Uh-oh! Deek's buyin' up lanterns n' funky art....NEW CABIN on the way?

Quick Announcements: Only TWO slots left at our Wilmington, NC HANDS-ON Tiny House Building Workshop- April 26th-28th..... Also, for those who missed the announcement, our NEW facebook page TINY HOUSE HUB is now up and running....www.facebook.com/tinyhousehub. Thanks! We have another AWESOME giveaway coming tonight or tomorrow too- so check back!

FUNKY ART in FUNKY SHACKS

Artwork by Keemo- probably soon to be seen in one of my NEW CABINS! 

   Yup, anytime I start hitting flea markets, yard sales, or buying funky art off local or underground artists, it usually means I'm starting to stock up on decor items for an impending new cabin project, and in this case, its beyond true, as I'm working on THREE cabin prototypes right now! 
     One is a collaborative effort, as I've previously mentioned, with DAVID STILES from NYC- his architectural work is FANTASTIC, as is his sketching (and books!), and I've designed a transforming A-frame Cabin (a damn affordable one) that he'll be drafting out full plans for. I can't wait to show you guys! The interior, and exterior will have a 60s/70s look to it, with a twist of bizarre-modern, so it'll certainly be unique! The design is inspired in a few ways, by the work of Lester Walker, and Jeff Milstein, if I had to pick two names in the tiny house and design field. 

Bear on a framed Birch Ply panel- high quality! by Keemo

 Thankfully, here in New England the snow is finally going away and its getting a little warmer so that I can get some work done, so soonish, you'll be seeing and reading more about these projects.

Anyway, in particular, I've REALLY been loving the artwork and paintings from this guy who goes by "Keemo"- his art is wildly fun and colorful, and damn reasonable too....

He's a cottage industry, diy guy, with a family to feed, so give him a look, or some support- www.KeemoGallery.com

I bought four REALLY cool pieces off him recently.....(the bear above is one of 'em)

Lantern above: This I found at a Barn/Weekend Flea Market in Douglas, MA- such a nice little New England town, and the flea market owners were VERY NICE!- all based in a GREAT looking, vaulted roof barn too- I'll be back! You can find more on them at...www.DouglasFleas.com (Bosma's Douglas Flea Market is the name). 

One of my in-the-works cabins- a reading/writing/napping art studio of sorts....video to come (when its done!)

Simple micro paintings on scrap wood that I recently did (in my home).

So UGLY that I LOVE it! A painting I picked up at a thrift shop a ways back....

Another cool/weird painting from KEEMO below....

Bye-Bye To "The Boxy Lady" Micro Cabin/Shelter

Bye-Bye to "The Boxy Lady".....

Photo by Bruce Bettis

My micro-cabin/shelter "The Boxy Lady", which won a "Best In Show" Ribbon at Maker Faire 2010 in NYC, visited a CT libary for a speaking event, was on display for weeks in the seaside town of Scituate, MA, has a cameo in the upcoming horror film "Slew Hampshire", and was MY FIRST mini-feature video for "Tiny Yellow House" for Make Zine, now has a new owner.

I'm slowly selling the tiny cabins I have, to make way for (with the proceeds) several NEW projects and designs that will be the subject of upcoming videos for my DIY youtube series. You can subscribe to my channel by going to www.youtube.com/relaxshacksDOTcom  I have SIXTY FOUR videos up there now- all DIY and Tiny House/Cabin related.

Soon, "The Gypsy Junker" cabin will be up for sale, as well as "The GottaGiddaWay". The money from these might also go towards an eventual Shipping Container Tiny House Project- as I've long been obsessed with the idea/concept.

Anyway, here is an older video, when I was younger, and had quite a bit more hair....

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

A Secret Door in A Small Seattle House!

While sifting through, oh, a few hundred photos I hadn't posted yet, I now have the urge to incorporate a hidden passageway into the cabin we're all collectively building in North Carolina at our 3-day Tiny House Workshop- seriously, we just may have to do it! The workshop is April 26th-28th....CLICK HERE for more info....

 I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE secret passageways. Perhaps it was infused in me from movies like "The Goonies" when I was a kid, or the TV show "Webster" (if anyone remembers that), but I just can't resist clicking on links, videos, articles, and tours of homes with secret passages.....

SO.....I was thrilled to come across one face to face while filming episode of my show "Tiny Yellow House" out in Seattle earlier this year (with Christopher Smith, one of the two (with Merete Mueller) behind the much anticipated "Tiny: The Movie").
     You might have seen my video tour of Hal Colombo's 68 square foot tiny guest house (complete with a mechanical, garage-door murphy bed!) this past summer, but Hal's main house itself was actually twice as wild! Sadly, we didn't have time to film it, but I hope to return at some point- it was just TOO good of a time. The old video is below- and check out this secret Scooby-Doo-like bathroom door. This bookcase is SOLID, and hung on massive hinges, yet it swings with ease!

The big ole hinges are the giveaway, but its really well designed, and the door gives way to an under-the-staircase bathroom.

Hal's home, overall, is about 600 or so square feet, from what I remember him telling me. As for the guest house, YES,  you can rent it by the night- over on airbnb.com. Hal also plays in a really cool surf/garage rock band called "The Vacant Stairs".

Funky Junk! I love it! You could spend a few hours in his living room looking around and never unearth, or ask about, all that you wanted to know and see. 

Filming the show, at like 6am (after that hellish flight), BEFORE heading off to speak at the Tumbleweed Tiny House Workshop.

IF YOU MISSED THE VIDEO TOUR....

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

"The Darrington Cabin" Mock Ups- A Tiny Guest House/Office....

Here's another stab at the cabin design we might be tinkering with (well, ACTUALLY BUILDING!) at our April 26th-28th Tiny House Building Workshop in Wilmington, NC. THREE DAYS of building, designing, networking, guest speakers, demos, and MORE! CLICK HERE if you might want to sign up....while we still have space. Its limited to 25 people total. The list of guest speakers is GREAT too- with MORE to come!
Steven Harrell of Tinyhouselistings.com, Kent Griswold of Tinyhouseblog.com, Alex Pino of Tinyhousetalk.com, Laura LaVoie of 120squarefeet.com, AND MORE- they'll all be there as speakers!

I've never really messed around with Google Sketch-up before, just because I haven't had the chance, so with a little block of time today I decided to mess around a bit, with some off-shoot ideas (and there will be many other to come) for a micro-cabin I'll eventually be building, that I've named "The Darrington" (a combination of "Deek" and "Harrington" (a nod to Kevin Harrington of www.COZYHOMEPLANS.com, who has been so helpful with my videos, and blog.

The cabin is 8' by 12', and 10' tall at its highest point, and what you see here is a mere rough draft.

Not shown is the work desk, toilet, ladder (or steps) to the loft, gutters (by the entrance), and support legs for the flip-up wall/canopy (IF we decide to incorporate it into the build at all).

Again, these sketch-ups are pretty darn rough, as, well, I've used the program for about a total of 2 hours and that's it. I DO see how people can get addicted though, and heck, its a free program! No complaints here.

-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen

A Micro Office Makeover- FLOOR STORAGE ("FLOORAGE") for your tiny house

UNDER FLOOR STORAGE IN YOUR TINY HOME OR OFFICE:

Well, with 1000 projects going on, a 3 Day NC Tiny House-Building Workshop coming up (April 26th-28th), two kids, two bands, a hosting gig for the DIY Network, another book contract signed/in the works, and well, all the other things that come with life, my micro closet office, or "Cloffice", had gotten a little messy as of lately.....SO I figured a lil' makeover was in order. (Note: The rest of the room to the left is clean....)

BEFORE

AFTER

"No, you can't have my vintage vhs copy of 'Tremors'!"

In the photo above, the closet makeover is not 100% complete, but its getting there. The new space acts as a little reading/play nook for my kids, which they love- its very fort-like, and if I have to do any computer work while at home, they're inches behind me, so that I can keep an eye on them.

HOW? TACTICS....

Basically, I utilized the under-stair shelving I had installed (on stairs I also had built a few years ago, the office too...) for storage of books, magazines, and future giveaway items for the blog, AND.....I built what I call "FLOORAGE". Floorage is the building of a thin, boxed, floor section, ON TOP of an existing floor. Its almost like building a stage, but one that is hollow, and opens up for access and storage within. Mine was made of a few 2by6's and some left over tongue and groove cedar I had. Slap an Ikea rug and a pillow or two on top of that, and Whammo!- a simple under-stair-office makeover!

TOTAL BUDGET- $45.00

Naturally, some of the items I parted with, or moved elsewhere, but believe it or not, most everything fit in here, AND there's a little room to spare... The edge of the storage/floorage box also has a nice stained/trim edge now, which isn't shown in this photo.

I talk about this a lil' bit in my book "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks", but will expand on more of these style ideas in the next book I've been working on....
-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen