Tiny Texas Houses
OMG, y’all! I’m probably sounding like a broken record with my obsession with women’s colonies and my latest variation on that theme, a vintage trailer court. But, I just have to share this because it was such a delightful surprise!
Tall Slow Talkin’ Texan and I took a little field trip last weekend to see Tiny Texas Houses in Luling, Texas. I had seen an article a year and a half or so ago about this guy down in Luling who builds beautifully detailed, tiny homes from salvage. I know, ‘salvage’ sounds like it could mean ‘scary’, but just take a look at these photos to see what it really means. Anyway, we were looking for something fun to do that would involve a short road trip and this fit the bill.
I don’t know what I expected, but as TSTT and I walked through the 5 or 6 models Brad Kittel has on his property, I become more and more intrigued. And then, as one of Brad’s right hand guys walked us through 3 structures they had under construction, TSTT and I fell in love with them. They are building a little wedding chapel along with a bride’s room and a groom’s room. And these are the most charming little buildings you will ever see.
We are talking small here, some as small as a few hundred square feet, and the biggest being perhaps 400 square feet. All of them are unique structures built using lovely rich old wood, windows, doors, and fixtures Brad collects from all over the world. Many of them have porches added to expand the living space. Of course screened in porches are available too.
As an example, the inside of the bride’s room used old 6-panel doors turned sideways for wainscoting and an old turquoise sink from the 20s or 30s. In keeping with a bridal theme, they have whitewashed the entire inside and will be painting the floor turquoise to match the sink! Can you imagine how darling that is? 
A very novel, and appealing, aspect of them is that they are completely portable. I mean you wouldn’t want to pick them up and move them willy nilly because it does cost to transport them, but they are built like brick outhouses (whatever those were) and structurally, they are built to be moved around. And, in spite of their diminutive size, you would be amazed to see how well designed they are to make use of every available inch of space.
You see, Brad is on a mission. He works with those who want to live much smaller and more affordably, but in a high quality house that will outlast them. One of the first things out of his mouth when we met him was how women in particular are in a tough spot. We live longer than men, and many of us aren’t as financially secure as men in general. We all know that story. Brad points out that, especially with our recent economic woes, Boomers in general may not be able to, or want to, afford their big old homes. His Tiny Texas Homes provide an alternative.
Right now, the homes range in cost from the $30,000s to the $90,000s depending on size and detailing. They are highly insulated so their energy costs are very low. They are very green because almost all the 
materials are recycled. That also means they don’t give out the toxic fumes that new building products do. And, they are visually quite beautiful because of the old woods and attention to details.
And I know it won’t surprise you to know that he has envisioned making a community out of these little homes. Complete with a communal building. Sound familiar? He has some pretty innovative ideas on how you could build water collection and septic systems so as to minimize cost and maximize efficiency.
Of course, these could be used for guest houses, studios, offices, and the like, but the possibilities for communal living are intriguing to say the least. I keep thinking that if you had a piece of land, one of these would be a very cost effective way to put a vacation house on it. And with the tiny footprint, you could really let the land speak for itself.
And, besides all that, they are just the cutest things!
So, at the risk of beating a dead horse, I’m just adding that into the mix.
Posted on May 29th, 2009 by admin
Filed under: Community, Midlife and Society, Money, Retirement
Ohmigosh, I could so live in one of these little houses! Talk about simplifying your life! That would be perfect.
What a great idea! It just shows that our future is only limited by our lack of imagination!
I would love to live in a little house like that with only the things I really loved. But I’d have to lose 20 pounds before I’d fit
Great story and lovely pics!
This is becoming a great movement, the Small House movement. I love the idea. People who might not normally be able to afford a home can perhaps afford one of these.
These are so charming. It’s amazing what you can do, with the proper, thoughtful design, in so little space.
All, yes, you would be amazed at how well they use the little space available. One of them had an amazingly designed Murphy bed that folded up into the wall so it could be used as a living area. Inside the cupboard were bookshelves built into the sides.
And actually, the plumbing, electricity etc were not as expensive as you might think to do. Especially in a group…Brad had some intriguing ideas on how you could design black water and gray water collection, rain collection etc.
Very cool!
Allison
I recently bought the following book and have to say I am now intrigued to go on a Luling road trip myself.
Put Your Life on a Diet: Lessons Learned Living in 140 Sq. Feet by Gregory Paul Johnson
Ooh, Maxine, now that sounds intriguing. I may have to read that. Wow, 140 sf…that is tiny tiny. Makes Brad’s houses sound like spacious mansions
I encourage you to go to Luling though, fascinating!
Visiting Tiny Texas Houses has been on my 2009 To Do List–and planning to check it off before Dec. 31. You might also like to look at Tumbleweedhouses.com for another alternative to the same “small house’ concept. Jay Shaffer offers workshops on designing and building small iving spaces, which is another bullet point on my to do list. Hoping to sign up for the workshop in SF this fall. I think finding the outdoor living space where you want to put one of these is the biggest challenge.