Updated Virginia Farmhouse House Plans

Updated Virginia Farmhouse House Plans

A few years ago I shared plans for a small farmhouse that Jay Osborne made available free. Yesterday he contacted me through Pinterest to tell me what is new with the plans and to tell me about his Kickstarter for a book about the floor 

Small Homes are Just the Right Size

Small Homes are Just the Right Size

I just picked up a 2017 issue of Mother Earth News at our neighborhood book exchange. It had a cover article Small Homes are Just the Right Size. These homeowners downsized their lives to inhabit hand-built spaces that are easier and cheaper to maintain. The 

DIY Container Home Kits

DIY Container Home Kits

Bob’s Containers sells DIY Container Home Kits from $17,500 or even less! 20-foot Container Home Kits start at $17,500. 40-foot kits are from $27,000. If you start with a used container, they cost even less. You can contact them for what is available. They will 

Living in a Train Caboose

Living in a Train Caboose

When I was little there was a train caboose in the parking lot of the Crandon Park Zoo in Miami. We loved it. Our parents had to drag us into the zoo. I found a photo of the caboose in the parking lot of the 

Rammed Earth Home

Rammed Earth Home

A mystery I am reading (Exit Wounds by J. A. Jance) has mentioned over and over that the sheriff lives in a new “rammed-earth home” with “thick walls and high ceilings”. It is “pleasantly cool”, despite the over 100 degree weather. I guessed “rammed-earth” was 

Granny Flat Zoning Temporary Use Permit

Granny Flat Zoning Temporary Use Permit

Someone I know thought she was going to have to sell their small home and move, so they would have enough space to care for her mother-in-law. Momma was no longer able to care for herself, but their house was too small to move her 

starENERGY 18×36 Small House Kit

starENERGY 18×36 Small House Kit

This new complete house kit on Amazon makes a 648 square foot small house. It is small, but big enough to be a home. Or add it beside your house to use for guests, office space or to earn extra money as a long term 

Building a 1350 square foot Spec House

Building a 1350 square foot Spec House

We heard chainsaws a few weeks ago that went on and on, so we walked out to see what was going on. They were clearing trees for a new house. They cut so many trees.

Roof pitch on an A-Frame with Bump-out Shed Dormer

Roof pitch on an A-Frame with Bump-out Shed Dormer

This A-frame house is in our neighborhood. If this feels like a re-run, I wrote a short post about this last year.  But we were on a different road and realized we can see the back of it here. So this blog post is more 

Tiny A-Frame in the Mountains

Tiny A-Frame in the Mountains

Isn’t this tiny A-frame house adorable? It is 540 square feet inside with hardwood floors and ceilings. Downstairs is a living room and a kitchen with an adorable tiny pot-belly wood stove. The bathroom has a claw-foot tub. The living room, upstairs loft bedroom, and