Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Small Homes in the News

Istockhouseplans is proud to announce the release of two new plans, the Carver and the Carver A. Both plans cover 18' wide by 22' deep including the porch. Both plans are just under 300sf with a sleeping loft of almost 100sf. These are some intentional entries into the small house plan market and we are proud to showcase them.

We at istockhouseplans aren't the only ones who think small is the new big. We've found some great articles that tout small and some just lambast bombast. Click the links for further reads. Unfortunately, some publishers require a login to access the full article and we just aren't allowed to copy and paste it. Maybe you're already signed up with them and we brought this to your attention.

Fine Homebuilding.

Wall Street Journal. Be sure to check out the interactive graphics.

Los Angeles Times photo story.

San Francisco Chronicle. Some interesting comments.


You can see the rest of our tiny homes as well.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Open Contest at FreeGreen

The folks at FreeGreen are holding a design contest open to anyone. The premise is that they are looking for new talent to enter the marketplace. Contrary to most other contests, entries are not anonymous. Even if you don't win, you still get exposure on their website which is huge. The winning entries get to have their plans available for sale on the website.

Of course we are entering. Did you have to ask? Since the posting of the plan on their website is optional and also not proprietary, this will be another plan that we can add to our portfolio. This home (given the FreeGreen mission) is going to be designed to be a clear energy saver. That means the faint of heart should stay away. We are aiming for an R-50 or greater shell all around. The hope is that the energy use of the home can get to a point where only 2kWh or less of solar panels can be used to take care of the designed electricity load.

Think you can compete with istockhouseplans? Join the fun!