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Houzz Tour: Tiny Home Built for Big Adventure
Newlyweds Evan and Gabby Coulson construct a 117-square-foot home made for the road
Evan and Gabby Coulson have always loved the idea of just living with what you need, and nothing more. The two of them now live at Camp Ondessonk in Illinois, where Evan works. While they already had a very sustainable lifestyle, about a year ago Gabby was inspired by a story about tiny homes she read on Tumbleweed Tiny Homes. The story stuck with her, and she decided that she wanted to downsize dramatically.
"When she said we should look more into these tiny homes for our life, I thought she was completely nuts," says Evan. "But as I began to actually listen to what she had to say, I started to get on board as well." Now the couple is in the final stages of building their Tumbleweed Tarleton home. At about 117 square feet, the home has everything they need — and nothing more.
See the home that inspired them
"When she said we should look more into these tiny homes for our life, I thought she was completely nuts," says Evan. "But as I began to actually listen to what she had to say, I started to get on board as well." Now the couple is in the final stages of building their Tumbleweed Tarleton home. At about 117 square feet, the home has everything they need — and nothing more.
See the home that inspired them
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| After they finish their home, Evan and Gabby will register it as a custom-built RV. Since it's on wheels and was built to be adaptable to an RV park or even a friend's backyard, it's completely portable. Evan and Gabby plan to move around the country, staying in campgrounds that offer year-round rates. "We want to purchase some land one day and run utilities for the tiny house in an area with zoning and housing laws that are compatible with this form of living," says Evan. |
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A small storage nook above the entry is one of the home's many smart storage solutions. Although Evan and Gabby carefully planned out the storage options, they know they'll still have to get rid of quite a lot before they move in permanently.
"Paring down our belongings and deciding what to take with us, what to keep for later use and what to repurpose will be difficult," says Evan. "But it's also the part we're looking forward to the most."
"Paring down our belongings and deciding what to take with us, what to keep for later use and what to repurpose will be difficult," says Evan. "But it's also the part we're looking forward to the most."
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| The sleeping loft is above the kitchen and bathroom, opposite the home's entry. Custom closet doors in the loft swing open to provide a sense of privacy. This area is one of Gabby's favorite parts of the house because it's so tucked away and cozy. Gabby and Evan plan on installing a full sized bed by putting two latex rubber mattress cores inside a custom organic and cotton wool mattress cover. |
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| The two sleeping-loft closets, shown here with the doors closed, are what Gabby is most proud of. "The idea that I'll be scaling down my wardrobe to fit in such a small space is very gratifying," she says. "It's a feat that I think few women would be brave enough to do." The inside of each closet door is covered in cork board, which Gabby plans on using to tack up patches she's collected from travels and adventures. |
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Evan later installed his Christmas gift from Gabby — a training board for rock climbing — just under the loft entrance. Both love being outdoors, camping and backpacking. "One thing that really caught me was the similarity between downsizing and living in a tiny house and the concepts that are put into practice when backpacking," says Evan. "It's about only taking what is truly needed for basic daily needs."
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| The electrical needs of Evan and Gabby's home are very small, since they only have a few lights and small appliances — such as the stove, fridge and washer/dryer — to power. |
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| The galley-style kitchen was carefully designed for space and storage efficiency. It has four feet of stainless steel counter space on both sides along with a two-burner gas stove, a toaster oven, a bar sink, a small fridge and a combination washer and dryer. |
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| The main "great room" is Evan's favorite part of the home. It has plenty of great nooks and crannies for storage, but still feels fairly large. The combination window seat and storage trunk is a great example of how the couple was able to use every bit of square footage. For the floors, Evan and Gabby installed natural cork flooring from Bare Naked Flooring. |
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| A small desk/table was built in the great room so the two could work or share a meal here. The corner location and the use of a wall brace rather than legs keep it compact. The metal panel on the right side of the desk is the home's heating system. Evan and Gabby decided to install a marine boat heater, powered by propane, to keep their tiny home warm in the winter. The entire home isn't much larger than a walk-in closet, so it won't require much energy. |
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In the bathroom, the two built a custom 32" x 32" stainless steel shower. The stainless steel panels were applied to mildew- resistant drywall using heavy-duty silicone caulk.
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A composting toilet system from Biolet allows Evan and Gabby much more freedom when choosing a place to live since they don't have to worry about the disposal methods that a standard system requires.
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Venting the toilet system was one of more difficult aspects of construction, but they were able to install a pipe through the bathroom wall. The entire house is made with sustainable and natural materials as Evan and Gabby were insistent on having as much of a plastic-free home as possible. Natural wool insulation and copper pipes are just a few of the materials they used.
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| The couple is quick to mention that they couldn't have possibly built this home without the help of their family and friends. "It's been like an old-fashioned barn raising," says Evan. "People have come together behind us on this project." |
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| "This lifestyle shift is going to be part adventure, part social experiment for us. We know we can make something so extreme work for a few years, if nothing else," says Evan. "But we do think that this simplified lifestyle is going to be both rewarding and liberating. We're hoping that we choose to continue this way of living past our initial time frame. Time will tell!" More: A Tiny, Happy, Eco-Friendly Home Kitchen of the Week: A Warm and Eco-Friendly Update Making Pre-Fab Work for All |
Ideabook published on Oct. 4, 2011.
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very, very tiny
I will forward this link to my son...he would totally love it! He is an adventurer, biker/hiker...
That being said I'm a big fan of the small house movement, and Tumbleweed has some great houses. The McMansions out there are just absurd for most of the people that have them, we'd all be much better off with smaller, well built houses than oversized cheaply made (but expensive!) ones.
We pared down with a four box system (love this, need this, give this to a friend, giveaway) http://accessahut.wordpress.com/2010/11/26/boxed-up-discussions/
Yes, we were only in our house for 5 weeks before my beloved died, but before that we were in a 300 sf room and before that a 800 sf apartment. And we learned to have personal space via communicating and talking and asking for what we needed. You can have a relationship in a small space.
@Evan and Gabby: I love your Tumbleweed! Congrats and happy travels to you!
I love this-perfect for one person- I have 2 questions #1 what is the average cost #2 can you take this to a campsite or RV park??