Your home is where your heart is and these couples have also put their blood, sweat and maybe even tears into their projects to build their love shacks. DIY home construction is no easy feat, so we’re mighty impressed by these duos who also made sustainability and eco-friendly design a top priority.
Recycled Window Love Nest
Photographer Nick Olson and fashion designer Lilah Horwitz quit their jobs to follow their dreams and build an amazing home made from recycled windows. Located in West Virginia, the home is sited in the spot where they had their first date while watching the sun set. The concept with the windows came about so they could easily watch sky from inside too.
Tiny 240 sq ft Brooklyn Apartment
Erin Boyle and James Casey are experts in living small, and their tiny 240 sq ft Brooklyn apartment proves it. The couple manages to pack in a ton of functionality into a tiny space, and Erin blogs about their experiences at Reading My Tea Leaves. Living in such tight quarters doesn’t leave much room for personal space or privacy, so hats off to Erin and James, who are perhaps the closest couple ever.
Rustic Camper Renovation
Bill and Becky Goddard, founders of Rustic Campers, spend their days transforming old vans into timber-lined mobile campers. The camper conversions are inspired by nature and make use of local and reclaimed materials. The rustic decor and natural materials make for a cozy mobile home perfect for a couple who likes to travel.
Alaskan Passive House
While it may not look like much from the outside, this home is the world’s most tightly insulated residential building. Built by Dr. Tom Marsik and Kristin Donalson, this Passive House features 28 inch thick insulated walls, making for an extremely cozy and energy-efficient home. Seeing as how it’s in Dillingham, Alaska, it’s definitely important to have a warm and energy efficient home to snuggle up in.
Tiny Tack House
Chris and Malissa Tack designed and built their own tiny, solar-powered home in Washington State. Inspired by the Dee Williams and Jay Shaffer’s tiny houses, the Tiny Tack House is built on a mobile chasis and features all the comforts of a normal home in only 140 sq ft of space. Both Chris and Malissa work from home, so it does double duty as both office and home—we’re pretty impressed by how the two manage to do it all!
Williamsburg Shipping Container Home
David Boyle and Michele Bertomen built their own shipping container home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The first of its kind in the area, the four-story home features six shipping containers on a 20 by 40 foot plot of land on Keap Street. Despite numerous setbacks, the couple made their dream home happen for just $400,000.
Tiny Green Roofed Oregon Home
This darling little cottage is a renovation of a 1940s shipyard working housing in Oregon by Jessica Helgerson and her husband Yianni. Clocking in at 540 sq ft, the little home is topped with a green roof and provides enough space for the couple, their children and guests for weekend stays. The home is filled with light and love and provides the perfect spot to spend time with family and friends.
Texas Passive House Renovation
It’s not too often that people renovate a home in order to make a passive house, but that’s exactly what Nick Blaise Koch of E Green Group and his wife Misha did to this Austin, TX home. Nick and his construction crew gutted the interior, added a new roof, and installed a lot of insulation to make an impressive little home.