The $1,200 Transforming A-Frame Cabin This mini-house has just 11 pages of instructions – fewer than some Lego kits.Those were the three goals designer Derek “Deek” Diedricksen, of Relax Shacks, had in mind when he designed this DIY A-frame cabin.The plans cost $29.95 to download, and the materials purchased new should run $1,200 give or take.The plans spell out how to build the mini house in only 11 pages. For those less inclined to read, there are also 16 pages of photos.That’s a slippery slope for specifics. But building this A-frame is a heck of a lot faster than your average 1500-square foot suburban home with white picket fence. Versatile and cute as a freakin’ button. Granted, these weren’t qualities Diedricksen, who is a respected fixture in the small home movement, was necessarily looking for. But any designer worth his or her salt understands the need for livability and visual appeal. Diedricksen’s plans don’t disappoint. There is anywhere from 80 to 110 square feet of floor space, depending on if the porch roof is propped up and open.
The upper loft can easily sleep one guest, or it can be used for storage. The word-that-must-never-be-mentioned in small house living is front and center in this cabin. There is also a sink, a mini-fridge, sufficient counter space for cooking, and a skylight for circulation and stargazing. The plans include options for a bathroom and additional rooms. Weekend Cabin isn’t necessarily about the weekend, or cabins. It’s about the longing for a sense of place, for shelter set in a landscape…for something that speaks to refuge and distance from the everyday. Nostalgic and wistful, it’s about how people create structure in ways to consider the earth and sky and their place in them. It’s not concerned with ownership or real estate, but what people build to fulfill their dreams of escape. The very time-shortened notion of “weekend” reminds that it’s a temporary respite. Photos courtesy Relax Shacks A Tiny Cabin Under Iceland’s Northern LightsCheck Out This Rustic Treehouse for Grown-UpsOn This Rock, Mike Basich’s Cabin Stands
The Three Little Pigs Houses Materials you will need for all the houses are the top of a milk carton (adults should cut the top off for the kids) or use a single serving carton and you won't need to cut it, OPTIONAL: brown paper (we used cut up paper bags) STRAW HOUSE (three different options of materials): some sort of straw... We used packing material, you could also use raffia or dried weeds from outside (this is great fun to collect on use yellow tissue paper or crepe paper, cut into 4 or 5 inch strips. Twist the strips of it into pieces of straw (just roll/crunch them between your palms, like making snakes out of playdough) Straw Template I've provided. sheet into pieces to fit around your house. WOOD HOUSE (three different options of materials): some sort of twigs... Use popsicle sticks, toothpicks or real twigs from outside (this is also great fun to collect on a nature walk), Roll pieces of paper bag around a straw and tape/glue to make logs
or use newspaper to make your logs and then paint them brown. For more detailed directions, see the instructions for Wood Template I've provided. Just cut the sheet into pieces to fit around your house. Suggestion from Nicole, one of our viewers: One idea I had for making the bricks on the brick house was to cut a sponge into a square and dip it in tempera paint, then sponge the bricks on the Suggestion from Jean, one of our viewers: I have just printed the sheets for the "Three Little Pigs" story and I have a suggestion for the brick house, I plan to use legos. Brick Template I've provided. Tasha (age 6) insisted that the toilet paper roll pig and pig paper bag puppet weren't good because the pig wouldn't be able to get in the front door of the house (unlike her big sister, this fact did not bother Kaitlyn - age 2 - in the least. She was quite happy with a tiny house and a big paper bag pig puppet to go with it).
Anyways, Tasha made this craft up and I thought I'd share it with you quickly, just in case you have children who are aware of proportion, Take a cork from a wine bottle and paint it pink or wrap it in pink Cut out a white paper snout (or use a white dried bean), white paper eyes (or use googly eyes) and pink triangle ears (pink construction paper or colour white paper with a pink marker) Glue all this to the head. Cut out a spiral tail (cut a pink circle and then cut it in a spiral shape) Glue the tail to the back. Glue 4 beads or 4 dried beans to the bottom as legs. the legs on a piece of paper, put glue on top of them and set the pig on top of the glue... This is lots easier than putting the glue on the pig and trying to stick the legs on). HOW TO MAKE THE HOUSES: I'm assuming your container has been opened at someStaple or tape the part that you opened closed Cover your house with paper. We used brown paper bag, cut it in a long strip
the width of our carton and wrapped it around the carton. We then taped it (you could glue). You could use white paper instead. Draw a door on the house (and windows if you want) with Apply glue on one side of the house. chosen material/template piece onto the side. Do this with all the sides. Cut a piece of brown (or white paper) to be a roof size (ours was about 8 inches x 5 inches for a 2L carton, but it will differ depending on whether you use a 2L, 1L or Fold your roof down the middle and then unfold again. Cover your roof (top) with the chosen material/templateYou can actually use a different kind of roof material if you want to. Put glue on the top of your carton and carefully place your roof on top. You can take a sheet of cardboard (one panel from an empty cereal box will work well) and glue your house to Cover the cardboard with grass (wadded up bits of tissue paper or construction work well for this)