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Whether you’re new to tiny house living, a seasoned tiny house enthusiast, or just fascinated about the tiny house movement, it would interest you to know that there are tons of tiny house books out there you would find pretty interesting.
Just to give you a heads up, these tiny house books feature a variety of topics including tiny house designs, inspirations, building plans, costs, and useful tips for embracing the minimalist lifestyle offered by tiny homes.
Some of the books we will explore shortly, fall under several categories including beginners guides, memoirs/stories, inspiration/design, information/how-to guides, as well as tiny house building plans.
And before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s add that today’s article features some of the best books to provide you with all the information you need on tiny living.
Let’s get started, shall we?
Tiny Homes on the Move
Tiny Homes on the Move is one of the most interesting tiny house books we have read in a while.
This brilliant book was authored by Llyod Khan.
The book is less of an instruction manual and more of a chronicle, detailing the stories of tiny home enthusiasts building their dream tiny homes and contributing immensely to the tiny house movement.
As we mentioned earlier, the book provides interesting insight into people who have built their tiny homes, even tiny houses built on water.
Let us quickly add that this tiny house book is a lot more expansive than what you might normally think of as tiny homes and that’s because it includes structures like houseboats, trailers, and more.
As a tiny house enthusiast fascinated by stories and pictures of real-life people playing an active role in advancing the course of the tiny house movement, you’ll enjoy every time spent reading this book.
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The Very Small Home
Another tiny house book generating buzz in the tiny house industry is The Very Small Home.
Authored by Azby Brown, the book chronicles a unique approach to tiny house architecture.
The author of this brilliant book spent some time in Japan, where she was inspired by the unique architecture and the brilliant use of space.
The book features 18 different tiny homes built in Japan, each with different build styles that will inspire you.
The unique thing about the book is that it looks carefully into the big idea of each home, particularly, highlighting some of the features that make each home feel larger despite being quite compact.
Also, the book is further broken down into two sections- on the one hand, there is a detailed profile of the 18 homes and on the other hand, a deeper look at some of the breathtaking features that make each home unique.
The tiny houses featured in this book are remarkable and give tiny home enthusiasts a glimpse of what they can achieve with their tiny home dreams.
The Small House Book
Although, this tiny house book may not provide information on minimum tiny house square feet or provide details on tiny house community, yet still, it provides unique information that isn’t readily available on the internet today.
For instance, the book delves deeply into the skyrocketing cost of homes in America.
The book is intended to bring about a paradigm shift on what affordable housing is all about.
Before you get super excited about Jay Shafer’s book, let’s quickly add that the book is more of a philosophical book that chronicles several factors that causes housing issues in America.
But that’s not all.
The book also provides a comprehensive manual on how to build your tiny home.
Thanks to the rich information in the book, you won’t be needing tiny house builders for your project.
The incredible thing about the book is that it highlights different loopholes in tiny house regulations and laws.
Tiny House Designing, Building & Living (Idiot’s Guide)
Yes, we have come across many tiny house books that provide wonderful insights on tiny living and simple life, but this new book by Andrew and Gabriella Morrison is the cream of the crop and that’s because the book features all the information you’ll need about tiny house movement and affordable housing.
Unlike many other tiny house books we have come across, this one isn’t a coffee table book with mind-blowing images.
Instead, it is a seasoned tiny house book jampacked with well-researched information garnered from several years of building experience.
From providing you with your favorite design to extra information on custom design, this book has everything you’re looking for and more.
The Big Tiny: A Built-It-Myself Memoir
While this tiny house book may not provide you with information on tiny house communities, community gardens, or even tiny house rentals, rest assured that the book will take you on a wild ride on some unique aspects of tiny housing.
The book chronicles the life of Dee Williams, the author of the book, especially regarding how she almost died in a grocery store.
Given her experience, Dee Williams took some time to reevaluate her life and decided to downsize considerably.
To kick of her tiny house project, Dee Williams built an 84 square feet home from the beginning to the end, all by herself.
Thanks to her experience, her book chronicles her story on construction and living in tiny homes, especially how it has impacted her life, her health, and finances in general.
The book features a nice mix of a practical how-to-book and a comprehensive personal memoir.
So no matter where you are on your tiny house journey, you’ll find amazing insight that will be useful for your small house project.
Shipping Container Homes
If you’re interested in building a shipping container home but don’t know where to start, and the cost, you’ll not be disappointed to give this book by John Peterson a try.
Unlike other books, we have highlighted so far, this one is purely a practical guide on everything you need to know about building and living in a shipping container home.
Simple and straightforward.
The book features all of the exciting layouts and designs for shipping container homes.
It also provides useful tips on costs, container choice, insulation, and more information a lot of people will find useful for their shipping container tin house project.
If have decided to give shipping container homes a try and looking for a great book to get you started, we highly recommend getting this book.
Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages
This book by yours truly Derek Diedricksen sits as one of the best tiny house books out there right now.
The book is rich with exciting information on building your tiny house from the ground up.
The book is chock-full with details on tiny house designs, cottages, forts, RV parks, full bathroom, and more.
The Author also annotates the designs with an interesting blend of practical advice and commentary.
Let us quickly add this book is by no means a how-to-book, instead, it is a book that will definitely inspire you to kick off your projects.
If you have made up your mind about building your tiny home, then you’ll not be disappointed to explore some of his sketches.
Tiny house living
For tiny house enthusiasts who are still pretty much undecided about building and living in a small space, this book is a great starting point.
This book features information about trends in the tiny home industry, tiny house communities, small towns along with information that evaluates if living in a tiny house is a brilliant option for you.
Another brilliant highlight of this book is that includes profiles of different tiny homeowners and some very practical information on decluttering, and designing your tiny home.
If you’re not yet sure if a tiny house is for you, you’re welcome to read this book before taking the plunge.
Tiny House Floor Plans
If you have made up your mind about building and living in a tiny house, this book is sure to get you started on your journey.
We like to see this book as the pinnacle of practicality and that’s because the book features over 200 designs of tiny home floors.
With this, you won’t run out of ideas.
We like the fact that the book is well organized into chapters, making it easy to find all the information you’re out for.
But just so you know, this book doesn’t have a lot of words and that’s because it is exclusively designed to include tiny house plans.
And yes, this book is exclusively designed for people looking for tiny house floor inspiration.
If you have been looking for some inspiration on your tiny house floor plans, now is a good time to add this book to your collection.
Tiny houses
Tiny Houses is a rich book that covers the philosophy behind tiny homes.
This book is aimed at people who are still on the fence and looking to explore tiny living.
The book attempts to compare living in traditional houses versus living in tiny homes.
If you have been attracted to the tiny lifestyle, but you’ve yet to be fully convinced about taking a plunge, this book will get you started on everything you should know.
Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter
This is another great tiny book from Lloyd Kahn.
Just like his first book we have highlighted above, this tiny house book covers over 150 profiles of tiny homes, each with its unique description and story.
The homes in this book come in different shapes and sizes.
Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter dispels the idea that the tiny lifestyle is for certain people.
Getting started with tiny homes can be a little confusing, but with such a great book as this one, you’re sure to find it interesting.
Frequently asked questions
Should I buy a tiny house book?
For a lot of people just getting started with the tiny lifestyle, there are a lot of murky areas you want to get a good understanding of before you get started.
Things like tiny house laws, regulations, information on how to find land, joining the American tiny house association and more are something you want to figure out.
With a detailed tiny house book, like some of the ones we outlined above, you are sure to get all the information you need to set out for your tiny house project.
What are the best tiny house books?
To be honest with you, we can’t pick a favorite tiny house book, and that’s because there are a lot of great tiny books out there.
The list we have here are some of the best ones out there currently and we chose them because they have great information, especially for people who are new to the industry.
More so, these books are readily available so you don’t have to sweat it.
As a matter of fact, you can buy these books directly from the Amazon marketplace.
Is building a tiny house expensive?
Compared to traditional houses, building a tiny house is a lot cheaper.
A basic tiny house should cost you nearly $25,000 to build from the ground up.
However, if you want something sophisticated, you’ll have to pay more.
But if you want to cut down your cost drastically, you can opt to build it yourself.
Building your tiny house yourself will save you a lot of costs.
And good enough, there are tons of great tiny house books on the market to get you started.
To save you all that time, today’s post features some of the best tiny house books to get you started.
Conclusion
When it comes to building your tiny home, there are a lot of things you need to know.
And to get you started, we have listed some of the best tiny house books you should be reading right now.
These books are rich and have all the information you’re searching for.
