Tammy and Logan Strobel’s house is the size of a parking space. In 2005, after watching a movie on the Tiny House Movement, the couple chose to radically downsize their lives. “At the time we were living in a 1,200-square-foot apartment with two cars, Tammy recalls. “We offered our cars and slowly pared down by shifting to smaller and smaller apartments.” Both Tammy and Logan were enamored by the idea of microliving. Tammy says, “It disturbs what simplicity means to me personally. It’s beautiful, cheap housing, and we could take it with us when we want to move.”
Tammy and Logan hired Dee Williams and Katy Anderson of Portland Alternative Dwellings to construct their house. They moved in October 2011 and couldn’t be happier with their small house, which contains a front porch, a kitchen, a bathroom with a composting toilet and convertible shower, a living area and a loft sleeping area. “It works for us. It fits us like very well made clothes, as cheesy as that sounds,” says Tammy. “Living in this small space isn’t for everybody, but it is a great solution for affordable housing.”
in a Glance
Who lives here: Tammy and Logan Strobel and their 2 cats
Location: Portland, Oregon
Size: 128 square feet; 8 ft wide, 16 feet long and 13 feet tall at the highest point
That is intriguing: The house price $31,000.
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The house is the magnitude of what many would use for a shed. Tammy is frequently asked how they could possibly reside in such a little space. She says, “It’s kind of amazing if you put it into perspective. In the U.S. we’ve got such large spaces for our homes, but in other areas of the planet this would be considered luxury.”
Tammy and Logan cover monthly rent and utilities into the landowners to park their own property. “We found the distance throughout our extended network, and the community and our neighbors love the aesthetic and the doctrine behind the tiny structure,” Tammy says. Since the house is on wheels, the couple did not need to jump through any zoning hoops or permit process through the city of Portland.
The exterior is cedar wood, and the few like to open up their French doors on sunny days.
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The couple cook frequently in their streamlined kitchen. “Logan even has a wheat grinder,” Tammy says. “I feel as though he is a homesteader.” The bamboo countertop is from a regional Portland store, Bamboo Revolution, along with the cabinets incorporate ample storage, including narrow concealed drawers across the bottom to store requirements. Nestled into the end of the counter is a kitchen table with fold-out legs. “It’s not a perfect match, but it works,” she says.
The house includes a easy plumbing setup: One pipe goes into the house, and one goes outside. A garden hose attaches to an exterior valve that runs into the kitchen faucet. “For drinking water we filter water from the faucet using a straightforward Berkey Light Water Filter system that sits on the counter,” Tammy explains.
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A magnetic strip leaves storing often used utensils a breeze, and spices have been stored visible and accessible with mason jars wrapped to the ceiling. Tammy says, “It’s nice to see that our stuff, since I have a tendency to be pretty visual. If I toss things in the cabinet, I forget about it.”
Mason jars: Alberta Co-Op Grocery
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To discover a cooker little enough to match their space demands, Tammy and Logan turned into Craigslist. This Origo 3000 stove is mainly used on ships. It uses denatured alcohol rather than propane, making it safe to burn indoors with minimal ventilation. “We also do not have a car, and the alcohol is simpler for us to transfer than propane. I really don’t need to blow up myself on the bike,” says Tammy. The stove is freestanding and requires no wires or pipes.
The few enjoys taking the REI teakettle whenever they move bike camping in the summer. Their cups and dishes, which are placed above the countertop onto a shelf, also double as camping cookware. Among their favourite camping spots is Stub Stewart State Park, only 30 miles west of Portland.
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Logan found this handmade, turtle-shell-like textured recycled aluminum sink eBay, and it’s but one of Tammy’s treasured pieces in their small home.
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A very long bamboo curtain from Ikeawas cut to create smaller curtains for windows in either the front and rear of the house.
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The bench in Tammy and Logan’s living area is foam covered in wool blankets. It folds out to make a guest bed. The lights on each side of the couch are from Ikea.
The couple shares a wireless online connection with the landowners. They also plug to the landowners’ house with an outside extension cord to get power. The tiny house runs off a 15-amp electricity source.
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A kitty litter box hides in a corner. The cats also spend a fair quantity of time out hanging outside in the lawn — a luxury, because their previous downtown Portland apartment restricted them inside.
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The couple installed LED lights from Ikea on the roof of the light blonde pine wood ceiling. The whole interior is made of pine wood. Effective lighting positioning together with the bright wood and plenty of windows create the 128-square-foot house look a whole lot more spacious.
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Tammy and Logan used shower curtains from Ikea as a more affordable option to window treatments. The cat scratcher helps keep the cats from scratching the beautiful pine.
Cat scratcher: Celebrities on Broadway
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A tiny wet bath provides a place for the few to wash up. Tammy says, “Right now I really don’t use it since I shower after my yoga class, and Logan showers in his workplace.”
Graywater from the kitchen sink and moist bath flows together to one pipe, then collects in a five-gallon container under the house. Tammy explains, “We use the graywater to irrigate decorative trees and shrubbery. Thus far, we have been generating about 1.5 gallons of graywater every day or not.” Black water isn’t a problem for the couple since they have a composting toilet, following the Humanure Handbook.
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The loft sleeping area is Tammy’s favourite part of the house. A skylight opens up the distance and permits the few to sleep with a view of the stars. The bed is a futon mattress stuffed with wool.
Futon: Rock Soft Futon; lamp: Ikea
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