrambling to finish and seal the exterior of the home before the big rains begin. They also haven’t entirely fixed up the interior or connected the propane for cooking and heating. In utilizing the YMCA and UW gym they haven’t been in a rush to connect the shower system yet.

So far the cottage has been very good at keeping us comfortable whether it’s been 40 degree F or 95 degree F weather. We have either been eating things raw (we love salads anyway) or eating at nearby restaurants so not using the stove has given us a chance to explore the neighborhood.

Congratulations and best of luck to you both! I look forward to seeing the finished home someday…

Photo credit: Jeff Hemsley

Green roofs, rainwater harvesting, solar power and wind turbines. If you look hard enough, all of this can be found in London photographer Oliver Perrott’s “eco” housing series, focusing on buildings that were designed to blend in with their surroundings.

Photo credit: Oliver Perrott