Tiny House Basics: Living the Good Life in Small Spaces

by Joshua Engberg, Shelley Engberg, Derek Diedricksen (Foreword)

#1 Best Seller in Small Homes & Cottages "Joshua and Shelley get you thinking about what you can do to live a little simpler, even if you’re not building a tiny house."― Mario Soto , Tiny House MD.  With this tiny homes idea book, learn how to redefine what a house is and master organization, location, and happiness to make the best of your little space.  You’ll want to live in a mini house after reading this book.   Tiny House Basics  is an adventure in off-grid living. In their debut book, mini house living experts Shelley and Joshua Engberg show how you can join the revolution to downsize without giving up everything you hold dear. As avid campers and off roaders, together they help you enter the world of comfortable and entertaining small spaces.  Learn the best tips and tricks to owning tiny homes. Whether it’s cottage-style small houses or a mini getaway house,  Tiny House Basics  makes tiny house plans practical and accessible. With advice easily applicable to any small home, including spaces like apartments and studios, this micro living book turns any little space into the mini house of your dreams. Inside, find advice on small home interior design and If you’re looking for ways to ramp up your little space, coffee table books for tiny homes, or small modern house gifts—like  Tiny House Designing, Building, & Living ;  Small Space Style ; or The Little Book of Living Small —then you will love  Tiny House Basics .

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

172 pages, Paperback

Published May 16, 2017

Reviews

[Staci Zalewski · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is more of a personal blog of a couple’s journey to tiny-house living than a guide, descriptive in telling the reader what their kitchen looks like but lacking photographs to show it-visualization is important here! (Honestly this “book” could use some serious editing and is quite cringe to read a lot of the time- rambles on, repetitive, and goes off-topic). I would have liked to see a variety of the different types of tiny houses (a house on wheels is not the only way to go), and I for one have zero interest in documenting my tiny house journey on a TV show. Seriously, save your time and just follow them on IG, you’ll get the exact same info (and probably more) and a lot more photos (obviously).

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess this book is a personal story about how they got their tiny house, which is fine, but it's not as advertised.
I guess I was expecting something a little more practical and useful. I did pick up a few tips, but mostly it was about their show, which doesn't apply to me at all.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

For someone who hasn't done much research outside of watching some Tiny house shows, I found it had some useful information. I was mostly interested in technical details and building cost, so the other chapters about pets, relationships, etc. weren't as interesting to me, though they are certainly important. In that regard, my favorite chapters were 2 (Planning: Research), 4 (Building: The Unspoken Realities of Doing it Yourself, Plus The Cost), 5 (Why We Chose Our Design Aesethetic and Layout), 9 (The Rewards, Benefits, and Challenges of Downsizing). The afterword had a good list of resources as well.

They talked about being on the Tiny House Nation TV show a little too much, as I wasn't really interested. I did find it interesting the degree to which the TV shows can lie about the cost.

"These shows are great for entertainment and design ideas, but not for true actual cost. Take it from us, we were on one of these TV shows and they stated the full cost of our house was in reality just half of what the materials alone cost."


The book could have done with a more thorough editing review process as well.

[Leigh Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a personal account of the writers’ journey to Tiny House living. Beginning with the couple’s individual experiences in their early work years, and their realization that chasing dizzying careers with little time for enjoyment of the things they loved, was economically, emotionally draining. Especially in the San Francisco Bay area. Their love of the outdoors and prior camping trips as children, provided them with perspective and a level of confidence and comfort with the idea of tiny house living being the solution (and escape) from their the current grind. The reader follows them through the writers’ thought, design, and build process and choices. They provide pros and cons of many choices throughout their decision making process. Enjoyed learning more about resources available if one decided this was the right living choice for them. One to ing I didn’t like, no captions on any of the photos.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good primer on living tiny, but I wanted more details on how to actually do it. I felt like they were trying to sell me on their services on on the products they loved a little too much. I could have also used more pictures of their house. They talked about each component in the text but didn't have pictures for all the areas. There were some good practical tips in here, but it was only partially helpful.

[Steven Sheley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look behind the curtains!

As you sink into the alternate world of tiny homes and have no knowledge or skill, it is nice to have a friend in the business! This look into the depth of knowledge needed to live simpler is refreshing and fun. Do not know if my tiny house dreams will ever come true but this book helps me build it in my head so that someday it might spill out into reality!

[Laura Gilfillan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't think a tiny house is quite appropriate for my family's needs, but we've always lived in a dwelling that felt too small for all of us. I was interested in getting some tips for how to downsize and how to make use of small spaces. Also the tiny house concept is kind of interesting.

[Donda Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read if you aye thinking of downsizing to a tiny house. Joshua and Shelley address all sorts of tiny house pros and cons, from decor to pets to design elements. Read "Tiny House Basics" and tben go look at some tiny houses. This book makes me want go buy a tiny house.

[Gail Richmond · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basics in this report of one couple’s decision and building through completion and move-in of their Tiny House. Now they have a company that builds tiny houses. The authors were the stars of HGTV Tiny House Nation.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up while looking for decor/organization ideas for small-space living. This is more of a primer for someone interested in tiny houses. It was entertaining to skim, but I can’t speak to its actual utility as a tiny house guide.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a memoir of them building their own tiny home than laying out the 'basics' as promised in the title. And quite a bit about them being on the TV show Tiny Home Nation. And yes, there was some whining.

[Kerstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

great resources, ideas & guidance on building a tiny home!

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rich middle class people role playing. Not really useful for someone living in a small home.

[Tonya Hardin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the information and perspectives of the living there for the owners. Great tips to for storing, up keeping, and pets.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative!

A few parts were repetitive but it was very informative and had alot of good resources! I totally recommend for anyone thinking about downsizing.

[Ed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't waste your money on this book. It doesn't have any real world advice. It's more like a personal story.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently this couple was on a reality TV show (which I don't watch) and now they're like experts? This book was more of a case study than actually helpful about what it takes to build and maintain a tiny house. I am also kind of bored with all of the on-wheel Tiny houses. There are plenty of other books on the subject. The only reason to pick this up is if you are actually a fan of whatever show they were on and want a back-scenes peek. Personally, wasn't what I was looking for and I really just skimmed through most of it.

[Kathleen Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than just floor plans, real life experiences. Covers all aspects of tiny house living, including sharing your tiny space. Wish the photos in the book had been in color and a few floor plans would have been nice.

[Johnnysbookreviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book only has 172 pages, but it contains good information about Tiny Houses. The thing I wished they elaborated more on is the material they used for the tiny home and why they decided to that material. I think that would have been a good addition to the book.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good advice. Worth reading. Useful information on what to focus on when considering living in a tiny house.
Book could have used an editor to catch typos (lot of missing words, some repeated phrases/clauses).