Our search for an architect is over:
Jeremy and I have decided to go with David Burgess with  Drayden Design Group LLC out of Georgetown KY.  We met and signed the contract on August 23,2014, and since then we have had regular contact back and forth with changes and updates.

His proposal included:

*Design the structure to  be in compliance with all applicable building codes.
*Provide design consultation for space planning, room layout, exterior materials, HVAC, window
  and door size and placement, etc.
*Provide 3-dimensional computer renderings of interior and exterior space and structures.
*Provide design assistance and specifications on all selected materials and manufacturers.
*Provide construction documents for construction, bidding, and permitting.  These documents will
  consist of Exterior Elevations, Color 3-D computer renderings, 1st floor plan, 2nd floor plan,
  electrical plan and building sections.
*Construction documents will be submitted on paper, 36"X 48" or 24"X 36" (8 sets) and 11"X 17" (2
  sets) in size and in electronic format on CD-Rom if requested.
*Provide assistance to the client, inspectors and contractors concerning any modifications/ questions
  during bidding and permitting for construction.

David stated that it would take around 4 to 6 weeks till we have the plans.  So we are super excited that soon we will be able to get the building planning started.

Making House Plans:

-The first thing that our family had to decide on was what we needed our house to be for us. We looked up several house floor plans on several different web sites, but never found any that we just loved everything about.  So that is when we decided to make our own.  

Next step we had to decide was how we were going to go about choosing a place to get our steel arched home from.  There are several to choose from so just go with a company that you find meets your needs.  

We went with:

              Steel Building Pros

              3169 Shipp's Corner

              Suite 101

              Virginia Beach VA 23453

              http://www.steelbuildingpros.com/

We decided on a 30 ft by 30 ft S Model steel arched building that was 16 ft height. So a sales representative came to our home on May 12, 2014 and after a wonderful visit, we signed up to be apart of their display building program so that other people were interested in doing the Quonset/steel arched building for residential purpose could see one in person.  

Next Jeremy and I bought graph paper note books and began drawing house plans in our free time.  We may not be architects and have no construction back grounds but we had an idea on what we wanted to achieve. That is were we are now and so far we have decided on a plan that I came up with that we are trying to hire an architect for to finalize the house plans.   This is the floor plan that I came up with and Jeremy put it in computer form. 

 We really don't want a very large home so this plan has 2 full bathrooms / a kitchen / open living room / 3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms with storage room / loft office area.  We are really big in to the tiny home movement where less is more so this size of house is really what we trying to achieve. I know that there are going to be some people that say that this to much square footage to be considered a tiny home but the way we look at it if your down sizing that is helping with utilize your space more efficiently and live a less is more life style.

Reshaping The Box: Home Made Quonset:  

You may ask yourself what does that mean. Well my family story starts with an idea of making a Quonset or steel arched building into our family home instead of the regular box home that so many of us are used to. 

So we sold our home in a subdivision in Georgetown, KY on May 23, 2014 and bought 11.97 acres in Stamping Ground, KY on July 07, 2014 to begin our new life. 

My family and I were interested in the small house movement a.k.a the architectural and social movement that advocates living simply in small homes to lessen the mortgage debt crisis and environmental impact. After many months and several housing ideas later, my family set out to make a dream of living debt free on some land and living as off the grid as we could a reality.  I decided that our family would have to find a dwelling that would be fast to setup, easy for my husband Jeremy and I to put up ourselves to save on construction costs, that was as unique as our family, so the quest had begun to create a Quonset hut tiny house.  

When people generally think of tiny homes they often think of picturesque beautiful all wooden homes with the colorful front door on trailers that people have either made by hand or bought by someone who had.

 While whimsically pulled from the fairy tale story homes have a great charm about them but that look just wasn't really our style.  I wanted something with a more industrial feel like an old truck garage. Quonset hut just seemed like a natural fit for me, I have always been interested in Quonset due to their durability, strength, low maintenance and that sexy curvy shape that just screamed unique personality for a dwelling.  So I set up my research project of trying to build a Quonset hut tiny house and try to convince my questioning husband that we could live a simple life.  Come and follow us as we go threw this amazing journey of figuring out how to achieve our goal of building our dream home of Reshaping the Box: Home Made Quonset.