Exterior Color Concepts...

Exterior colors have been a very important facet of this Tiny House project. Since the rough structure began with a shed frame, it is important that the final structure, e.g. micro-mansion, not look like a shed. Color and paint scheme, as such, are key.

Torn between natural surrounding colors of browns and greens and the pastels that beckon the child in all, I happened upon a small cottage with what I believe are ideal colors for the Micro-Mansion. 

This mix of light green, purple and pure white are the colors that I have settled upon and think will be fabulous. This decision has occurred a couple weeks late and there is now a need to wait until spring as it appears the cold weather has settled in for the duration of the winter...

Sleeping Solutions

One of the largest considerations in a tiny space is the sleeping area. If you are young, nimble, and adventurous a sleeping loft may be your thing. Both of my teenagers love the lofts. 

While the lofts do have windows now, and also some half decent headroom, the mid-night journeys up and down the ladder to visit the tiny girl's room have not been my cup of tea. I tried it for 3 months and while it was definitely do-able, it really is not my preference if I had my druthers... which I do!

So the convertible, first-floor sleeping arrangements are what I decided upon. During the winter this will give me quick and easy access to the wood stove in addition to the tiny girls room.

I have researched many options including Murphy beds, hide-aways, and sleeper sofas. Given my time-frame and the amount of building I need to do on other projects such as the dinning room table, closet space, and finish work, I decided to go with the sleeper sofa option.

Keeping with my recycle, reuse mentality (and my budget!) I searched Craig's List, EBay, and local thrift stores for options. After a few weeks of searching I found a wonderful second hand sleeper-sofa on Craig's list that was pet and smoke free. It does not match the decor I had in mind for the living room. However, I've never re-upholstered a couch and it sounds like a great, cold-weekend project.

Wonderful Wildlife...

One of the huge benefits of living in a tiny house is that your living room is your entire backyard. We have installed bird feeders and enjoy daily viewing of an abundance of wildlife including a wide variety of song birds, deer, turkey, pheasant, rabbit, mice, chipmunks, squirrels, Canadian geese, hawks, and even an occasional bald eagle.

We absolutely love animals and despite the tiny living quarters we have made room for five pets including one dog (Buddy) and four cats (Ginger, Spice, Sage, and Thomas).

Our pets love to play with the local wildlife as well. Buddy gets especially excited when he gets to play with the deer and rabbits. This adorable little bird I snatched from Sage who thought he had found a wonderful playmate. Our feathery-friend was a little stunned by his impromptu play date with our mischievous kitty, but after a 5 minute rest on the palm of my hand he flittered off unscathed!