I have been journaling for the last year about building a tiny house just outside of Asheville, North Carolina. I realized recently that this experience has outgrown the livejournal universe and I wanted to be able to present information on a wider range of small building topics and with a larger group of people.
If you're just tuning in, my husband Matt and I are building a Tarleton, designed by Jay Shafer. It really all started a few years ago. Matt has always been interested in building and especially sustainable or self sufficient building. We spent time researching other types of alternative building including Cordwood Masonry and Earthships. Then one day our friend Nicole told us that she saw this guy on Oprah who built a tiny house on a trailer. And our love of the Tumbleweed Tiny House began. We had the pleasure of meeting Jay Shafer at a workshop in Asheville a about a year and a half ago and after talking with him about the building and our ideas we knew the house was for us. We bought plans for the Tarleton and got to work on the 15 acres we owned in Western North Carolina. You may see that named our mountain after my husband. He is a funny, funny guy.
We have been building for almost a year straight, all total. Since we both still work full time jobs in Atlanta, most of our work is done over the weekend and usually just two weekends a month. It has been very difficult but one of the most worthwhile things I have ever done. I encourage you to catch up with my original livejournal posts and then continue to check back here for updates.
If you're just tuning in, my husband Matt and I are building a Tarleton, designed by Jay Shafer. It really all started a few years ago. Matt has always been interested in building and especially sustainable or self sufficient building. We spent time researching other types of alternative building including Cordwood Masonry and Earthships. Then one day our friend Nicole told us that she saw this guy on Oprah who built a tiny house on a trailer. And our love of the Tumbleweed Tiny House began. We had the pleasure of meeting Jay Shafer at a workshop in Asheville a about a year and a half ago and after talking with him about the building and our ideas we knew the house was for us. We bought plans for the Tarleton and got to work on the 15 acres we owned in Western North Carolina. You may see that named our mountain after my husband. He is a funny, funny guy.
We have been building for almost a year straight, all total. Since we both still work full time jobs in Atlanta, most of our work is done over the weekend and usually just two weekends a month. It has been very difficult but one of the most worthwhile things I have ever done. I encourage you to catch up with my original livejournal posts and then continue to check back here for updates.
Hello! My husband and I lost our house last winter to a devastating fire. It's been a whirlwind of "what now?" since then. I am very much in love with a minimal lifestyle and came across the Tumbleweed site just yesterday. We live in eastern NC but are actually in Arden this weekend. We are soon nearing the time to figure out our next living situation and I am very drawn to one of these. Do you know of any Tumbleweed folks in NC that are interested in showing and sharing a bit of their time? I think I'd be inclined to just buy straight from Jay and would really want to see one first!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I wanted to quickly message you as we head back east tomorrow; but I'll now spend some time on your site!
Cheers,
Andrea from New Bern