ADU, Travel, Community
Lina Menard
Maui, Hawaii

After A Week Long Send Off, My Round the World Trip kicked off with eight days in Maui visiting my sister Sarah who has split her time between Hawaii and Alaska for many years. What an epic way to start this adventure! There was mist falling when my sister greeted me at the Kahului airport on Maui a week ago, so she teased me about bringing the rain from the mainland. We headed straight for Paia where she presented me with a young coconut and a lei, accompanied by the chant for the gifting-of-a-lei.

Maui, Hawaii
Tiny House, Travel, Planning
Lina Menard
Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla

A number of circumstances collided recently to compel me to move the Lucky Penny to my property in Walla Walla where I have a ground bound small house called Valencia Cottage. So on Tuesday trusted tiny house movers Linh and Stephanie Pham helped me move the Lucky Penny safely from Portland to my place in Walla Walla.

Lucky Penny Moves to Walla Walla
Minimalism, Workshop
Lina Menard
Downsizing Tune Up

As I packed up recently in preparation to travel cross country in my Honda Fit, I did some downsizing… It was harder than it had been during my last couple of moves because this time I had more stuff. I’d been living in a bigger space…My apartment was a studio, but it was still about 6 times bigger than the Lucky Penny! I talked with several people about the experience and a handful of them said “oh my goodness, I need to do more of that!” So I’ve decided to offer a 6-week Downsizing Tune Up…

Downsizing Tune Up

ADU bike tour

Guided ADU (Bike) Tour: The Inside Scoop

Pedalpalooza Tiny House Tour - Billy UlmerLast year I had a blast leading a guided bike tour for Portland's Build Small, Live Large ADU Tour, so this year I'm doing it again! The ADU Tour sold out last year, so this year it's expanded to two days. This is one of the best chances in the nation to see the interior of a variety of accessory dwellings and to learn from the ADU owners, designers, and builders.

Guided ADU (Bike) Tour: The Inside Scoop

Saturday, May 30th OR Sunday, May 31st, 9:30AM-4pm

Tickets are $75 and available through Niche Consulting

Lina Menard will lead a special Guided ADU Tour during the Build Small, Live Large ADU Tour to share the inside scoop on the ADUs featured on the tour. Lina is the coordinator of the ADU Case Studies Project and a tiny house dweller and advocate. She will also share insights and information from the other 40+ case studies she has conducted. This guided tour option will cost $75 and will be capped at 20 people. The tour will be conducted by bike, but a carpool option will also be available. You can register for this option for Saturday or Sunday. This exclusive guided tour will go from 9:30am-4pm.

The Saturday, May 30th tour will feature ADUs in NE Portland, while the Sunday, May 31st tour will feature ADUs in SE Portland. Most of the ADUs are brand new to the tour this year so it will be fun to show them off. I've become familiar with most of the ADUs on the tour because I've been Coordinating the ADU Case Studies Project. I've had the chance to interview more than ADU owners about the challenges, highlights, and lessons learned through their ADU design and build process. I look forward to giving the inside scoop on each of the ADUs as well as sharing insights and information about the other ADUs in the Case Studies Project.

If you'd like to join us, please claim your ticket.

, , ,

Pedalpalooza ADU & Tiny House Tours on Saturday, June 29th, 2013

, , ,

Last year, in conjunction with Orange Splot, I coordinated the Pedalpalooza Accessory Dwelling Tour and Tiny House Tour, which each drew around 100 riders. This year I’m co-coordinating with Kimber, who has completed the Oregon Tradeswoman pre-apprenticeship program and now helps out with Portland Alternative Dwellings once in a while.

We decided to host both tours on the same day this year so that people who are curious about small spaces can see a wide variety of them in real life. The tours are guided by a fabulous bunch of small space builders, designers, owners, and inhabitants, so it will be a great chance to ask questions. We have a great line up again this year.

On the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Tour, riders will see:

  • A super energy-efficient basement apartment built by Shelter Wise
  • A backyard cottage built as a sister-in-law house by Small Home Oregon
  • An eco-friendly and accessible granny flat in an idyllic setting, which was My Summer Garden Cottage last year
  • A basement mother-in-law which provides flexibility for an extended family
  • A set of houses with ADUs that create a little community called Sabin Green
  • A house with two detached accessory structures in a garden setting called Ruth’s Garden Cottages

On the Tiny House Tour we will showcase:

Those who choose to join us for both tours are in for an epic adventure!

I’m still in touch with many people I met during the tours last year, so I’m looking forward to meeting this year’s riders. We have received more than a dozen inquiries about the tour, many of them from folks who are coming from out-of-state for the tour. There are no RSVPs required, so come join us if you’re able!