Saturday, April 7, 2012

The cosy eco friendly micro house made from household junk is small yet snug

Asmita Prasad:

33-year old father of two Derek Diedricksen is a carpenter by profession who has become something of a YouTube sensation thank to his video series called Tiny Yellow Home. What makes this series and his work so remarkable is the fact that Derek's creations are micro homes built from household junk that range from 24 square feet to just 4 square feet in size. Moveable by a single person like a wheelbarrow, each of these homes are made from scavenged materials like sheet metal, empty glass jars, parts of washing machines, discarded kitchen cabinets, old storm windows, shipping pallets and a lot of other junked items from everyday life.

Eco-friendly micro houses
Eco-friendly micro houses

Picture Gallery
Eco-friendly micro houses
Eco-friendly micro houses by Derek Diedricksen

The homes are not only bijou, they are also super eco friendly and cost less than $200 to make. Each home is fitted with basic functions like a petite storage, a few windows, ventilation and a flat bed to sleep on; they don't really have a lot of space to move around in. However, the carpenter has put in a lot of decorative elements in each of his creations to make up for the lack of space inside.

The portable shelters started out as a backyard project which the carpenter initiated to see if he could build a homeless shelter for less than hundred buck though his smallest creation, the Hickshaw is intended to serve more as a tent alternative for festivals.

Derek's experiences are captured in 'Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts', a graphic instruction book that he authored on the subject of building micro homes. The book sold around 1,500 copies and its first edition was hand assembled in the carpenter's living room!