S’moresgasburg
It may be officially fall, but summer ain’t over ’til it’s over. The Artist and I had a bonfire tonight and pulled out the s’mores stuff. You can keep your pumpkin spice lattes… for now.
#smoreplease #summer #ain’tovertilit’sover
Month: September 2015
Crow’s Nest
Well, our house is taking shape enough that I already have a favorite space: the crow’s nest. We designed our sleeping space to be elevated above our dining area. It’s an efficient way to create space and we’ve added a big, round window in the loft to draw the eyes up upon entering.
The Artist, in a stroke of genius, decided to add a skylight right above the loft. It’ll let in loads of light and also give the illusion of a bit more space. Where there’s light, there’s space. It’s quite simple.
We’re really kind of dorks, but sometimes we bring our meals right into the tiny house and eat in there. It’s not finished and there’s lots of sawdust. If you’re not careful, you might step on a nail or sit on a staple. But we’re already enjoying spending time in the place and that, I think, is a very good sign.
#loveyourlife #findyourspace
Ice Shield
Among the things I didn’t think I’d ever say was, “I installed ice shield today.” But we did. And it worked out beautifully.
Ice shield, for those like myself that do not know, is a kind of weatherproofing layer that goes between a raw roof and shingles. It protects against the elements, like tarring a roof would, but is ever so much easier to do. We simply rolled it out, measured (twice), cut (once), and brought it up to the roof.
Once there, we took the plastic off the back and adhered the sticky side to the roof. It was really just about as easy as I could imagine, and will hopefully provide years and years of weatherproofing for our little tiny house.
We’re cruising along, hoping to beat the snow and we get this house weatherproofed. Currently, our goal is to have the place sealed sometime in November and we appear to be on track. Knock. On. Wood.
Next steps? We’ve got siding in the works, some cedar shakes coming down the line, and I hope to have time to tackle some more refurbishing projects like windows and cabinets. More to come!
#weather?whatweather? #nothingtoit
French Press Secrets
I don’t get a lot done without coffee, so it’s usually the first thing I do when I wake up. There are probably lots of ways to make delicious French press coffee, but here’s my favorite method. I use about 10 Tbs. of coarsely ground coffee for a 32 oz. French press.
Your favorite mug is one of the most important parts of this recipe.
- Grind your beans
- Put ‘em in your French press
- Boil your water, then let it cool for a mo’
- Pour about a cup of the water over your beans
- Let it cool for another minute
- Fill the French press with remaining water
- Leave for five minutes or so, then push that crank
#goodmorningsenses
Ceilings of Glory
The last few weeks have really felt like progress! We’ve been working on the roof/ceilings, which has arguably been the toughest task yet. Because the rounded roof design of the sheepwagon is so unique, and because plywood is so straight, we’ve put a lot of elbow grease into this week. But the results have been so satisfying and totally worth it.
We’re finding that as we attach each piece of 4 by 8 plywood, we’re getting a really beautiful bend in the wood. It gives a sort of fisheye feel that The Artist would like to take credit for, but really I think it’s just the laws of physics kicking in.
We can also see the big round window along the back wall and we’re starting to get a sense of what the sleeping loft will actually feel like. Much of the wood in this photo will (sadly) be covered with insulation, but for now the raw, wooden feel is so homey and inviting.
Can’t wait to see the finished house!
#elbowgrease #sosatisfying #ceilingsofglory
How We Got Here: The Chef
I’m not really a chef. Not even close. But I’m an avid eater and I think that’s good enough.
My adult life has been a series of moves. After high school (technically, before high school) I moved away from my hometown and started about a decade worth of global travel. Until my mid-twenties, I could fit my life into two well-packed suitcases. It’s been a beautiful life.
I’ve lived a lot of different types of places, and that means a lot of different housing styles, too. I spent a summer living in a beautifully crumbling English cottage, I had an efficiency in Japan with a bathroom roughly the size of your typical aircraft bathroom (but much cleaner), and I’ve lived in artists lofts tall enough to fit two African elephants standing on top of each other. We never tested that theory, but it would work if National Geographic’s statistics about African Elephants are accurate.
In my early twenties, I got one of those “real jobs” and started accumulating stuff. Then I got married, and inherited even more stuff. Stuff, for me, is not very gratifying to own. I get stressed out when there’s too much stuff. But as soon as I had money to burn, I found that I pretty quickly gave into the idea that stuff equals happiness. It’s been awesome to take a step back and analyze the purchases I’ve made over the last few years. I really can’t believe how much stuff I’ve justified buying, and I’m finding as we start the minimizing process that I’m already feeling lighter and more free. Psychological? Yes. But I think there’s a large practical element at work here, too.
One of the biggest draws of building a tiny house, for me, was the idea of having income that isn’t going to pay rent or a mortgage. It means we’ll have the ability to pay off our student loan debts more quickly, and eventually be debt-free. It also means we’ll have the funds available to travel more often. And we won’t have all that stuff to keep us weighed down. And let’s be completely honest… with 120 square feet, we’re not going to have room for stuff we don’t absolutely need.
I can’t wait to pare back down, reanalyze, and get started on our next big adventures!
Taking Shape
Well, the studs are going up, we’ve got some windows to repurpose, and our tiny house is starting to look like a tiny house! The Artist has been working hard and we’re so excited with the progress that’s showing up.
When we were deciding what kind of home to build, we really liked a lot of the design elements of the old sheepwagons. Sheepwagons were designed for a lifestyle on the move, with just enough space for the essentials. We thought that seemed appropriate for our lifestyle, and we designed to follow suit.
With the front and back pieces of the house going up, we are starting to visualize what the finished product will look like. Seeing something on paper and seeing it in 3D life are quite different, and we are so pumped.
Our sheepwagon will have a few modern spins, but when all is said and done we still expect it to be pretty rustic. We plan to run electric to it if, indeed, we find property with such an amenity. If not, we’re prepared to go rustic. We will likely not have running water within the wagon. Although many tiny housers have fully operational kitchens, we’ve decided to travel lighter, as it were, and avoid introducing moisture to an already tiny space. Eventually we’ll have some sort of well or small pump house – design pending. More to come. And finally, for the most exciting (and possibly most asked about) bit, we plan to have a composing toilet. They’re nothing fancy, but we think ours will cost about $7 to build and it will allow us to relieve ourselves in the comfort of our own home without pipes and running water. Believe me, I’ll have future posts about composting toilets. Get ready.
In the meantime, we are still thoroughly enjoying the build and we’ve already been eating supper in (or maybe on is the more appropriate preposition) our tiny house.
#tinydreams #shapingup
How We Got Here: The Good Enough Guide
Our approach, generally, is experimental. Whether it’s cooking, working, or building a house, we don’t generally approach new ideas with much rigidity and we really like it that way.
The Artist, in a previous life, worked in construction and helped build homes. One of his (in)famous coworkers used to say, in reference to his own handiwork, “Good enough for the girls we go out with.” From time to time, The Artist will take a step back, nod, and say, “Good enough for the girl I married.” It’s in honor of that noble, if not half-assed philosophy, that we have named our noble-if-not-half-assed blog.
As we’re going along, we’re tweaking design elements, filling in some blanks, and learning a lot along the way, always with the mantra that it’s good enough for us. We hope that if you’re following along you’re enjoying watching the process unfold. Thanks for experimenting with us!
Tomato Haul
It’s tomato harvestin’ time! My garden this year was composed of exactly one tomato plant, which had quite a traumatic year. It survived a wind storm, some kind of critter attack, and a rather shameful amount of neglect. It produced only four tomatoes, but they were delicious. Thanks, Tomato Plant.
These beauties were from my mom’s garden. They are totally sweet and succulent, and we’ve been putting them on salads like there’s no tomorrow. We also used them to make these GLBTTs – which are essentially like BLTs but also include guacamole and turkey and show our love for people of all gender identities and orientations. Win, win.
Look at those overflowing tomatoes!
Man, I love this time of year!
#homegrown #loveforall
Rehabbed and Refabbed: Studly Studs
When we set out on this little – very little – project, we wanted to try to repurpose as many materials as we could. It can be a good way to save money, save room in our landfills, and prevent some raw materials from being harvested in the first place.
Luckily, we’ve had a lot of enthusiasm for this project and have had lots of support and donations. We’ve had friends and family lend us tools, a place to live, and materials for this build. And it has been awesome.
Our walls were yet another donation from my parents, who recently reconstructed their deck. It was losing some of its stability and some of the boards were, well, pretty much loved to pieces. Much of the old deck, though, was still made up of beautiful usable wood. We sorted through those that were salvageable and they are now being used as our studs. Pretty cool, eh?
It has been pretty cool to watch as The Artist has planed some of the old deck boards and literally used them to shape our house. You could even say it’s been downright studly.
Coming soon… a little more info. on how we got here. Stay tuned!
thegoodenoughguide 