Tiny House Lifestyle Podcast

I’ve been seeing a lot of buzz about this company Wilderwise, so I decided to invite one of the founders, Arya Mazanek for an interview. Wilderwise is taking a custom approach to just about every aspect of their tiny home builds- from the custom aluminum trailer that doubles as the floor foundation, to the aluminum and SIP frame, what really sets these tiny homes apart is the fact that they expand...

Yes, a tiny home can qualify for a traditional mortgage! Aubrie Gibbons works for Atlas Cottage Homes, a company that has developed a modular small home, or cottage as they call it, that can be traditionally mortgaged. They can even help you roll the cost of the land into that loan, along with the cottage. We also dispel some of the common myths about modular building, along with what modular buil...

 Are you interested in listing a tiny house on Airbnb? I’ve been doing just that and I wanted to share my experiences with you. In this episode, I’ll cover what it’s been like turning my tiny house into an Airbnb, things I would have designed differently if I knew I was going to turn my house into a rental, and what it’s like to be an Airbnb host. Thank you to everyone who submitted their listener...

David Friedlander has been an advocate for the widespread adoption of minimal and tiny/low-impact living for over a decade. He’s been featured in the New York times, Minimalism documentary, and more. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore micro-living, hotel living, and what needs to change in our culture to more fully support a sustainable future living on the planet. Full show notes and i...

If you’re looking for inexpensive raw land you won’t want to miss this episode. Dave Denniston is a sort of raw land broker. he finds inexpensive land, makes sure it all checks out, finds out what can be done with it, and offers in-house financing. He explains the basics of raw land, gives us the scoop on some of his favorite tiny-home-friendly counties in US states, and lets us know which episode...

Can a relationship survive a DIY tiny house build? Cassie and Richard Saude of Lionheart Homes built their own tiny home and took their passion for the tiny house community to start their own tiny home building business. They now build houses for others, using their knowledge and insights as tiny home dwellers to provide additional insight to their clients in the design and construction process. F...

Today I am joined by a group of three friends to solve the problem we’re all facing today: the housing crisis! They decided to start a company called Tiny Easy that provides affordable tiny house plans with beautiful designs, SketchUp courses, and a lot more in the works. This is an impressive group of young entrepreneurs who I think will go a long way in the tiny house world. Full show notes and...

Would you believe me if I told you that it was entirely possible to record an album on a sailboat? Alli and Gaylen are the Sail Bums, a musical duo from Maine who live on their 37-foot Endeavour sailboat. In addition to explaining how they manage their music business while traveling the eastern seaboard, they also give some great advice to nomads on both land and sea and talk about why the nomadic...

Sabrina Bosserman is a professional skoolie builder, and she's here to tell us all about the ins and outs of converting a skoolie into a beautiful rolling tiny home. Sabrina is also a former Naval nuclear engineer who now builds skoolies full-time, and we chat about how her experience in the Navy helped to inform her desire and some skills for living tiny. Full show notes and images at thetin...

Say you build a tiny house on wheels but you want a legal place to park it. You fall in love with a piece of land and decide to buy it and create a legal tiny house community. Would you believe me if I told you that would take nearly two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars? My guests today, Callie Brauel and Nathan Huening did just that. They certainly didn't expect it to take so long...

Today, you’ll get the inside scoop on what it’s like to live in AND to be a founding member of an intentional community. My guest, Mike Moore, has lived in his community for over 25 in a ground-bound tiny house designed by Jay Shafer. Full show notes and images at thetinyhouse.net/214 In This Episode: Breakups: Who stays and who has to go? Cluster zoning is a mutually beneficial arrangement An inf...

 Living tiny is a great way to save money and pay off debt, and my guest today did that in a radical way. $60,000 in student loan debt in just 11 months. You’ll have to listen to the episode to find out exactly how he did it and why he doesn’t recommend doing it the way that he did. Full show notes and images at thetinyhouse.net/213 In This Episode: It all started with a joke and a gift How not to...

Even if you've never heard of an Airstream you probably know what they look like. These iconic travel trailers from the 1950s have become a hot commodity for renovation into beautiful, lightweight, tiny homes. Kate Oliver is the author of the new book The Modern Caravan, which tells the stories of beautiful Airstream conversions and the people who live in them through words and gorgeous photo...

What happens when two siblings decide to buy tiny houses and live next door to one another? Ashley Monkhouse is here to tell us all about her tiny lifestyle. Even though the two sisters bought their tiny houses from the same builder, they are quite different. In this interview, we'll hear Ashley's tiny story, learn about the tiny house community where they live, and find out what advice...

If you’re trying to build a tiny house on a budget, starting with a pre-existing shed can be one of the cheapest ways to do it. Adrian and Katherine Alvarez purchased a $20,000 16x50 Dirksen shed for $10,000 and spent very little to turn it into a home for their family of 3. Shed conversions are their own special animal and the Alvarezes share some great tips and what they wish they knew before th...

 Would you buy a 30-year-old military vehicle that breaks down all the time but can go anywhere? My guests today, Rae and Trevor of Wazimu Life, did just that and they’re here to tell us all about their fascinating lifestyle, now in their second, less breakdown-prone, go-anywhere tiny house rig. Full show notes and images at thetinyhouse.net/209 In This Episode:   Wazimu explained When is the vehi...

Today is one of those rare occasions where I get to introduce you to new building technology. My guest, Harrison Langley, is the founder of the company Boxvana, a composite SIP manufacturer and modular builder. Their LitePan material is up to 4 times lighter than a conventional wood SIP. That weight, along with the thermal properties, makes this incredible new technology an amazing application for...

If you’ve ever had trouble setting and reaching goals, this conversation is for you. Sasha Morozov and I discuss why work-life balance is a bunch of BS, how you can make your home fit your lifestyle, and how to create and keep healthy habits to help you move toward what you want. Sasha has a ton of energy and passion that I’m sure will motivate and inspire you. Full show notes at thetinyhouse.net/...

Is there anything cooler than taking a shower in your own waterfall? This week, Chris Strathy comes back to the show to tell us about his treasure trove of fun, off-grid projects. We talk about his redneck hot tub design, building an underground hobbit house, rehabbing an old log cabin, and so much more. Stick around to be inspired and hear all of the good wisdom that The Capable Carpenter has to...

Have you ever seen a shed or a building that is not a house, looked at it, and thought that you could probably turn it into a tiny home? Well, that’s what my guest, Deanna Michaelson, did! Deanna was able to eliminate $30k of debt in two years by renovating and living in a 9x12 tool shed. Stick around to hear what it took to turn the shed into a beautiful tiny house, why she got kicked out, and wh...

What does a Realtor think of tiny houses? And what’s a tiny house concierge? Today I speak with Alaska Wagoner, who shares her experience buying a pre-owned tiny house, dealing with winter plumbing issues galore, finding parking, and more. Full show notes and images at thetinyhouse.net/204 In This Episode: Explaining tiny house magic Buying in bulk is possible in a tiny house Is it possible to buy...

You’ve probably never heard of hyper adobe. And what’s a bunker bus? Why would someone want to move off-grid to the Arizona Desert? On this week’s show, Richard Ward gives us an inside view of his 24-acre homestead outside of Bisbee Arizona, where he teaches sustainable, natural building practices and off-grid living. And make sure you listen to the end because Richard has an invitation for our li...

You’ll never guess what this empty nest tiny house couple built into their tiny house porch roof! Colin and Megan Leeson tell the story of their pre-built shell, why the nest doesn’t always stay empty, and discuss some of the clever and innovative features they build into their gorgeous tiny home on wheels. Full show notes and images at thetinyhouse.net/202 In This Episode: Colin and Megan’s reaso...

Have you been approaching minimalism the wrong way? Think of this: You’re never going to truly become a minimalist until you find out why you are so drawn to owning so much stuff in the first place. Christine Platt approaches the concept of minimalism from a different lens by focusing on why we are attached to things, why we consume them in the first place, and how that understanding helps to find...

I’m excited to share this conversion with Nomad Brad because I think that we all have a lot to learn from vanlifers in the tiny house space. Brad converted an old U-Haul, which is something that not a lot of vanlifers are doing, and we’ll get into why it makes a lot of sense and some of the unique things that Brad has done. There is a lot to learn in this inspiring conversation, no matter what typ...