Compact Cabins: Simple Living in 1000 Square Feet or Less; 62 Plans for Camps, Cottages, Lake Houses, and Other Getaways

By Gerald Rowan

Book Overview

In the woods, on a mountaintop, or at the water's edge, a small cabin can fulfill big dreams. With attention to efficient living and minimizing energy footprints, Gerald Rowan provides 62 designs for compact and creative buildings that are flexible enough to fit whatever your needs may be. Rowan includes detailed floor plans with plenty of modular elements that make the designs adaptable and easy to recreate with cost-effective, low-maintenance materials. Make the most of the cabin you call home, regardless of its size.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1603424628
• ISBN13: 9781603424622
• Release Date: February 2010
• Publisher: Storey Publishing
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.9" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Compact Cabins by Gerald Rowan

I have this book and I love it. The ideas in this book are limitless.

Any cabin builder will relish the design specifics and insights

COMPACT CABINS shows readers how to build a getaway dream cabin, offering over sixty designs outlining the cabin and using affordable, energy-efficient styles. Cabins range from 100 to 1,000 feet but are high in low-maintenance building materials, utility choices, and alternative energy. Any cabin builder will relish the design specifics and insights.

Lots of great ideas

This book encompasses a wide variety of floor plans and designs for tiny homes, I especially liked the modular section, because it helps you make up any design you want or need. There is even a small section on shipping container homes. No one book can thoroughly cover every design concept for tiny homes, but this one does a nice job. Adapting the floor plans to your own needs is very simple. This is a very useful book to keep in your library.

The best micro housing book so far

While recently there have been many books on micro housing this is the best. It is a book on the practical applications of the concept and not some architects exercise in the extreme with no real world applications. Many of the solutions in this book are adapted form the RV camper world. Also there are practical applications of alternative energy and gray water technology. While for most this represents a great way to do a weekend retreat it may also be the future of housing through out the world. There have been a few reviews stating that this is not a plan book and that is true. There are no true construction plans. The floor plans are small and much like an RV. As a matter of fact much 12v RV technology is listed here. But the book is not intended as a full time living house book. It is a getaway and weekend house book. Though I still think the plans livable for the micro housing movement. Now some of the shapes are yurt like, Hexes, unusual geometry and the like but still very functional.