Tiny House Podcast

Roger is on a mission literally from God. He’s going to heat every Tiny House with what he believes is the best heating source possible: wood. But he’s not stopping there. Roger dreams of Tiny House systems - heating, hot water, electricity and cooking - all centered around his invention The Kimberly wood stove. This week it’s hot in here, and it’s not menopause!

When Jewel Pearson designed her tiny house, she was committed to getting everything she wanted. The result is one of the most unique tiny houses you’re going to find. Not only does it have a walk-in closet, screened porch and Juliet Terrace, Jewel’s tiny house stands as a cultural icon of the movement. As one of the few African Americans living in a tiny house, Jewel continues her living her life on her terms, while doing what she can to give back to the community.

Tiny House Podcast hosts visit with Kim Kasl and her “family of four”. They live in a 267 square foot Tiny House in Minnesota. Rare in this world, Kim met her Husband Ryan in high school and has been with him ever since. Over their 10-year relationship, they lived in a variety of housing arrangements before focusing on being parents. Homeschooling, jobs, college debt and desires to spend more time living instead of “doing” lead to a wonderful solution: living in a tiny house. Today they lead lives of freedom, choice, adventure and experience. Be sure to check out the Tiny House website for show notes pics and more.

This week we visit with Jeff Wilson, aka Professor Dumpster. It all began when Jeff Wilson, a legit university professor in Texas, decided to simplify his life. Some may think he went too far, ending up living in a typical garbage dumpster. Not homeless, not jobless. By choice. That experience made Jeff a star of sorts. It also may wind up making him rich. For his experienced spawned what may be the first truly disruptive innovation in US housing.

We visit this week with Lee Pera, co-founder of one of the most famous tiny house communities, Boneyard Studios. The community was an iconic representation of building community with Tiny Houses right up until its transformation into something different than what it originally ways. In this episode, Lee waxes poetically on her own journey, the genesis of Boneyard, Leather and her latest joint endeavor the new Tiny House Collaborative.

Tiny House star and builder Derin Williams has been building Tiny Houses for some time. Famous for his super-high-end design and construction, Derin recently has been host of Tiny House Hunting and featured in nearly every tiny Tiny House publication. His company Shelterwise, a specialty Design-Build firm helping people create energy-saving and simplified living spaces, is famous for building custom tiny homes. Shelterwise is undergoing a transformation. Derin joined us to talk about his and his company’s future, his grandma and traveling to Africa to reset himself.

An extra crazy episode this week. Kristie Wolfe is on fire to explore all expressions of Tiny Houses. Beginning with her first tiny house in Idaho, she then built a Tiny Tree House in Hawaii even Thurston Howell, III would love. Next Kristie built a Hobbit Hole in Washington State. Happy with that work, she now plans to build an entire Hobbit community in the same location. An entrepreneur, proud Idahoan, and quite the builder, Kristie began her life poor with six siblings. Today, she’s living richly. Her income from her Tiny House enterprises are all she needs for a comfortable living she loves.

Lester Walker was into tiny houses before they were even called that. While humans were being blasted into space in tiny capsules, he wondered about similar spaces on land for living in. Then, 20 years later, Lester won a competition to design a 1500 square foot house. From there his passion caught fire. He wondered “why we can’t build smaller?”...for all kinds of reasons. He wrote a book, then another. Lester, who could be considered the grandfather of tiny houses, today runs his successful architecture firm with his son Jess. On this episode we blast through Lester’s love of tiny houses and how for a time they captivated his attention.

This week Tiny House Podcast interviews Brittany Yunker, owner of the Bayside Bungalow. Brittany’s tiny house was one of the first available for rent in the early years of the tiny house movement. As a result, many people ended up trying out Brittany’s tiny house to see if such a lifestyle would be right for them. Today, Brittany lives in a 900 square foot house with her boyfriend and enjoys sharing her tiny house with her renters. We take you behind the scenes of one of the first commercial tiny houses.

Owner of the nonprofit Lilypad Homes, Rachel is on a mission. An anthropologist, building contractor and designer, Rachel is pioneering at both the policy level and on the ground, empowering homeowners with more income by turning their spare rooms into separate rental units. Whether you call them Accessory Dwelling Units, Junior Units or Junior Mints, Rachel is on the move. And her moves are making serious waves, in Marin county for now and soon around the US.