THE MOST EPIC TINY HOUSES
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As the popularity of tiny houses has grown over the years, companies have begun popping up offering design and construction services to meet the demand. While many folks opt for a more DIY approach, inexperienced individuals often feel more comfortable hiring professionals for certain elements, or even the entire construction of their home, which is where these companies/contractors come in. It’s a time consuming and challenging process to make living quarters that work in such a compact space, which is why you might find that a lot of houses that these companies are making often look quite similar.
At first glance, it can seem as though a formula has been reached with little room for innovation. However, if you look closer into some of the homes coming out of these companies, you may be surprised by the creative expression still available within such a small footprint. Zyl Vardos, founded by Abel Zyl in Olympia, Washington is one of the earliest iterations of these companies, and has managed to rise to the top in terms of their construction, design and artistry of unique and beautiful tiny homes.
Abel was initially inspired to build his first Tiny House by Dee Williams, a pioneer in the movement, who happened to live down the street from him. While he had his own ideas for ways to build small structures, seeing Dee’s implementation along with her encouragement to pursue it is what put him into action. He got a recycled trailer to build on with recycled materials, a project which would become the first of many.
What sets Zyl Vardos apart from many tiny house companies is the approach they take to the design. Coming into the craft with very little over the table building experience, Abel says that in many ways, the lack of experience leads to fewer preconceived notions of what is possible within the medium. While many tiny house companies opt to simply shrink down the conventional stick build home design, Zyl Vardos takes a more artistic approach with arched ceilings and more whimsical design choices. “I kind of really quickly realized that there's a lot more to you know creating a living space than just taking the square boards that you can buy at the store and sticking them together.”
A lot of the conceptualization process is hand drawn on paper, while others might directly go to CAD software. This more organic approach to design from the very beginning allows for a more natural and artistic end product than what you mind end up with when working solely with a computer for this process. “There's like a kind of a whole flow that you're trying to create with a project and no matter what it is, it's not always the easiest way to do it, but it can be really rewarding.”
While the company does have a few models to build from when working on commissioned work, they don’t lock themselves into a specific formula. In this house that they made, based off of their Pinafore design, incorporates different gothic architecture elements that the client specifically requested. What Abel likes about this design is the asymmetrical roofline, which allows for plenty of headroom when ascending the stairs to the loft without putting a staircase directly in the middle of the space.
Instead of incorporating off the shelf windows like what you might find at a hardware store, Zyl Vardos does their own framing, which allows them to create beautiful windows that perfectly fit into each space that they make, varying in all shapes and sizes. This house specifically has arched windows to fulfill the request of the client.
For the sake of simplicity, this particular house comes with a Stiebel Eltron Wall-Mounted Convection Heater that can run off mains power when the tiny house is plugged in, and eliminates the need for gas like propane. With off-grid ready setups, Zyl Vardos is able to use other sources for heat in their products like propane/gas heaters or wood stoves.
Quality is very important to Abel, and the work that Zyl Vardos is a testament to this. “Usually the most efficient also tends to be like the most reliable... I really value good engineering and insist that the suppliers and the companies that I'm getting these things from also have high standards for those, so that's parts of my research.” According to Abel, the key component to good design is balance. Instead of producing houses in bulk off a singular design, the company is careful to build a relationship with each client to tailor the project to specific needs and budget. This results in an end product that is able to last the test of time. To Abel, something that only lasts ten years before beginning to deteriorate is unacceptable.
One of the big reasons many choose to downsize to a tiny house is the environmental impact. By living in a smaller space, you’re able to produce less carbon emissions when heating/cooling it. You use less materials and you make less permanent damage to the area that you park it. But in the interest of cutting corners, many companies produce a product that doesn’t last. This is a problem that Zyl Vardos aims to avoid at all costs. By doing so, they create works of art that aren’t only beautiful inside and out, but that are also good for the planet.
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