Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter (Shelter Library of Building Books) - Softcover

Lloyd Kahn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0936070528 ISBN 13: 9780936070520

Publisher: Shelter Publications Inc.,U.S., 2012

Synopsis

een tracking over the past year. John Field sold his 2800 sq. ft. house in upstate New York and built a 128 ft. cabin in the high Texas desert. The "Lady on the Road" (who wishes to remain anonymous), has been living full-time in a highly decorated bus since she was 51 (she's now 72). A couple in British Columbia have a houseboat with adjacent floating garden. A rustic cabin has been built on a remote beach in Mendocino, inspired by our book Shelter, and reachable only by boat. A lot of small houses have been built on trailers, so they can be moved around and don't necessarily require land ownership. More and more people are living in buses, trucks, houseboats, and other movable shelters. There are a large number of prefabs and kits now available. There are innovative solutions in cities, such as the "capsules" in Tokyo. There are numerous websites with news, photos, and/or plans for tiny houses.

About this title

Review:

"...our friend Lloyd Kahn's beautiful book, Tiny Homes."
--Mark Frauenfelder, BoingBoing

"Tiny Homes is an amazing collection. ...The homes might be tiny but your inspiration is huge."
--Richard Zanuck, Film Producer

"...a quirky photo-rich book that preaches the benefits of a 'grassroots movement to scale things back.'"
--Jeffery Trachtenberg, Wall Street Journal

"...a glorious portfolio of quirky makers and dreamers..."
--Penelope Green, New York Times

"Before McMansions, before the counter culture was granite and marble, there was Lloyd Kahn, champion of the hand-built house . . . progenitor of the new do-it-yourself movement"
--Patricia Leigh Brown, New York Times

"The common thread that weaves between the stories is the builders' immense pride of place, a drive for independence and a vision that, when little goes to waste, life can have greater meaning."
--HomeGrown.Org

" ...a refreshing view into the wonderful world of small houses."
--Watershed Sentinel, BC, Canada

"...splendid photos of home exteriors, interiors and landscapes..."
--Urban Times

"What these structures might lack in square footage they more than make up for in economy, character and appeal..."
--U-T San Diego

About the Author:

"I started building almost 50 years ago, and have lived in a self-built home ever since. If I'd been able to buy a wonderful old good-feeling house, I might have never started building. But it was always cheaper to build than to buy, and by building myself, I could design what I wanted and use materials I wanted to live with.

I set off to learn the art of building in 1960. I liked the whole process immensely. Hammering nails. Framing -- delineating space. Nailing down the sub-floor, the roof decking. It's a thrill when you first step on the floor you've just created.

Ideally I'd have worked with a master carpenter long enough to learn the basics, but there was never time. I learned from friends and books and by blundering my way into a process that required a certain amount of competence. My perspective was that of a novice, a homeowner -- rather than a pro. As I learned, I felt that I could tell others how to build, or at least get them started on the path to creating their own homes.

Through the years I've personally gone from post and beam to geodesic domes to stud frame construction. It's been a constant learning process, and this has led me into investigating many methods of construction -- I'm interested in them all. For five years, the late '60s to early '70s, I built geodesic domes. I got into being a publisher by producing Domebook One in 1970 and Domebook 2 in 1971. I then gave up on domes (as homes) and published our namesake Shelter in 1973. We've published books on a variety of subjects over the years, and returned to our roots with Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter in 2004, Builders of the Pacific Coast, and The Barefoot Architect in 2008.

Building is my favorite subject. Even in this day and age, building a house with your own hands can save you a ton of money (I've never had a mortgage) and -- if you follow it through -- you can get what you want in a home." --Lloyd Kahn

About this edition

• Publisher: Shelter Publications Inc.,U.S.
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0936070528
• ISBN 13: 9780936070520
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224