Woman Converts Van Into a Cozy Full Time Home

Atli, a transit bus driver from Vancouver, Canada has converted a van into a comfortable full-time home. Her main reason for the decision to ditch a regular home for a van home were the rising rents.

The home Atli lives in now is a converted 2016 Ford which she nicknamed T-Rex. For insulation they used fiberglass and rigid foam insulation, which aren’t especially sustainable but they are inexpensive.  They also installed a vapour barrier to help prevent condensation from forming, while most of the interior is panelled in wood, which helps keep the interior temperature more comfortable, while also giving the home a more homey feel.

The home part of the van is dominated by a large open space which is used as the main living area. There is also a small kitchen, with a two-burner propane stove and a small sink with a water pump. The home also features plenty of storage space.  The kitchen will be complete as soon as Atli installs a bamboo counter and some additional cabinetry.  There is also a closet in this space.

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By |June 25th, 2018|CONTAINER HOMES, Renovation, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Micro apartment turned into a family home with transformer furniture

Using transformer units to make the most of the available space in small and micro apartments is not a new idea, but it’s always nice to see new approaches to it. One such is certainly this renovation by Spanish architect Angel Rico who turned a micro, 215 sq ft (20 sq m) apartment into a family home for three. He installed transformable, multi-functional elements and furniture, which makes this apartment much more spacious and comfortable.

The apartment is located right by the ocean, so one of the key considerations was maximizing the view. To achieve this, all the storage spaces, such as the closet, pantry and even the child’s bed have been placed on one side of the tiny space, and hidden inside a wall transformer unit. This wall has more than one layer. A part of it hinges out and reveals many smaller compartments, which are used to store various items to keep them out of the way. The child’s bed can also be hinged down then moved out of the way during the day. (more…)

By |June 10th, 2018|Condo, Green Building, Modern architecture, Modern design, MODULAR HOMES, Renovation, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Micro Tiny Home is a Minimalist’s Dream

Italian architect and engineer Leonardo Di Chiara recently designed and built a prototype of a micro tiny home, which is seriously small yet still wonderfully functional.  The so-called aVOID tiny house measures just 96 sq ft (9 sq) and is easily towable.  Given its diminutive size, it also presents some unique downsizing solutions.

The home rests atop a double-axle trailer and has a wooden frame, metal cladding, and plenty of glazing. The interior is comprised of a single room and a bathroom. To make the most of the available space, most of the furniture is hidden inside the walls. The home features a Murphy-style single bed, which can be pulled down when needed, and stored away during the day. It can also be turned into a double bed. The dining table also features a pull down design and can easily be stowed away when not needed.  There is also a small, but functional kitchenette, which features a sink, a two-burner induction stove, and some shelving for storage. (more…)

By |February 19th, 2018|Affordable, Conservation, Design, Energy Efficiency, Green Building, Modern architecture, Modern design, MODULAR HOMES, Projects|0 Comments
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Tiny Home Design With a Hidden Bed

The tiny home builder Cubist Engineering, which is based in Greenwich, New York has created a very interesting tiny home, which has no standard bedroom. Instead, the bed is stowed away under the ceiling in the living room and lowered with the press of a button when needed.

The so-called Sturgis is a 21 ft (6.4 m)-long towable home, and despite its very small size it is quite spacious. Most of the space is gained by not having a standard bedroom, but the rest of the layout was also carefully planned with maximizing the available space in mind. (more…)

By |February 18th, 2018|Conservation, Design, Energy Efficiency, Green Building, Modern architecture, Modern design|0 Comments
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Holland to Get Its Own Vertical Forest

Stefano Boeri’s Bosco Verticale idea has really taken off. Now the city of Eindhoven, the Netherlands will get it’s own vertical forest tower.  Similar buildings have already been built in Paris, France and Lausanne, Switzerland. The tower in Holland will provide affordable inner-city social housing.

The so-called Trudo Vertical Forest will be 246 ft (75 m) tall and have 19 floors. The façade will feature 125 trees, 5,200 shrubs and more than 70 species of plants. These will help cleanse the air, improving its quality, as well as provide a pleasant environment to live in. (more…)

By |February 17th, 2018|Design, Green Building, Modern architecture, Modern design, Multifamily, Prefab, PREFABRICATED HOMES, Projects|0 Comments
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Tiny Home – Micro Camper

Living in a 250 sq ft tiny home would be downsizing enough for most people, but Richard Ward of Terraform Tiny Homes from Dallas, Texas recently traded in this “mansion”, as he calls it, for an even smaller home. He spent the last four months traveling the country in this “mansion” and has now traded it in for a 54 sq ft micro camper. (more…)

By |February 16th, 2018|Affordable, Design|0 Comments
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