introducing minibox... by ideabox!

Totally fun! Totally easy! Totally ideabox! Introducing the new "minibox" by ideabox. Coming in at a robust 200 SF in size, this is a micro-house that is all about mini living in style! Easy to move, the 8' wide tiny house can be moved with a large truck! Easy to place, all you need is a flat (preferably stable) spot, an RV plug and service connection, and you're all about the living! And at 200 SF, it's truly personal property (rarely requiring a permit).


minibox is only small in footprint. Everything else is big on personality. The ceiling soars above your head, and with all the glass and natural light it will be like your head is literally in the clouds.... (well, on a cloudy day, if we're being literal). Seriously, there is a lot of glass letting in as much of the outside in as possible and extending the inside out! 


Like everything ideabox, the minibox is all about living. And if your lifestyle has anything to do with eating, you're set with the mini-designer kitchen that simply rocks... complete with a 9 CF refrigerator/freezer, gas or induction cooktop, convection oven and even a dishwasher. Even the bathroom is, well, a full sized... (not one of those sort-of sized ones found in dwellings this size). A real shower (or tub/shower), a real dual flush toilet, and a very real vanity with sink and storage. 


Through a new product relationship with IKEA, (see the new aktiv line from ideabox to be featured here soon...), minibox features IKEA kitchen & bath cabinets, cooking, and a Tundra floor, in short, a totally modern lifestyle wrapped up in a compact package.


Outside, the mini wonder features stained cedar and galvalume siding, standing seam metal roofs, and ENERGY STAR windows. Radiant zonal provides the heating, with an optional ductless heat pump for year round comfort. Water heating is tankless. 


minibox is available now! 


For more information on the new minibox, visit www.ideabox.us - or - contact Taylor Russell, Studio Proprietor via email... taylor@ideabox.us

Your Home as an Art Piece

Have you purchased a piece of art and found it is a topic of conversation? We think of ideaboxes as large art pieces. 

Each element of the home is thoughtful and personalized to meet the character of the owner.  Each ideabox is a symbol of the owner’s design style, as well as, life style.  Their ideabox tells a bigger story than just the home they live in. It shows what they stand for. Maybe it is to “live off of the grid”, to live with less (space and clutter), or to simply be an “out of the box” thinker and doer. Whatever the style, our clients have found that the story is best told from an ideabox.

People are becoming aware of the varying applications available in prefab modern living.  They are going beyond the interest of living out of the box, and defining their own market for modern prefab homes. Each owner’s reason for choosing an ideabox will be different, but the pride will remain the same. Their story is a part of the home.

Willamette Valley Cheese Co.

This is the outside of the tasting room

I recently toured the Willamette Valley Cheese Company in West Salem and I had a great experience! I had only heard great things about their company, and found all of it was true. When we arrived Marita greeted us in the tasting room with a friendly smile and obvious passion for what she does.

Not knowing much about cheese we did not know where to start. She took our group through the most popular cheeses and explained how each one differed. We felt welcomed and that our business was appreciated. We got to take our time tasting with no pressure of time (did I mention that they were free tastings). Seeing the operation of their working farm reminded me of what “local” truly means.

Rob Volbeda of  Volbeda Farms owns and operates the Willamette Cheese Company. With award winning cheese, emphasis is placed on quality during every step of the process.

Quality every step:

•  Certified organic pastures and production facilities
• Raw or Pasteurized Jersey Milk 
• No Herbicides, Pesticides or Commercial Fertilizers
• No Product Additives, Preservatives or Hormones
•  All-Natural & Hand-Crafted Cheeses

Rob graduated with a Food Science degree from Oregon State University, then apprenticed with three different cheese masters in Holland to learn the art and science of cheese making. Beyond amazing cheese Rob has built a genuine brand. Willamette Valley Cheese Company does not have customers they have fans. The cheese was the best I have ever had, but the people made it even more memorable. I would definitely suggest it for a nice afternoon activity… and remember, show up hungry!

WVCC famous Jersey Cows
photo taken from:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Willamette-Valley-Cheese-Company/146925235346365   

The inside of the tasting room, decorated for Christmas

Some of the offerings of their cheese 

This was some cheese that was in the back not packaged yet

2012 Here We Come

The Hustle and bustle of Christmas is finally finished. With one last push toward the New Year, we are off to 2012. I hope this year has been full of laughter, learning, productivity, and enriched relationships, since that is where “gifts” really come from. Time moves fast, so take a moment to recognize how far you have made it this year and where you are going next. I hope you had a Merry Christmas and let us all have a happy New Year!

It is amazing what we can accomplish! I hope you enjoy this video...

The First Vertical Forest

In Milan trendsetting not only applies to fashion, but architecture. Stefano Boeri the Milan-based architect, created “Bosco Verticale” the world’s first vertical forest. This modern 27 story high apartment building has the beautiful view of Milan with the serenity of a forest. Each balcony has its own mini ecosystem with planted trees and vegetation absorbing CO2, dust, and pollution in exchange for oxygen. The outside oasis will change with the seasons, allowing shade to be provided in the summer, and letting sunshine show through the bare trees in the winter.  The building will have a plant irrigation system which will be supported through the filtering and reuse of the grey water produced by the building. 

Two buildings are underway (one 365-foot, the other 260-foot).  These two towers will have 730 trees, 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 ground plants, totaling about one acre of forest. This project is expected to be completed in 2012 and will be the home of human inhabitants, as well as insects and birds. 

 The “Living Architecture” movement has made progress in recent years, in response to urban sprawl and the disconnect between people and nature. The collaboration between architects, engineers and botanist possess the key to bringing nature back into the concrete jungle.

Integrating outside space into everyday life is essential for healthy living and critical for the “going green” campaigns. Stefano Boeri is putting action behind voice. 

We at ideabox are excited to see how practical and functional these spaces are when lived in.  If successful, I imagine a new generation of city high rises will be on the horizon.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2054135/Green-apartments-vertical-forests-sky-called-Bosco-Verticale.html#ixzz1d1ok8YPo

Read more: http://www.stefanoboeriarchitetti.net/

Read more: http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=vertical+forest

Living In Tin Can

There is something enchanting about nontraditional homes. I found a picture of a home made from an old grain silo and loved the idea! People have some amazing stories of how they have turned abandoned metal silos into homes, guest apartments, green houses, vacation rentals, and offices. Whatever the use, be assured it is creative and unique.  You would now have a canned answer for the typical icebreaker, “tell us something interesting about yourself”…  

People’s interest in nontraditional homes often correlate with desire to focus on eco-friendly construction, so naturally, a grain silo home is “sustainable”. Used silos can be found for reasonable prices, and can be recycled when finished with them.

Constructing a grain silo home is relatively fast and simple. Since the structure already exists, all that is needed is a foundation. Special attention does need to be paid to the designing of windows, doors, and cabinets because of the round structure.

Low maintenance is also a benefit of grain silo homes. Many owners choose not to paint because they like the natural color of the silo. Made from steel, the silos hold up well to the environment.  The round structure allows for less surface area exposure to the elements compared to traditional rectangular styles. Less exposure means less volatility from weather and improves the overall durability and energy efficiency of the home. The greatest benefit of all is the mystique. Living in a silo home is taking the road less traveled in a big way. 

Below are some examples of how people who have re-purposed grain silos.

Pictures from Louise and Vance Ehmke who created an office/apartment on their farm in western Kansas

GrueneHomestead Inn, in New Braunfels Texas offers night accommodations in this converted silo home.  These pictures show just how comfy you can make it! 

This grain silo was actually converted into a storage area for animal feed and a great example of the use for general storage as well. 

ideabox@camelot! A big time small living in Eugene, OR!

To us, every house we do is a part of the site it will occupy.  We've always been about creating solutions that contribute to the entire living environment, so when the opportunity to create a "cluster development" became available, we were very excited.

We were presented with a small build-able lot by a client interested in a design scheme that offered reasonable density of dwellings for people interested in living "smaller." The end use customer would be 55 & over, and because the lot is adjacent to their existing manufactured home community, they wanted the new addition to become a "cooler, hipper, extension of the existing community." Being a big fan on the manufactured home park model of living, (and having lived in a really old park while attending the University of Oregon), we were very excited to get started.

The resulting site plan ended up with 5 tidy building lots and a menu of ideabox houses ranging from 600SF 1BR/1BA to 800 SF 2BR/2BA in size. Each house is arranged on a pseudo zero-lot line placement backing up the driveways and carports taking full advantage of city required parking and creating outdoor living rooms for the houses. Instead of pouring concrete slabs for driveways, each site has oversized concrete "pavers" that allow for grass to grow, cars to park, and barbecues to be had!

Energy and resource efficiency are key features of this mini-project! Small footprint houses is a great start, with each being certified to NW ENERGY STAR Home and eco-rated engineered green home standards. All the appliances and lighting are ENERGY STAR, and we're featuring mini-split ductless heat pumps for extremely efficient heating and cooling. Each site contains all its own ground water, collecting water from roofs and filtering it back through the ground. Even the street is pervious pavement! 

The houses are from ideabox, so they are cool. Ultimate in easy living, each modern cottage is more like mini-modern-lofts. Large open living spaces, clever kitchens offering culinary elegance, and creative integration of outdoor "rooms," each house lives well beyond their walls. With the typical ideabox palate of materials and finishes, it's a mini-community of modern efficient living!

Perfectly located in Eugene, Oregon, the site is near practically everything. (I grew up not far from the site, and trust me, it's a great location in a dynamic city).

For more information on the project, visit the following:

http://www.ideabox.us/cottages@camelot.html

http://www.camelotvillage.net

Let us know what you think!