What I Learned After 4 Years in My Tiny House (Full House Tour)

It's now a little over 4 years ago that I moved into my self-build off-grid tiny home on only 14m2. In this video I talk about the things about my home that I think work great but also the things that I would change if I were to build a tiny home again. All whilst I give a tiny house tour and explain how my home is designed.

Music:
Louis Island: Cloud 9
Jamie Rutherford: Far Away Feelings
Alex Munc: Open Water

#tinyhouse #tinyhouselife #tinyliving #offgrid #offgrid #offgridtinyhouse #offgridliving #tinyhousetour #tinyhome #tinyhousedesign #tinyhomebuilder #tinyhomebuild #tinyhouseconcept #tinyhouseinteriors

[dogcounter]

It’s such a relief to see someone talk candidly about the bathroom situation. Watching tiny house content and no one ever mentions how awkward it can be when someone has to use the toilet in a small space where you can hear everything

[plica]

This was such a nice video. No bells and whistles no fancy graphics, just a good man talking about his home.

[DreamersPathways]

Thumbs up for the birthday squirrel 🧁 🐿️

[inger]

Just a pro tip about staying warm in the winter:
Buy yourself sheepskins to sew a sleepingbag from, and that you can sleep on warmer days or just roll to the side of your bed in the summer. You will love it so much that you will want to drag it down to the sofa daytime. I do viking markets, where the tents basicly is no different from sleeping outside, besides wind and rain, so it can get pretty cold at night. A normal feather quilt we use in the nordics (dyne) is the worst, it gets cold and almost feels wet in cold or humid weather.
To clean the skins you drag it thorugh the snow in the coldest days of winter, and hang them out in the sun in summer, and those woolskins will be the cleanest bed there is (natural antiseptic). Brush it out once in a while. I bought four polish (I think mountain sheeps?), and they are large enough to sew to a sleeping bag, and really really thick. Ah, and remember to make buttons on the sides so it can fold out. It's pretty easy to sew skin, you need a skin needle and thread for leatherworks.
If you ever wash them (wich rarely is neccessary, but could be), you can use use shampoo and conditioner for humans, and smear the backside with fat-cream so the skin don't crack (I use Locobase, wich they sell in large jars, and I also use it on my skin wintertime (helps for dry skin and prevent frostbites), and for the dogs paws so they don't crack from the cold). Do not use water based lotion, even on your own skin, as you will get frost bite.

Another tip from me: The reason for åkle (woven wool art for walls used by our grandmas and traditions from back), was to keep cold out. I might be wrong, but it sounds like you are danish? In that case you will find these sold in secondhand stores, at least in Norway. You could also get some nice wool curtains to close up at night, it will prevent you a lot of heat loss in winter. These things are a bit pricy if you don't buy fabric to sew them yourself, but will be an investment for life. Wool, wool, wool, everywhere, and layers of it on yourself and the dog. Knit him a sweater. _^.^_

I also bought myself a fur coat secondhand, and inherited another one, and (one of) these are not to look glamouros, but I use oit to wear when I shuffle snow, or go outside in general. There is nothing warmer you can wear. For rain I wear a waxed leather coat, tho, it can take it a couple of hours. I also got myself an XL size wool coat that I use kinda like a bathrobe inside in the winter, I even sleep with it. So just some tips from a norwegian to stay warm in the coldest conditions.

[KateAnneNYC]

Your comment about having a silent refrigerator is excellent. Odd that I have not heard anyone else make it.

[ivans]

when you mentioned insufficient insulation, it made me wonder - are the walls is the main culprit, or maybe you're loosing a lot of heat through windows? Replacing the windows with triple-glass-packs (not sure what the correct term here) - could allow you to save time and fuel in the winter. Also mounting large water tank on that woodstove, could serve as a thermal energy battery, releasing the heat during the night, without you having to stoke the fire now and then...

[os-qthc]

People didn't use fridges in the past. They had a cellar under their houses or they just dug a hole. I slept in an old house a couple of years ago. The stove was not electrical, you had to put logs underneath it and start a fire. And in the bedroom I had to use a fireplace even though it was August, because it was so cold in the house. And one day I wondered why it was so cold and what was that weird square plank under the carpet that I kept stepping on. So I moved the carpet, removed the plank and to my surprise I found something like a cellar or maybe more like a big hole and the cold was coming out of there. So there must be a way for you to make a natural fridge and you won't need electricity for a fridge.

[oldnatty]

I think making the sofa higher is a good idea. You have more inner storage. I could see even making it higher for that reason and building a step across the front to step up w/ and rest your feet on.

[debrak.]

I'm a 69 yrs young lady from USA....I Admire your intellect, wisdom for your age, perseverance, your ability to have peace with yourself....(and your furry friend❤)...Well done young man...well done 🌞🌠

[Lionforaday]

In Canada, that "buffer room" is called an "arctic entry." It's mostly used for temperature control. I saw a version of it once used beautifully in a Russian tea room, where thick red velvet curtains created a kind of vestivule in cold weather to prevent blasts of frigid air enveloping diners as their fellow patrons came and went. I imagine different versions of it are used in all cold-climate countries - I think even Inuit igloos, built completely from packed snow, use something like it.

[countrygal]

I absolutely love how you get to the sleeping loft. Steps, storage, counter top, ladder. Genius!

[kasondaleigh]

I LOVE the Cold Room breezeway for the dog and you to shake off the dirt and mud!
You have just added to my dream space, thank you.

[mandyellis]

It’s a fabulous tiny. I particularly love the cold room addition, which gives you extra room in the warmer months. Great job!

[gaelle]

So having lived in houses in - 34 celcius in Sweden growing up couple of quick tips and some not so quick. 1) Thick draperies/ curtains on all windows and both doors and pulled at least during the dark - you can normally get them second hand among curtains / bed linnen 2) scrap rugs you can either buy them second hand or make them yourself check out youtube - you can put them out in the snow to wash them and just scrub them with a broom that was what you did in the old days cotton good choice at least for the main house) 3) thick wollen socks some for bed some outside of bed. ( again if you feel up to it knit them yourself and poss thick sheep skin slippers, fingerless gloves in wool, and one of those thin merinoull no mulesing tubes which you can use as a scarf or a beanie like thing or wollen soft toque ( no acrylic or polyester stuff and that goes for the rest as well actually cotton thick velvet curtains in the windows or similar thickness also if you can double curtains there are specific rods for that. That gives just like your outsidern an airlock. blankets in wool in front of the two doors. Also with more time wooden shutters in all the places you can - normally you can buy them used from old houses being torn down. There is also a trick which my Granma used to do warm bricks on the stove they retain a LOT of heat if you have a metal shelf under the stove you can put them there afterwards to slowly cool and generate heat. Also not sure if a watertank is an option to install on the wood stove - nerver let it dry out though.

[djf]

Interesting. I think of how people in the past lived. When I was young, my Dad did some renovation on our house. Guess what was in the walls for insulation. Cinders. When he opened the wall, they all fell out and what a mess!
Windows were single pane, and for the winter, there was an extra window, called a storm window that was attached over the permanent window. It had some holes cut into the bottom of the frame, with a flap over it, so you could get fresh air into the home. Water for everything was heated on the woodstove. And water was hauled from the well.
We live so easy nowadays. But I think we might be going back to the old ways. You are ahead of the curve.

[rachaelsupadventures]

Thank you for sharing Anders! We bought a piece of property with a house on the edge of town so we appear to be in the forest. The house is 2 story 1152 sq ft but we live in the main level in 576 sq ft of it. We are currently building a small off grid house of 204 sq ft. It will have water catchment, solar, loft for sleeping, living room, and storage, a wood stove for heat, and an outdoor shower and compost toilet. We currently spend under $7000 a year on bills but once we are able to live in the small house it will lower it to about $4000 a year. We currently have chickens but are repurposing a shed to create a mine barn for the chickens and planning on adding some rabbits and goats for dairy meat and eggs. And we are working on improving our garden! We want to live a simple life and enjoy the little things!

[rsimko]

Absolutely love the cold room with nice rustic feeling and lots of natural light

[pegsol]

Love the natural simplicity of your home. I own 2 acres on a river in South Texas. I am in a flood zone so my 3 tiny shed "homes" are raised on blocks. My favorite idea from your video is the ladder on top of the counter. Also you remind me of my original vision for my place was very off grid and rustic. I have been pressured to get electric and now septic and I did get a very expensive well dug on my raw land. The heat and humidity where I live are intense. I have huge old pecan trees and many deer. Thank you for sharing your beautiful place.

[flowermeerkat]

Your home looks wonderful but I realize how much work you have done to create it.

[Julia-zjch]

Your home is so beautiful! And impressive. It is certainly very inspiring. Thank you for sharing.