PHOTOS: Super Tiny Whittled-Down Wagon Home Comes with a Cat Observation Deck

We saw an array of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/tag/maker-faire/">amazing home-made things</a> at this year's <a href="http://makerfaire.com/">Maker Faire NYC</a>, but one of the most impressive by far was the <a href="http://www.whittleddown.com/">Whittled Down Caravan</a>, a super tiny home on wheels. Built from scratch on top of a 4' x 8' utility trailer by Libby Reinish and Tristan Chambers, the diminutive dwelling features a kitchen, a living area and a bed, and even incorporates solar power. We were lucky enough to take a full tour of this miniature but effective abode (as you can imagine, it only took about 2 minutes), so click through <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/photos-super-tiny-whittled-down-wagon-home-comes-with-a-cat-observation-deck/whittled-down-cabin-11/">our gallery</a> to see everything from the neat hidden storage to a dutch-door to an observation deck for the couple's cat, Lionshead.

Reinish and Chambers built their tiny Whittled-Down <a href="http://www.whittleddown.com/p/wagon.html">covered wagon home</a> for just $1,500 so that they could live in it while they made a cross-country pilgrimage from Santa Fe, NM to Massachusetts two years ago.

The final result make look much like a pioneer wagon of old but actually has many more amenities.

The couch doubles as a laundry bag (the more dirty clothes you collect, the more comfy the couch becomes).

Lionshead's personal observation deck is made from salvaged lumber and wire dorm shelf cubes. You can see that he accesses it via a cat door.

Lionshead couldn't make it to Maker Faire. A cardboard cutout took his place.

"We built the wagon on a 4 x 8' utility trailer and towed it with Libby's 4 cyl. sedan," write Libby and Tristan on their blog, Whittleddown.com.

The caravan looks pretty similar to a covered wagon from Oregon Trail.

The cabin's tiny but effective kitchen. "The sink is plumbed to the outside of the wagon, where a hose end can be placed into a 5-gallon water jug to hold output," writes Libby on the Whittled Down Cabin blog. "Our input (the solar shower) is 4 gallons, and the jug holds 5, so we never have to worry about overflowing."

Greywater from the sink is either stored for later disposal or drained into the ground if appropriate.

"The construction was wood with a canvas top. Our goals were to build a portable living structure that was light and cheap."

At least 50% of the cabin is made of salvaged materials.

The raised bed provides underbed storage and is topped with a home-made, straw-stuffed mattress.

The under-bed curtains were sewn by a friend of Libby's at Holy Scrap Hot Springs and there are magnets and a steel strip to keep the curtains in place.

The home even has creature comforts like frilly curtains and plenty of cushions.

The wagon home is powered by a 50-watt, roof-mounted solar panel purchased at a flea market.

In case you missed that website name, here it is again.