When you’re used to fitting everything you need into two kayak hatches and living out of a tent for months at a time, 280 square feet of walls-and-windows comfort seems positively luxurious. Radical downsizing may be one of the founding tenets of the tiny house movement, but adventurers Erik Boomer and Sarah McNair-Landry are no strangers to doing more with less. They sketched the floor plan for their diminutive dream home while on a four-month dogsledding expedition around Baffin Island. Last winter, the couple began construction of a cozy home-on-wheels that’s as mobile as their lives: touring the Pacific Northwest one month, parked in an idyllic clearing by the river the next. “It’s our way of living where we want to play,” says McNair-Landry.
GET A GURU
The DIYers welcomed the guidance of fellow paddler and master tiny house builder Rob Sickler, who appeared with Boomer in the acclaimed film, Wildwater. Creating an adventure-ready abode is “kinda like making a fort when you’re a kid,” says McNair-Landry, “but way sweeter.”
ELBOW GREASE
After purchasing an eight-by-20-foot trailer, Boomer and McNair-Landry raised the shell in snowy McCall, Idaho, and then towed their home to Sickler’s Hot Rod Housing workshop in Leadville, Colorado, to complete the interior finishes. Five months and $25,000 later, they were ready to roll. The price for a mortgage-free home is a lot of hard work, says McNair-Landry. “Just like an expedition, we had difficult moments and we had to remind each other to keep moving forward one step at a time.”
REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE
Tiny homes are all about sustainable architecture. Repurposing and upcycling old materials are key to keeping the environmental footprint and building costs to a minimum. Boomer and McNair-Landry’s home is clad in reclaimed corrugated metal panels and barn board. “In 1833, it was on a barn in Illinois,” says Boomer, “now it’s on an adventure across the Northwest.”
SMARTS AND STYLE
Every square inch of a tiny home counts, so everything from the stud walls to the sinks—and especially built-in storage—is designed with form and function in mind. This mobile adventure rig has loads of clever features including antique ammo box cupboards, sailboat-style sliding kitchen cabinets, and an eye-catching pocket door made from beetle kill pine. “A composting toilet, hot shower, good kitchen, dedicated bedroom and office space were all important features that make this house extremely livable,” says McNair-Landry. “Vaulted ceilings in the living room and huge windows keep our tiny house feeling big and open.”
LITTLE LUXURIES
It’s easy to live large in a small space. An espresso maker and scaled-down propane oven and stovetop mean cappuccinos and cinnamon rolls are still on the menu. The coolest feature in the kitchen is the custom, hammered copper countertop and sink handcrafted by Rob Sickler.
RIVER TO ROAD
If it works on the water, why not in the home? “Repurposing materials is Rob’s forte,” says Boomer; the master builder had no trouble designing a stairway to the snug sleeping loft using aluminum tubing from Idaho-based whitewater raft frame fabricator, NRS. Ditto the rig’s lightweight, fold-down rear deck.
COOL IDEA
The tiny home’s fridge is a Yeti Cooler installed vertically in the wall. “We cannibalized a propane refrigeration unit from an old RV and put it in the cooler,” explains Boomer.
ALL SEASONS
A compact propane stove and spray foam insulation in the walls, ceiling and floor make this a tiny home for any weather. “If it’s paddling season, we will be near an awesome river, and if it’s ski season we want to be near the skiing,” says McNair-Landry. A 40-gallon water tank and solar panels for generating power keep the rig self-contained.
GUESTS WELCOME
Climbing holds provide space saving—and ultra-cool—access to the spare bunk nestled in the rear of the home. Just lay off the liquids before bed.
This article originally appeared in the Adventure Kayak Summer/Fall 2016 issue.
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