This is the second installment of my low cost desert shelters that have been designed with economic refugees in mind. These desert shelters were inspired by Phillip Garlington’s website at Rancho Costa Nada. His book Rancho Costa Nada: The Dirt Cheap Desert Homestead is available through Amazon and Smashwords.
This is the first of several installments on ultra low cost desert shelters. The idea came from reading Phillip Garlington’s website at Rancho Costa Nada (“the cost nothing ranch”), where he tells his story of chucking a regular 9-5 job and creating a new life in the desert. Economic woes are driving millions of people out of the economy, many of whom become economic refugees with no place else to go except the cheapest land available – the desert. As a result, desert communities are springing up throughout the southwest US deserts.
Building furniture and other items around your home with driftwood is yet another low cost DIY option to consider. This topic is closely related to our previous blog post on Tree Root Furniture. The unique look seems especially appropriate for seaside homes, but of course that doesn’t limit your options. This rustic, natural type of furniture is well suited for beginners and experts alike. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of interesting projects, many of which could be built in a weekend with minimal tools. For additional driftwood furniture ideas, you might be interested in the book Driftwood Furniture by Derek Douglas.
We’ve already covered a wide range of things that can be made with salvaged shipping pallets. Use the built-in search engine (now much improved!) to get ideas for pallet furniture, wood cladding, ceilings and other items. This blog post lists some additional uses for pallets. Craft projects such as children’s toys, mirrors, coat racks, magazine … Read more
TV producer and Internet-video personality Kirsten Dirksen invites us on her journey into the tiny homes of people searching for simplicity, self-sufficiency, minimalism and happiness by creating shelter in caves, converted garages, trailers, tool sheds, river boats and former pigeon coops.
I thought I had pretty well exhausted the options for extremely low or free furniture until I saw the Facebook page Recycled, UpCycled, Freecycled Garden Projects. On a whim I entered ‘cable spool furniture’ into a search engine and was a little surprised to see the range of quality furniture that people have made with free cable spools. I’ve seen plenty of crude tables, but some of these designs are quite nice.