Synopses & Reviews
Good things do come in small packages. Just ask internationally recognized small living expert Jay Shafer. His small buildings have appeared on CNN, Oprah, Fine Homebuilding, and This Old House. Ranging in size from 100 to 120 square feet, these tiny backyard buildings can be used as guest cottages, art or writing studios, home offices, craft workshops, vacation retreats, or a full-time residence. Filled with photos, elevation drawings, and door/window schedules for six Tumbleweed box bungalows, The Tumbleweed DIY Book of Backyard Sheds and Tiny Houses, also includes an extensive how-to set of instructions that can be applied to any backyard building project. Though conventionally built, these handsome little buildings have real doors, windows, and skylights with interesting and practical details throughout. With extra attention given to energy and space efficiency in their design, these tiny houses can help deliver the relief we all need on the road toward a sustainable world.
Review
The Beavan Tine House was selected as an "Editor's Choice" winner at MAKE Magazine's New York 2011 Maker Faire.
Plans for the Beavan model are included inside The Tumbleweed DIY Book of Backyard Sheds and Tiny Houses.
MAKE Magazine
Review
Recently, I had the opportunity to have a personal tour from Jay Shafer of Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, of his new tiny home. Jay has completed and moved into the Gifford Box Bungalow. This house is one of the designs featured in his latest book called Tumbleweed DIY Book of Backyard Sheds and Tiny Houses. Jay agreed to do a video walkthrough of the Gifford explaining his thoughts behind the design of his house. These homes were recently featured in HGTV Design Star's contest but I prefer Jay's design and I think the designers could learn a lot from him.
Review
Ran a story about Jay Shaffer and the small house movement
Review
The Tumbleweed Tiny House Company's Pompano model was featured on Fox Business News
Review
Whether you really want to downsize or just want to fantasize about living in a small, exquistely-constructed, simpler bungalow, Shafer's book will be a treat. Stunning photos of the small Tumbleweed houses in many natural settings will entice readers into learning more. The first half of the book focuses on the styles of homes available, and the second half has illustrated guidelines for preparing a site and building a home. Highly recommended.
Synopsis
These tiny backyard buildings, no more than 110 square feet, can become guest cottages, art or writing studios, home offices, and craft workshops. For the DIY enthusiast, here are photos, elevation drawings, and door/window schedules for six Tumbleweed box bungalows, plus an extensive how-to set of instructions that can be applied to any backyard building project. What they are not is home-center garden sheds. Though conventionally built, these handsome little buildings have real doors, windows, and skylights with interesting and practical details throughout. Paint them and finish them to suit your tastes and needs. The term "Box Bungalow" is a trademark of Tumbleweek Tiny House Corp. It refers to their idea of packaging these backyard buildings on a flat skid, for weekend DIY assembly. They'll also sell a prefab building for delivery to your prepared site. They'll also sell complete sets of plans for any of the houses shown in this book.
Synopsis
Real-world plans for very handsome tiny buildings you will actually want to build, use, and enjoy.
About the Author
Jay Shafer is internationally recognized as an expert in small living. He is a designer specializing in sustainable architecure and urban planning. He has lectured extensively on these subjects for such venues as the Eco-Dwelling program at New Collage, the Boston Architectural Center, and the University of Iowa's School of Art and Art History where he served as Adjunct Assistant Professor for more than a decade. Jay's designs and essays have appeared in a number of periodicals, books, and television shows including Fine Homebuilding, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, Oprah, and This Old House. He currently lives in an 89 square-foot home of his own creation in Sebastopol, California.
Shafer's first book, The Small House Book, was self-published in 2000 and revised in 2010, in cooperation with Fox Chapel Publishing. An underground self-publishing success, it has sold many thousands of copies over the past 10 years.
Table of Contents
*Committed to Less *Plans for Tiny Houses and Box Bungalows *Tiny House Portfolio *How to Build a Tiny House