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There's a grassroots movement in tiny homes these days. The real estate collapse, the economic downturn, burning out on 12-hour workdays – many people are rethinking their ideas about shelter – seeking an alternative to high rents, or a lifelong mortgage debt to a bank on an overpriced home.

In this book are some 150 builders who have taken things into their own hands, creating tiny homes (under 500 sq. ft.). Homes on land, homes on wheels, homes on the road, homes on water, even homes in the trees. There are also studios, saunas, garden sheds, and greenhouses.

There are 1,300 photos, showing a rich variety of small homemade shelters, and there are stories (and thoughts and inspirations) of the owner-builders who are on the forefront of this new trend in downsizing and self-sufficiency.

At the heart of our 1973 book Shelter were drawings of 5 small buildings, which we recommended as a starting point in providing one's own home. Now, almost 40 years later, there's a growing tiny house movement all over the world – which we've been tracking over the past two years.

Many people have decided to scale back, to get by with less stuff, to live in smaller homes. You can buy a ready-made tiny home, build your own, get a kit or pre-fab, or live in a bus, houseboat, or other movable shelter. Some cities have special ordinances for building "inlaw" or "granny flats" in the back yard. There are innovative solutions in cities, such as the "capsules" in Tokyo. There are numerous blogs and websites with news, photos, and/or plans for tiny homes, documented here.

If you're thinking of scaling back, you'll find plenty of inspiration here. Here's a different approach, a 180º turn from increasing consumption. Here are builders, designers, architects (no less), dreamers, artists, road gypsies, and water dwellers who've achieved a measure of freedom and independence by taking shelter into their own hands.

About the Author
In 1968 Lloyd Kahn worked as Shelter editor for the Whole Earth Catalog. In 1971 he published Domebook 2. His shake-covered geodesic dome was featured in Life magazine. Ultimately disillusioned with domes, he took Domebook 2 out of print and in 1973, published the oversized book Shelter, which went on to sell more than 250,000 copies. In 2004, Kahn published HomeWork: Handbuilt Shelter – in many ways the sequel to Shelter – and Builders of the Pacific Coast in 2008. Tiny Homes: Simple Shelter is the 4th book in this series. Kahn and his wife Lesley live and work in a small coastal town in Northern California.

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Everyone can make green home decisions on a budget with this inspiring, information-packed guide. Whether you are building, remodeling, buying, or just curious, here are real-world strategies for getting the greenest results from your budget, with hundreds of ideas for a home that is built to last, comfortable and healthy, money- and time-saving in the long term, and kind to the planet.

What shade of green is right for you, your resources, schedule, and setting, and how can you achieve it? What questions should you ask? What approaches and resources are best for the Northwest? From your home's exterior to its operating systems within, from siting to interior design, this is the basic training that has given many the confidence to proceed.

Award-winning sustainable design and building consultant and teacher Kathleen O'Brien and architectural designer and sustainability consultant Kathleen Smith offer their "top picks" for each phase. Their perspective is both down-to-earth and cutting edge. They've also each faced their own green home challenges in a single family house and a duplex, and other case studies show affordable energy-efficient green homes both old and new.

Brimming with ideas, clear and logical, with tips, checklists, and resources for green home planning, construction, remodeling, and maintenance, extensively illustrated with photos and diagrams, this is the essential green home manual for novice and professional alike.

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Malcolm Wells' fourth book about underground architecture will show you that building a house underground is not only possible but also a very good idea for those who want a friendly-with-the-earth life.

This book covers everything you need to know about underground building, from concept basics to house plans you can use for your own underground home.

An architect by trade, Wells lived in The Underground Art Gallery, in Brewster, Mass., and wrote several books about this subject, which he began promoting in 1964. A pioneer of underground building and natural design, he penned such best-selling books as Gentle Architecture and The Earth-Sheltered House. How to Build an Underground House is scanned from his own handwritten and illustrated pages and is self-published.

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The How-to Guide to Building With Straw Bales (Post and Beam Infill) DVD covers post and beam construction using a structural support system in the home (typically wood), with straw bales as infill insulation (nonstructural bales). In nearly three hours of instruction, this best-selling DVD walks you through the entire baling process of a post and beam home, step-by-step. You'll learn how to:

• install toe-ups
• properly set up your baling layout and bale walls (including inside and outside corners)
• create niches, truth windows and window seats
• work with tall walls, as well as rounded and straight edges
• weedwhack your walls
• apply welded wire mesh
• work with electrical and plumbing systems in your walls
• get your walls completely ready for the plastering process
• and more!

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In the How-To Guide to Building With Straw Bales (Load Bearing) DVD, you'll discover how this form of construction uses the bales themselves as the structural element of the home. The roof sits directly on the bale walls and the straw itself is load-bearing. Nearly two hours of instruction takes you through the entire process of building a load-bearing straw bale home in a day-by-day teaching format.

The DVD shows in detail everything from creating a pad and pier raised floor foundation to installing toe-ups, baling the walls square and plumb, using the best strapping to pre-compress your walls, installing the rafters, attaching the roof sheathing, installing windows and doors, dealing with cabinetry installations, and much more.

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This double DVD set with nearly 3 hours of step-by-step footage will walk you through the entire framing process from start to finish. Whether you have never framed before or if you know how to frame but aren't clear on what the differences are between standard construction and straw bale wall framing, this video will provide you valuable information.

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Did you know that the average cost of hiring a plaster crew to apply three coats of plaster to a 1,500-square-foot home is more than $15,000? And that's just for the labor! Fortunately, plastering is a skill that is teachable, and people around the world have successfully created beautiful plaster jobs on their straw bale homes.

The How-to Guide to Plastering DVD includes nearly a full hour of information, sourced from professionals, that you need to know to plaster your straw bale structure successfully with natural hydraulic lime. (Due to its durability, breathability, natural ingredients and user-friendly application, natural hydraulic lime may well be the best material for plastering straw bales.) The techniques taught in this DVD can also be used with just about any plaster you choose. The technical details transfer to such finishes as earthen plaster, cement/lime mixes and more. No matter what plaster you choose, the information in this DVD will help you create a beautiful and durable finish.

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The How-to Guide to Building a Monolithic Concrete Slab Foundation DVD contains the latest information you need to know to build your own foundation. Walking through each stage of the building process, the DVD provides simple how-to techniques that will have you building your own concrete foundation with no prior foundation or concrete experience.

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In A Modern Look at Straw Bale Construction, Andrew Morrison presents what he believes are the best details for the highest quality construction available.

The idea behind the book was born of his comprehensive straw bale workshops. Each year, Morrison teaches hundreds of people how to build with straw bales, hands-on - and each year, he sketched out the same details and sections over and over again. Asked on several occasions to draw them up on a computer and then bundle them as hand-outs, he did just that.

Then Morrison contacted an excellent straw bale designer, Chris Keefe of Organicforms Design, and asked him to help with the drawings. Having designed more than 40 straw bale homes, Keefe had a ton of experience. Together, they have created a book that, as one reader raves, "fills an enormous gap in what information is available."

Morrison's focus is always on designing and building a structure that is beautiful, durable, safe, efficient, healthy, natural and inspiring, and this book brings that vision to life. It contains a thoroughgoing discussion of topics as well as 22 construction details provided by Keefe.

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Keep busy all year long! The Only Do-It-Yourself Book for One-of-a-Kind Project Builders features more than 25 do-it-yourself projects that you can modify to suit your needs and skills. This book contains photos and complete how-to instructions for designing and building one-of-a-kind projects. Measured drawings, materials lists and step-by-step instructions for most projects are included in this easy-to-understand book. You'll also find articles that focus on learning skills such as welding, plumbing repairs, electrical repairs, shed construction and more.