In September 2021 I took an online class through the Smithsonian called “Build a Tiny House”. I joined people from all over the US in building our own versions of the tiny house. I made three of them and I’ll show you the results in three different posts.
Thank you to my classmates and to our teacher, Marcie Wolf-Hubbard.
Here is my third house. Since our class was only three sessions, I wanted to finish this house before the class ended. So, I did some pre-work. I painted all surfaces of the boxes I used for the house. Some people in the class had specific plans they were carrying out, but I preferred to design as I went – therefore I painted and prepared all surfaces of the two boxes I intended to use, thoughI was not sure how I would put them together to form a strucure.
In the end, it worked out. Here is the third house.
You can see that I got more ambitous here. I used another cardboard shipping box for the main portion of the house, with a smaller shipping box cut down for the upstairs, and a portion of a box that originally held coffee to create the bay window on the side.
You can also see that I favor a dollhouse approach – with an interior and exterior. In the future I might try some houses that are just exteriors, with no inside, but if I do, I envision them being smaller. Maybe I could make them into a village for my toy cars???
Anyway, here are some details. In this house, for instance, like the previous one, I made a front door that opens and shuts.
There is also a roof garden. I thought the roof looked too bare when I added the second floor so I had the idea of enclosing a section with painted cereal box cardboard and making a little terrace.
And here are some more details of interior and exterior.
If you decide you’d like to try making a tiny house, collect your materials and dive in! It is a lot of fun.
Claudia McGill and Her Art World 
It’s so beautiful! You’ve got enough for a street now, I think.
Yes, I have them lined up in my living room right now in that form. Now I need to make them some people.
You know, it might be fun to make these for our grandkids. When Leona gets a bit older she will have figurines to put in. Oti has a bunch of Peppa Pig figurines.
Leona has a farm set (we gave her) that she loves and she uses it in all kinds of ways. INcluding chewing on the poor animals. Hmmm,maybe she needs a barn (sometime, not yet!)
I am thoroughly enjoying seeing the fruits of this project. I really like the architecture of this particular one.
Thank you, as I got more skilled at putting things together I could get more ambitious. Plus the more features, the more fun it is to make them.
A street full! What a great idea. And yes, some occupants. (K)
I know how to make people in so many different ways (after decades of never giving up playing with figures, dolls, etc…I need to think it over what I would like to do. (Or, on the other hand, I need to one day have the idea strike me and I will rush forward!)
I’m no good at planning things out any more either. I make lists, but I rarely follow them. I’m sure the idea with come when it’s ready.
I so love these!!!!
I think they are a lot of fun and each person can do anything they want with them. With pretty much any materials, I think.
Absolutely delightful
Thank you. I am collecting materials to make more. I hope they will offer the class again because it was fun to be doing it in a group.
I totally want to make one, so much fun!!!
I think this kind of project is adaptable to anyone’s style. I don’t know if you looked at the video I mentioned on today’s post (11/15) of work done in our class, but each student had an individual vision that was unique.