More Funky Junky Dumpster n' Flea Market DIY Furniture....

An ULTRA-SIMPLE DIY RECYCLED SPOOL TABLE
and- a SMALL SQUARE FOOTAGE DRUM SET....(A "Manhattan" Cocktail Kit from Peace Drums)

The Spool Table with a Stand-Up Drum Kit in the background (link to a model/info is far below)

I really feel that homemade and repurposed furniture DOES fit into the general Tiny House Scene's mindset and aesthetic- which, to a great extent, is all based on thinking unconventionally or "outside the box". Therefore, here and there I share my little side projects with you guys. Those who come just for the tiny houses and cabins, bear with me... although this blog also gets a huge readership from those who are just here for the weird diy and junk-recycling projects.

So, here's a roadside wire spool I found, and had been trying to sell on craiglist for $15-$20 (starting price- I live near a city (Boston, MA), so people afraid to get their hands dirty do pick these up for such a price). I've had a few people who wanted it, but didn't end up showing (common with craigslist), so I decided to "funk" it up with some leftover paint and yardside scraps I had laying around to see if that might lure in some daring, out-there, buyer. I'll let you know what happens.

Basically, this isn't rocket science, heck, its not even "first grade science". Take a cable spool, clean it, paint it, add legs (screws n' glue), and adorn with weird decor. The end. Its hokey and crude, but there's something I really like about it- in a "Little Rascals/Our Gang" kind of way.

NOTE: The Drum Set Shown- a PEACE Manhattan Cocktail Kit is MUCH better than the one linked to below, although the linked one has decent reviews for the price.... and was linked so as to provide some review and specs info on these type drum sets.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen 

MY BOOK on small cabin and shelter concepts- and weird diy projects....

"The Periscope"- A NEW Tiny Cabin that'll be at my building workshop.....

For more on tiny houses n' cabins- "like" our facebook page www.facebook.com/tinyhousehub

The top portion of this cabin/tiny guest house is clad in tongue and groove cedar- from my friends over at www.goodridgelumber.com in Albany, VT. The lone cinderblock is no longer bearing the weight of this cabin, and will soon be removed (there is a post hidden behind it). 

Here's something I've been working on lately- a "procrastination build", while I should be working on other things.... I'm dubbing it "The Periscope" for now, as its so tall and narrow- and no, it won't tip over and is perfectly save. It can easily be anchored to the ground too.

    When finished, it'll stand at over 13' in height, will feature a small sleep loft, and even a tiny bathroom with a composting toilet. It'll be heated by either a Dickinson Boat Stove, OR a candle (no, not really, but this thing is SMALL, and will heat up EASILY, even without being insulated- I'll later shoot a video to prove this). It could make for a very simple vacation cabin, or even a home for an especially minimal, and daring, individual. The front, tetris-like, framing also doubles as shelving, and a few other funky bells n whistles will be worked in too. For eventual sale/transport, the roof top half can be taken apart, while the lower cube would be pulled onto a flatbed tow truck. Price- no clue- maybe $5000 when its fully outfitted- it all depends on how crazy I go with this thing.

It will be around, alongside 4-5 other cabins, AND a visiting Tumbleweed Fencl, for attendees to see at my upcoming Nov. 15-17th workshop here in MA.

The front of "The Periscope" is covered with transparent, durable, polycarbonate roofing from a company/brand called "TUFTEX". This stuff can be doubled, back to back, for a better seal, and an increased R value through its creation of a sealed air pocket. 

Oh yeah, most of the materials used in this were free and salvaged from an enormous stretch of fencing that was blown down in Hurricane Sandy up here in Massachusetts. 

If you dig the recycled-material-building approach, and off-the-wall tiny shelter and cabin concepts, check out my book.... THANKS! 

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Tiny House Kitchenette Video- Recycled, Space Saving Spice Racks- DIY Style

Another cool little video here from my buddy Steven Harrell over at www.tinyhouselistings.com 

In this video, Steven continues work on his mini kitchenette by installing a magnetic spice rack, built with a few pieces of recycled metal. Simple. Effective.

This kitchenette is within a tiny house/office that I designed for him, that resides in North Carolina. This little cabin, which I named "The Darrington"- is 8' by 12', complete with a sleep loft that fits a queen sized bed, and has room enough for a tiny bathroom as well. When complete, I'll be traveling down to NC to shoot a tour video on this place. We'll also have plan sets for the cabin sometime down the road.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

A foldable tiny house picnic table and chairs (you can carry on a bicycle?)

For more on tiny houses, diy projects, tree houses, and more- "like" us at www.facebook.com/tinyhousehub

Pretty "dang" genius- from Bloondesign.com, who, I read, were crowd-funding the development of this product (and failed to reach their goal). Hopefully they'll find a way to remedy this and put this product out soon though. If I hear otherwise, I'll update you guys.
     Anyway, I thought this might be great for tiny house use, and for bicyclists- the two seem to go hand in hand. Talk about a clever design! More info can be found on their website....

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Check out my DIY and Small Structure Concept Book.....

Only $11.98

Check our THIS unusual and rare tiny heater (for your tiny house?)

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Steampunk Meets Tiny House Heaters? 

Unfortunately kerosene is pretty fragrant, and even illegal in some states, but its still widely used for heat in both permanent, and temporary, or emergency situations. As a kid in CT, during hurricane Gloria, we lost power for over a week. If it hadn't been for our Sun Kerosene heater (one we nicknamed "Roberta"- it kinda looked like a robot), we would have been in severe trouble. It provided a TON of heat, and even had a cooking surface on top of it.

But here's a look at a much older version of a gravity-fed, kerosene heater- one I spotted at an antique mall outside Waterville, ME this summer.

Its so unique looking, standing even as a mere art piece, that I'd love to own something like this for a
backwoods cabin.

These were made by the Holyoke Heater Company in Holyoke, MA, a manufacturer that also made kero-fired hot water heaters.

I have never seen another once since and can't find jack for these online- shoulda' grabbed it! D'oh!

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Get even at your neighbors with a fort/tiny house facade like THIS!

Holy 1970s Batman! I actually LOVE the look of this clubhouse design by Frank Dimster, but I could see most not diggin' it in this day and age. It is dated, as this was built years and years ago, but to me, that's half the appeal. Regardless, I'm joking about the "getting even with your neighbors" title of this post- as, if you're a tiny house dweller, living outside the limits of the law, and certain zoning codes, the last thing you want to do is annoy, or engage, the folks next door. Be nice to thy neighbors- it just may keep 'em from calling the ole building inspector on you. Better yet, do things within code, so you'll have no worries at all.

By the way, REAL SOON, I'll be giving away a copy of the BRAND NEW book "Compact Houses" by Gerald Rowan- so check back! I'll have some other book giveaways soon as well.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Will Yount's Tiny House/Backyard Recording Studio in Nashville, TN

Will Yount, who I hung with months back (alongside Joe Everson of www.TennesseeTinyHomes.com) is an instantly likable guy- and talented to. I was lucky enough to get   to hang, and crash, in this great little recording studio/backyard guest house of his while speaking at Vanderbilt University in April. Naturally, shot a lil' tour video for you guys to check out.

Will's company "Hummingbird Tiny Spaces" can be found here- www.HummingbirdTinySpaces.com

And man oh man, is Nashville a fun town! Thanks to Will and Joe for showing me around! I actually head to TN again very soon to shoot two or three new tiny house tour videos as well! Can't wait!

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Lights, Candles, Action! The $300 Backwoods Guest Cabin- DONE....

Soon to be filmed for a mini-episode of my youtube show....

I'll have MANY more photos on this soon- over at www.tinyhouseswoon.com most likely- but here's a quick shot of my cabin in the woods- built with recycled materials and on an extreme budget. No, there is no bathroom or shower, as this is simply meant to be a backwoods reading room, or a sleep spot for guests up in Vermont (outside the main cabin way up the hill). Thanks to Alex Pino of www.tinyhousetalk.com too- who recently shared some in-the-works photos of this little cabin I've dubbed "The Rock Bottom". The Name? Its located at the bottom of a steep hill, next to a HUGE boulder, and was, well, built on a "rock bottom" budget.

I'M STILL looking for some unusual and fun tiny houses and outbuildings to showcase in my new book- if you have any, go post them via email over at.... I'd love to showcase some of your work.

OUR TINY HOUSE FACEBOOK PAGE- www.facebook.com/tinyhousehub

We also have one/two slots left at my upcoming TINY HOUSE BUILDING AND DESIGN WORKSHOP in Canton, MA- Nov. 15-17th....

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen
Check out my book on small space concepts....

Small House, (Nearly) Free Decor....

Hey, first off, my friend Andrew Odom from www.tinyrevolution.us has a new e-book out, which has some great tiny house decorating and furnishing ideas in it. Its aptly titled "How To Decorate The Tiny House"- and its dang reasonable.... I drop some decor tips in it as well (but check it out anyway! Wocka Wocka!). See more HERE... http://tinyrevolution.us/store/  We'll have more on it down the road.

Also, you like building, designing, and decorating with recycled materials? Oh, we'll be doing plenty of that coming up at my workshop....which is just about sold out.... so get ch'ass moving if you're interested. November 15-17th, 2013. We'll be building and outfitting TWO mini-cabins this time. Fun!

Speaking of which, here's a section of my small home that I "funkily furnished" with roadside crap and yard sale items. This blog is about diy tips and ideas in general, in addition to tiny houses and cabins, but it often dips into the realms of repurposing items, yard sale thrift, and heck, even dumpster diving. Yes, (shock! shock!) I have gone dumpster diving before- Love it, in fact.... its a pretty bad-ass counterculture/underground movement with some GREAT books on the topic as well (check out the hilarious and very informative book "The Art And Science Of Dumpster Diving"). I don't need the money, or am cheap, I just dig the concept and ideology behind it.
    Anyhow, what you see here is....

-FREE console table I found on the side of the road that I painted black ($0.99 spray paint), added new pulls to ($1.99 at Ikea, and I only needed two of the four in the package), and gave the drawer a coat of green I had laying around (lets call it $2.00 of paint).

-Vintage Drafting Light- $1.00 at a yard sale. If I wanted to, I could easily resell this on craigslist for fifty bucks or more. I do a lot of American Pickers-style junk-flipping for profit and fun on the side, and many of these items come and go from my household- which does keep things rotating and interesting.

-Weird wall hanging/art piece made from scrap junk wood. These were leftover small pieces from wood that was already scavenged and free. The paint was from random cans I already owned, but in such small amounts that it can't have cost more than $5.00.

-Ikea storage stool. This actually wasn't supposed to be here in this set-up, but snuck its way into the photo. It is colorful though, and handy as a mini-seat, or step stool, WITH storage. I think it was $19 or so a ways back.

-Ikea solar light. In the photo it looks like the large drafting light's little orange "light baby"- the only reason I tossed it in. These solar lights are pretty cool though, and come in several colors. I can't even tell you the name of them- something "Swedish" I'd imagine- hyuk, hyuk. For each one you buy, Ikea sends one to a third world country for students (who otherwise don't have adequate lighting) to study-by at night. It is very bright. But enough on Ikea, because they were mentioned in the last post too, and people will think I'm paid to plug them- I'm not. Cost: $15.00 last year.

Style-wise, its not for everyone, but it has worked for me, and its look I dig- wild colors, the concept of this stuff being saved from a landfill, and it costing me so little.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Build Loft Stairs For Your Tiny House or Cabin THE EASY WAY

Here's a little trick I came up with years back- it just seemed to make sense, and work, for me. I've never heard of anyone else building stairs this way, so I figured I'd make a little video on the technique and share it with you guys. These are the kind of little "tricks of the trade" ideas that we'll be putting into action at our November 15-17th Tiny House Building and Design Workshop in Canton, MA. Don't worry, if you can't make it, I'll have more video tips on the way, but it'll only be a fraction of what I can more effectively cover, in person, at a hands-on workshop.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Yard Sale Junk Turned Into Amazing House Lamps For Your Home?

Some great, on-the-cheap, lighting ideas here- all in one photo I saw over on www.pinterest.com and on houzz.com. Its on quite a few pages at this point, and rightfully so. File under: Simple and affordable ways to add clever and unique touches to your home.

I've made wine bottle lights in the past, but never tea cup lights- so cool!

Plastic salad and punch bowls, even old-style tupperware could also work well.

Don't write off "wooden light hoods" either. It sounds crude, but even a simple painted, hanging, "box" with a few variously-sized holes drilled it in, makes for a fun, effective, and unique looking ceiling light.

Here's another great lamp from Design Squish 

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

ONE TINY HOUSE PHOTO- SEVEN GREAT IDEAS....

Note: Our November 15-17 Tiny House Building and Design Workshop in Massachusetts is just about sold out- so if interested, don't delay! We'll be building TWO little cabins this time. 

      -------------------------

So I've been bustin' butt working on completing a book that I began working on years ago, and I'm at the photo collection and organization stage right now. New publisher, new approach, new ideas. This book will showcase a TON of the more recent things I've built and designed, things I'd LIKE to build via funky concept sketches, several full-out plan sets for micro-structures, AND will serve to showcase a good deal of work from others as well. I'm always looking for new photos and unique cabins to incorporate as well (fewer wheeled cabins than ground-bound ones at this point) so if you have any work you'd like to share- kidcedar at gmail dot com. Thanks!

So here's one photo (from a set that will be in the book) of Matt Wolpe's former home. While this is seen as mere "eye candy" to some readers, there is always A LOT to learn from even one single photo when it comes to design and space efficiency.

So here goes....

1. Color Choice: Matt's use of light n' bright colors, and his leaving the majority of the wood natural in its "pale" state, gives the room a larger feel than the small space it really is. If he were to have painted the walls dark purple, for instance, it would result in a more claustrophobic-feeling dwelling. You can certainly add darker colors, I'm not saying that fun and personal preference is outlawed, just incorporate them here and there in trim work, and limited patches- if you want to maximize the spacial "feel" of your home, that is.

2. High Shelving: Its out of the normal range of one's "Walking eyesight", and thereby doesn't clutter your vision when entering a room, AND still stands as a means to store a good many things. Its so easy and cheap to install plank shelving like this too. You can hang items, such as Matt's coffee cups, beneath such shelving as well.

3. The Chalkboard: This can be put to use both as a visually interesting element when hung on a wall, especially if one were to "gussy up" its frame, but its also a means to keep your "to-do" lists and notes organized and in one designated spot- as opposed to having them spread all over the place via post-it notes and scraps of paper. Magnetic chalk boards are even better.

4. Shallow Kitchen Shelving: With this method, every thing is visually available, and you don't have to rearrange and remove items in order to get to other jars and cans that might be stuck in the back of deeper shelves and cabinets. Shelving like this, and its seen contents, if set-up properly (notice how Matt has everything organized into nice, attractive mason jars and bottles) can be appealing to the eye as well.

5. The Steps: These might have been the first thing you noticed. These steps, while probably not a great option for those advanced in their years, are a great space saver in their cantilevered design. I'd personally affix a small storage cube hanging beneath a few of them, but that might also come at the cost of sacrificing visual space.

6. Visual Space: Yes, I just "spoiled" this one in #5, but keeping open visual space is important. Not every table and surface needs storage beneath it- there has a to be a compromise somewhere. I'm a fan of semi-chaotic design via LOTS of wall art, shelving, and attention grabbing knick-knacks, but that can be detrimental to the feel of a space. Remember to keep yourself in check in this regard when outfitting your home.

7. Open Storage: This ties into #4, but notice the open shelving at the end of the kitchen counter. By boldly leaving the items open and present to the judging eye, Matt is forced to keep his items and clutter to a minimum- its forced downsizing management, and a reason to continually keep on top of neatness.

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By the way, being a half-starving author myself ("Humble Homes, Simple Shacks", and a eventually to be re-released expanded version of "Quick Camps And Leg Cramps") I might add that Matt Wolpe recently released a GREAT book on building a variety of VERY, VERY funky (pardon the pun) chicken coops. I really do recommend it.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

A 3-in-1 Micro-Modern wall-mounted storage shelf from IKEA- for $4.99??

'Been a little swamped with building projects and readying the mountains of materials we'll be using at my upcoming Relaxshacks.com Tiny House Building and Design Workshop 2013, so my apologies on post delays over here. I've also been shooting quite a few videos as well, taking, and collecting, photos for a book I began years back, which I originally dubbed "Micro-Structures", AND attempting to finish my little Vermont cabin. 

Anyway, here's a cool little space saving item, new from IKEA, that I recently picked up and will be installing in that tiny Vermont guest cabin. Its certainly bizarre in appearance, but rather clever. I'm a fan.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Free Tiny House Kitchenette Project (simple/affordable) from Steven Harrell

 Here's a cool little vlog video from my buddy Steven Harrell of www.tinyhouseswoon.com and www.tinyhouselistings.com. Steven recently had begun work on installing a micro, recycled-materials, kitchenette station in his cabin "The Darrington". The Darrington is a cabin I designed and built with a group of workshop students- part of my "Tiny House Design And Building Series". We might eventually have plan sets for it down the road, and will definitely have a tour video!

Note: Steven still plans on installing a fireproof backsplash behind his mini cooking unit, and a few other bells n' whistles/tweaks.

Our next workshop.....ACTION PACKED! I Can't wait! Its filling up fast too. THREE DAYS of actual building, guest speakers, campfire discussions, and more (and you're welcome to camp out too!! We'll build TWO funky cabins together this time!

 

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

Lovely Little Lone Log Cabin by a Lake....

These are some photos I took last year of a tiny log cabin in the woods of Massachusetts (that we later stayed in for a week) as we were given a tour of it with some friends. I shot a "Tiny House Security" video on this place too, which was later featured in Kent Griswold's always-awesome "Tiny House Magazine".
   Its such a simple little cabin, which makes use of an outhouse down the trail, but this one has a little woodstove, sleeping bunks, and a great screened-in porch overlooking a picnic table by a lake. Heaven.

This is a place I'd LOVE to host a building workshop at down the road, as there is another cluster of tiny log cabins nearby, and LOTS of secluded land, again, by a lake!
And yup, I do have a three-day upcoming workshop- Nov. 15-17th in Massachusetts! Join us and build and design TWO little cabins. I can't wait! Space is limited to about 20 or so attendees, by the way....

Here's the link.... http://relaxshacks.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-three-day-hands-on-building-and.html

Who kicked the bucket? Never noticed it when I took the shot...lol....

A screened-in porch with a bed for hot nights....

VIDEO SHOT at that log cabin "Tiny House Security"

 Photos by Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

MY BOOK....

Wow...This Tree House Slays 'Em All....

I'm a tree house addict, building one right now for a client, AND one of the TWO structures we're collectively building at my Nov 15-17 Hands-On Tiny House Building Workshop in MA, just might be "tree-house-able". You'll see.... Workshop is filling up fast, so if interested, click HERE....

 More photos from my semi-recent trip to the Sonoma County Fair in California. This tree house and garden exhibit (which was Disney-like in scope!), was completely transported and installed INDOORS. Spectators were not allowed to climb up in it, as its not even built atop a real tree, but man were we allowed to gawk and admire. File Under: Huckleberry Finn builds a tree house/fort.

 

JUST this tree house exhibit, one of MANY indoors (including a GREAT tiny house display from Pepper Clark of www.bungalowstogo.com) was at least a quarter acre in size! Crazy! 

MY BOOK....