This 150-Square-Foot House Will Be On Display in Boston Soon

Siblings Tracy Powell and Trever Powell of West Warwick, R.I., are building an exceptionally tiny and energy-efficient house that they're calling Lil' Lodge. It's a micro-home meant to inspire architects and engineers to think big when they think small. (Tracy is an architect and Trever a commercial engineer.) Would you like to go inside their little house while it's under construction?
The house will measure only around 150 square feet, or about half the size of your typical hotel room. In their design, the siblings (and several of their closest engineering and construction industry friends) have focused on five principles: Safety, sustainability, durability, functionality and technology. Andersen Windows donated energy-efficient 400 Series windows, for instance, which are made from reclaimed wood fiber and contain 18 to 24 percent recycled content. There will be a security system controllable from a smartphone. And, perhaps more than anything, all building materiel is to be ruthlessly functional—"beautiful but not purely decorative," according to the project's website. That also means no furniture.

Tracey and Trever plan to finish Lil' Lodge in time to put it on display at the ABX Show 2015 this November at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. After that? Tracey Powell wants to use it as a second residence for several weeks out of the year. It's small enough, after all, to hitch to a truck or car and up sticks for wherever. The total cost? No more further north than $50,000.
· What, Exactly, Makes a Home a Micro-Home in Greater Boston? [Curbed Boston]