Sorry

Just a heads up. Due to some personal life events, further Jamboree posts (and any others) are indefinitely on hold. I wanted to have them all up within a day or two of the Jam, but it's not going to be. Thanks for understanding.

Jamboree - Tiny Houses #1

In no particular order, here are some of the houses I was able to tour during the Jamboree. There will be at least two more of these posts, just so I don't overwhelm one post with too many photos.

 In general, there were a lot of great ideas in many houses. I wouldn't want to get into the "but the point of tiny houses is!" debate, so please understand that none of my comments are referring to that. There are lots of different points to tiny houses and many reasons that motivate different people to go tiny. My comments are solely in reference to how certain things would fit into my life and goals and personal preferences in style. 

That said, for me, many of the homes there this year were trying, and doing a pretty good job, of fitting in many things I personally don't need or want in my house. I know my place is both larger and has more stuff, thanks to my cooking, than many people have. But a lot of the homes this year, while nice, were stuffed with a lot of things I just don't happen to care about.

The one above is a much more modern look than mine. Nice, just not as much my personal style at what I have but very nicely done however.

Inside they had maybe the largest "real" couch I think I've ever seen in a tiny house. 

I liked the natural wood, white, and grey finishes. Maybe because that's what I have in mine. :)

The bathroom had the tiniest little sink I've ever seen! Very cute, but I'm not sure I could really do much in it.

Again, I really likes the finishes and colors in this place. The kitchen countertop was really beautiful.

And the loft was quite spacious and bright.

Behr Paints is giving away a tiny house which attracted a lot of attention! You can enter the drawing through October. I wasn't sure it if was this exact model you'd actually win, but you were only able to view this one through the windows. Looks pretty cool!

The one view you could get inside.

Another more modern looking exterior. 

This one had a pretty unique double staircase going to both lofts which I had not seen before. And it seemed like a pretty good setup.

The stairs did add a lot of storage space for sure. 

The kitchen was nice and open and bright.

The tile in the shower was nicely done, just not my style.

And the living room was again open and spacious. 

Another different exterior on one with lots of large windows which I do really like.

The kitchen seemed well laid out and cheery.

The living room had a electric fireplace which did look really nice, but would not be the thing to have if you are off grid!

Another kitchen shot.

And I liked the bathtub setup.

Another large comfy couch facing the fireplace with a hammock on the front porch.

One of the crowds listening to speakers on the main stage. Sadly, I missed almost all of the speakers this year since I'd signed up to volunteer. It was fine, and in general I like volunteering for things, but I will say that the fact that you were asked to commit to at least two 6 1/2 hour shifts cut pretty deeply into my available time to view houses, chat with people, listen to speakers, try to get good house photos and get them posted in a more timely fashion, etc. For that reason, unless it's possible to only volunteer for maybe one 4 hour shift, I probably will not do so next year.

One of the many cool tiny house tee shirts I spotted over the Jamboree.

The lines were not nearly as bad as last year to view most of the houses, but they did start to get pretty long at times. It was helped a lot by having so many more houses to view.

There were several stunning thunderstorms over the weekend, but we only really got rained on once at the Jamboree. Here you can see some of the impressive thunderheads towering over the tiny houses though.

One of the first things you saw as you walked in from the parking lot.

The only adobe exterior tiny house I've seen. It would look quite odd in my mountain setting, but I think could look great is some more dry, warm, or desert areas.

The interior was unfinished.

But did have the following layout plan displayed.

Unlike almost every other house present, this tiny was not on wheels. It was built on skids and using the same kind of truck that would haul a mobil home, you can simply pull it up onto a trailer when you need to move it. This allowed for it to be wider than most as well.

The interior was very simple, but homey and cozy feeling.

This might have been the only bathroom I saw that was about as narrow as mine.

The wood stove added to the cozy feeling.

The kitchen was very basic and I'd need a few more things there myself, but overall I liked this little place.

One of the houses that had an exterior much more like mine.

The interior was well laid out, clean, and bright.

This may have been the only other tiny kitchen I saw with a double sink. Just for the record, I am so glad I have a double and use it all the time.

Some of the time it felt like the crowds made it really hard to photograph or even see the houses well. But sometimes, I think all the people in the shots help give you a sense of perspective, and show off how much space there really is inside.

Another shot of the Behr home with the long row of toilets in the background. I was very thankful with the crowds that they had so many!

Maybe just because they are so often out all on their own (and I like being there!) it was just really cool to see so many tiny houses side by side.

One of the more unique and artistic exteriors present.

It had a cozy kitchen.

With fun details on the door and drawer handles.

Another mini wood stove.

A functional and bright bathroom.

The only overhead glass walkway I've ever seen in a tiny. This connected the two lofts.

Which both had beautiful curved details as well.

I suppose because I don't really have a good break point... That's it for post one! I'm going to just put this one up and start on number two. Enjoy!

Tiny House Jamboree - People

I know, there's supposed to be tiny house photos since it was the Tiny house Jamboree. They are coming, I promise. 

But here's my favorite part of the weekend. The people. Some I'd met before, some I knew only online before, and some were totally new acquaintances. Some are missing. Moose and some others were not their sadly. And some who were present, I did not manage to get photos with. If I don't have a shot of you, don't have your name with your photo, or am missing a link to your site/blog, I apologize. The whole weekend was such a whirlwind and I really am terrible with names. Why I can remember details about someone's house plans and life goals and draw a complete blank on their name, I don't know. It's embarrassing. So please, just comment with the info I am missing (or if I got it wrong!) and I will add it! If I'm missing a photo of you, I guess you just have to come visit my place and I'll get one. ;) There were many other cool and famous people there, just too little time.

 For starters, here are two of my favorite Tiny House People group ladies, Macy Miller and Thea Tapson. Neither of which had I met in person before, so like a lot of other encounters this weekend, this was kind of like facebook coming to life. Which is pretty sweet!

The Tiny House People group ladies in dresses and sandals.

Sean David Burke and I had met last year and he was even able to swing by my house and visit once. So it was nice to see him again and to have the time to listen to his talk on health and building houses. 

An amazingly sweet young nurse who I was able to chat with for a while about her tiny house plans.

Tim Tedesco was another previously online only acquaintance. He's done a lot of cool things, but one evening he built his own tear-drop camper in something like two hours. Which I happen to think it amazing!

B. A. Norrgard got married during the Jamboree! I've always thought her name stood for bad ass since that is how I think of her, though I was pretty sure that wasn't actually what her parents named her. Andrew Odem was one of the mc's for the event, had a large role in producing "Turning Tiny", and is part of putting out the Tiny House Magazine. And he's an all around fun guy to be around. Nina Zamudio I'd not met before, but she's another author in "Turning Tiny."

Suzanne Sprinkle Ayres was another FB come to life meeting. I thought there might have been more Tiny House People group members there since there are 30,000 of us after all, but it was great to meet the few who were able to attend!

It was great to see Byron and Dot Fears again since they are some of my favorite builders. Other than the one evening, they were mostly too busy and I didn't get to see as much of them as I would have liked. Hopefully at least Dot, and maybe Byron will be able to swing by my house for a visit in the next month as part of their larger travel plans.

I know she was already in a photo at the top, but here's another shot of Thea Tapson and I.

It was also wonderful to get to spend a little time with Christian and Alexis again. They also have tentative plans to come visit my place so I'm hoping that will work out. I had to opportunity to watch part 1 of their 3 part film series called Living Tiny Legally. They did a wonderful job and I can't wait to see the next two installments. 

Michelle Bredeson Boyle was the other MC for the speakers.  And Anita Howard has a lovely and unique tiny home that I've loved the layout of.

Lindsey who actually lives near my home and is working on her own tiny!

Kai Rostcheck I'd met last year and this time he had his lady friend with him. He and Ola are a sweet couple and it was nice to see them for a minute.

Anita Howard again chatting with the famous Kent Griswald also of the Tiny House Magazine. The magazine is pretty cool. I've written for them several times, and if tiny houses interest you at all, I do recommend buying a subscription.

Susan Joslyn is another formerly online only acquaintance and fellow Tiny House People group member that I got to meet in person.

Ryan and Hannah Corson are an amazing young couple I met, along with their super tiny little boy! I forgot to get a shot of all of us together, but it was great to get to know them just a little and to meet other folks with so many of the same goals and plans in life.

Jay Shaffer and I. If you don't know him, see my whole last post.

Famous Freida concentrating on the speakers. I loved her home made book jacket for her copy of "Turning Tiny." The front said "This book belongs to Famous Freida, sorry about that," and made me laugh.

Jewel Pearson (Mrs Gypsy Soul) who has another lovely tiny house that I have really enjoyed.

And Darin Zaruba, who I barley saw, much less got a chance to snap a photo with because he was so busy making the whole event happen. Many thanks to him and all the others who were behind the scenes working like crazy to make everything go smoothly!

Thanks to all of you for the opportunities to meet, hang out with, and get to know so many amazing folks!