Teen tiny house builder Austin Hay finishes dorm on wheels

October 17, 2014 john 1 48

We first visited Austin Hay after he had just finished his sophomore year of and had built just the shell of his tiny home on wheels (based on plans donated by Jay Shafer, now of Four Lights Tiny House Company). Now, Austin is in his senior year of high school and he has finally completed…

Tiny house pioneer Jay Shafer: thinking beyond trailer parks

October 17, 2014 john 0 81

In 1997, Jay Shafer built a tiny house on wheels that shunned trailer park conventions and attempted to mimic a classic gabled home. This act of design rebellion- coupled with Shafer’s challenge to building codes (first in Iowa City and later in California) and his co-founding of the Small House Society- helped launch a movement.…

Tiny Texas Houses’ “Willy Wonka” on making magic reusing wood

October 17, 2014 john 1 505

Brad “Darby” Kittel came to Texas living on a converted school bus. He had planned to write the Great American Novel, but he ended up buying up boarded-up homes and fixing them up using materials he salvaged from other old houses, barns and buildings. After a couple decades refining his salvage mining techniques, he began…