Tiny Life Pioneers
The tiny life is not new. Tiny life pioneers abound.
In countries where space is limited, tiny dwellings have been a necessity. 
Poverty has also played a role. These cottage in Oslo, Norway were built for employees. A water taxi system was developed (one of the first mass transit systems) to ferry them to work each day. That ferry system still operates today. The cottages are still maintained by the families, but are now used primarily for vacations.
Early American pioneers opened the west, moving all their belongings in the iconic Conestoga wagon. They built their homes out of the materials they found when they got there. Sod homes and log cabins were quite common.
Conestoga Wagons informational picture book (shown above) is a unique celebration of a mode of transportation that served early America well.
Tiny Life Pioneer: Sarah Susanka
In this country, author and architect Sarah Susanka is the forerunner of the Tiny House movement. She published her book The Not So Big House in 1997, in which her she explains her basic philosophy of quality or quantity, or ‘build better, not bigger.’
For 20 years, Susanka has been leading a movement that is redefining the American home and lifestyle. Through her “build better, not bigger” approach to residential design, she reveals that the sense of ‘home’ we seek is a quality that has almost nothing to do with square footage.
Sarah Susanka has seven additional books with a wealth of information on ways to create a tiny home that feels more spacious.
| More Not So Big Solutions
Outside The Not So Big House: Creating the Landscape of Home |
Not So Big Solutions For Your Tiny Home
Tiny Life Pioneer: Lloyd Kahn
Lloyd Kahn is also considered one of the first tiny life pioneers. He was into geodesic domes until he started having reservations. It’s not that they aren’t strong. He just realized that simple shelters could be made of materials found on site. His first book, Dome, is now a collectors’ item and considered way ahead of its time.
Shelter (The Shelter Library Of Building Books) published in 1973 was his rebellion and foray into natural homes. His focus is “living in harmony with the earth by using every conceivable material.” This book includes over 1250 illustrations and pictures on every type of dwelling ever invented. He is one of the early pioneers of the earth ship movement.
“Through the years I’ve personally gone from post and beam to geodesic domes to stud frame construction. It’s been a constant learning process, and this has led me into investigating many methods of construction — I’m interested in them all. For five years, the late ’60s to early ’70s, I built geodesic domes. I got into being a publisher by producing Domebook One in 1970 and Domebook 2 in 1971.
I then gave up on domes (as homes) and published our namesake Shelter in 1973. We’ve published books on a variety of subjects over the years, and returned to our roots with Home Work: Handbuilt Shelter in 2004, The Barefoot Architect in 2008, Builders of the Pacific Coast in 2008, and Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter in 2012.”
Tiny Life Pioneer: Jay Shafer
Jay Shafer built his first THOW in 1999. His story was published in a magazine. In the article he coined the phrase “tiny home” and it stuck.
Jay says, “I live in a house smaller than some people’s closets. My decision to inhabit just 90 square feet arose from some concerns I had about the impact a larger house would have on the environment, and because I just do not want to maintain a lot of unused or unusable space. My house meets all of my domestic needs without demanding much in return. The simple, slower lifestyle it affords is a luxury for which I am continually grateful. If smaller, well-designed houses aren’t the wave of the future, they certainly are a significant ripple on that wave. On these pages, I explain why. I also share my personal experiences with living in diminutive homes, meeting codes, and designing small spaces that work.”
His book, The Small House Book, is 197 pages with lots of photos. The book is divided into the following chapters: Confessions of a Claustrophile; A Good Home; Making Space; and Portfolio of Houses. Each chapter includes dozens of color photos, charts and diagrams along with the descriptive text.
Jay started Tumbleweed Tiny House Company which was purchased in 2007 by by Steve and Bernadette Weissman and has grown to more than 80 employees. In 2012 Jay started Four Lights Tiny House Company because he wanted to stay tiny.
Small House Society
In the fall of 2002, Jay Shafer, Shay Salomon, Nigel Valdez, and Gregory Paul Johnson founded the Small House Society. These four individuals were able to draw from their collective experience in housing design, home building, urban planning, and organizational management.
Tiny Life Consulting is a contributing member of the Small House Society.
Tiny Life Pioneer: Andrew Morrison
I credit Andrew Morrison as one of the current leaders of legalizing tiny houses. He co-authored Appendix-Q of the International Residential Code (IRC) to create standards allowing building adaptations commonly used in tiny homes like sleeping lofts and ladders.
Andrew has developed a 6 hour video course, “The How To Guide To Building A Tiny House.” It’s no longer available.
Tiny Life Pioneer: Alexis Stevens and Christian Parsons
From their website: “We are documentary filmmakers, educators, and advocates on an extraordinary ‘Journey with a Purpose’ with our DIY tiny home on wheels.” Watch “Living Tiny Legally” by Alexis Stephens and Christian Parsons at this link.
“As co-founders of Tiny House Expedition, we seek to inspire others to redefine home and rethink housing through thought-provoking storytelling, resource sharing, and educational events. Humbly, we have the world’s most traveled tiny house on wheels.
Our documentary work includes the acclaimed three-part educational series, Living Tiny Legally.”
We also support the tiny house advocacy efforts by serving on the American Tiny House Association board of advisors and Tiny Home Industry Association board of directors.
In 2020, we debuted their series on the SHG Living Network—now streaming on all smart devices. And 2021, our book was released—The Beginner’s Guide to Tiny Houses.”
Tiny Life Pioneer: Lina Minard
Niche is Lina Menard, a natural co-conspirator who has lived out her own questions around intentional living, less stuff, and happiness. She has resided in a travel trailer, yurt, backyard cottage and three (and counting) tiny houses on wheels. Rooted through a background in sustainable design-build and urban planning, Lina also has a penchant for experiential learning and healthy communities. She has found her niche nestled between small spaces, collaborative education, and community planning.
Tiny Life Pioneer: Dee Williams
The Big Tiny is an utterly seductive meditation on the benefits of slowing down, scaling back, and appreciating the truly important things in life.
More than ten years ago, a near-death experience abruptly reminded sustainability advocate and pioneer Dee Williams that life is short. So she sold her sprawling home and built an eighty-four-square-foot house—on her own, from the ground up. Today, Williams can list everything she owns on one sheet of paper, her monthly housekeeping bills amount to about eight dollars, and it takes her about ten minutes to clean the entire house. Adapting a new lifestyle left her with the ultimate luxury—more time to spend with friends and family—and gave her the freedom to head out for adventure at a moment’s notice, or watch the clouds and sunset while drinking a beer on her (yes, tiny) front porch.
Tiny Life Pioneer: Melanie Copeland
Melanie is a tiny house DIY builder and advocate for tiny living. She is also the National Spokesperson for the Tiny House Alliance USA. She carries degrees in English and Business. Now settled on their own land, Melanie and her husband of 20+ years, John, are enjoying living the tiny life, traveling, and living free.
She has 13 books published include the most well known, Trailblazing Tiny: A Guide To Breaking Free.
Children’s Book Featuring Many Tiny Life Pioneers
Susan Schaefer Bernardo wrote a cute children’s book, illustrated by Courtenay Fletcher, featuring many of the tiny life pioneers mentioned on this page.
The main tiny house is based on Alexis Stephens and Christian Parsons of Tiny House Expedition. Also mentioned are Macy Miller’s family and Great Dane Denver! A little tribute to the Diedricksen Brothers’ is also included.
From the creators of Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs comes a lyrical new picture book about the meaning of home. The adventure begins when an old farmhouse is recycled into Tiny, a snug little house on wheels who sets off on a cross-country journey to discover if he is still a real home. Along the way, he encounters new friends and learns that home isn’t a place — it’s a feeling in your heart.
The Big Adventures of Tiny House is available in hardcover on Amazon for $17.95 and Kindle format for just $2.99.
Here is a fun video of many tiny house movers and shakers reading The Big Adventures of Tiny House.
Featuring Tiny Life Pioneers:
Zack Giffin, Bryce Langston, Jay Shafer and many more. Charming and funny— great for tiny house fans of all ages!
Read by: Zack Giffin, Tiny House Nation Bryce Langston, Living Big in a Tiny House Jay Shafer, Four Light Tiny House Company Deek & Dustin Diedricksen, Relax Shacks Elizabeth Singleton, Build Us Hope Michelle Boyle, Tiny House Podcast John & Fin Kernohan and Shorty Robbins, United Tiny House Association Kari Cooper, Yurt Grrl Alexis Stephens & Christian Parsons, Tiny House Expedition