“The youth gets together his
materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or
temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to
build a woodshed with them.” -HDT
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| A tiny interior |
For as long as I can remember, I have
been building things- for kicks. And, when I say building, I mean
that in a very broad sense. My creativity was not relegated to
structures like my old tree-house. I lived in a very rural area,
without a Michael's or Joann's just around the corner, and a set of
parents more likely to fly me to the moon than spend money at such a
place. So I got resourceful. I gave crafty a whole new definition. I
constructed little masterpieces unrecognizable from their material
make up. I went through phase after phase, whatever captured my
interest, I sought to create on my own. Did you know you can make
little Eskimos out of printer paper, cotton balls, markers, tape, and
a glue gun? Well, you can, and I won first prize at my middle
school's winter carnival cake contest with those little guys! (Plus
an igloo made of marshmallows.) I remember making decorative masks
out of natural clay I dug from the ground, little sail boats from
hallow bamboo and broad leaves, dream catchers woven from grass and
feathers I had found, and many sewing projects that ranged from
stuffed animals, to quilts, to clothing.
Once for a school project on
electricity, I created a small scale house, with intense detail, and
multiple working lights in the various rooms. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed creating that itty-bitty home. (Holy cow, foreshadowing!) I also made tiny
furniture. I remember being so proud of how well my little
upholstered chair came out, using just a glue gun, Popsicle sticks,
and some carefully cut felt. Someone stole that little chair the
first day we left the projects on display in the classroom. I was
angry, but have since learned to take it as a compliment. ;)
My years of MacGyver-style art
creations taught me that there are always ways to achieve what you
want. You just have to examine the box of limitations you sit in, and
decide how to kick the walls down. I was always in need of materials,
and as soon as I learned to look at the objects in my life
differently, I found that materials abounded all around me. Then,
technology entered my life. I still remember the very first computer
my family owned. It was top notch for it's day, and the program,
Paint, opened up my world. The first time I sat down and began to
play, the realization sunk in and I remember thinking, “You
mean....I can just....keep making one thing after another?! This
requires no actual materials?! I CAN CREATE FOREVERRR!!” Needless
to say I was hooked.
Fast forward fifteen years- obviously,
Paint doesn't thrill me the way it used to. I have grown more
sophisticated, ipso facto, so have my tastes. Intense photo editing
programs are where I like to linger when I'm on the computer for fun,
but even those have begun to lose their luster. As I was reading
through the blog I mentioned in my last post, 2cycle2gether, I
admired the mock-up designs that Kai had posted for their tiny house.
I have always wanted to get my hands on software that allows you to
build 3D structures to scale. Then I read a small tagline under his
image that said, “Created using Google Sketchup”. I immediately
went and searched for it on the web. The wonderful people of Google
have created this program, and a standard version is available for
FREE! After watching a couple of tutorial videos, I was off and
running, creating several draft versions of our tiny house design.
Thanks to Google Sketchup, I have
become increasingly obsessed with the interior design of our tiny
house. I find myself rethinking the placement of many items, each
time further fine-tuning the efficiency of our space. Here's a
glance at some of the drafts I have created.
Note the word “draft”. This idea,
I'm sure- if I know myself at all, will change many more times before
we begin building. I love Google Sketchup for it's ease of use, and
the ability to actually look at a 3D rendition of the simplistic
pencil sketches we started with. Looking at a flat floor plan simply
doesn't convey the same kind of spatial awareness as a 3D design.
Not to mention, I can cook-up one funky interior design idea after
another and know immediately if it would be sensible and efficient. I
much prefer that idea to the costly process of trial and error as you
build.
What you are looking at above is just one
side of the interior. From left to right, you can see the composte
toilet, a storage cabinet that also serves as a separating wall, a
low counter with a small propane oven and stove top, some counter
space with a fridge underneath, and then a funky storage cabinet that
also serves as the ladder to the loft.
Here (above) is another version of the funky
storage/mode of ascension, and also some of the structures on the
opposite side of the tiny house. To the far right, (I haven't built
it into this sketchup) we plan to put a custom built couch along the
end wall. The first step on the funky cabinet will be the same height
as the couch. That way we can easily put a table in between and it
serves as a dining area. Or, we can fold out the couch, to rest on
the first step and it becomes an additional sleeping area. So if Dan
pisses me off, he has somewhere to sleep. JUST KIDDING!
On the side closest to you, from left
to right is: the shower, a separating wall, a longish counter with
the sink, and a tall storage space that also provides some privacy to
the loft- okay maybe it just blocks the view of the water tank-
either way we like it. For now.
I encourage everyone to go get Google Sketchup and start playing! If you think you want to give this tiny
house idea a shot, I highly recommend exploring your ideas in
Sketchup. Not only is it easy and fun, it is rewarding and
encouraging. The interior was something that I avoided in the
beginning because I was intimidated and had no decent way to lay out
a plan, but now tiny house interiors have become my latest obsession.
I peruse photos of interiors on a daily basis, gathering inspiration
and ideas for our dream home. Check out some of these tiny interiors!
Tiny can still be absolutely beautiful!
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