Welcome to the Exploring Alternatives YouTube Channel! We’re documenting the many ways that people are experimenting with alternative homes and lifestyles in their own creative, and inspiring ways. We cover a lot of topics from living off-grid to micro-apartments in the city, from homesteading to self-built tiny houses, sustainable living, and everything in between. We also feature a wide variety of spaces with interesting and innovative designs as well as alternative building techniques and materials. You can dive right into our playlists with hundreds of videos you might be interested in, an
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1:197K views · 3d ago · 1:19
In this video, we’re touring a tiny house on wheels with a modern interior and a unique floor plan. On one side is the living room with a small dining space, the kitchen and staircase are in the middle of the tiny house, and there’s a fully equipped walk-through bathroom that leads to an easily accessible main floor bedroom.
▶️ Mentioned videos: the full tour
17:081.8M views · 17d ago · 17:08
Tracy and John bought a tiny 8-acre island in the middle of a freshwater lake in Northern BC for $76k CDN and have been living there full time for over 2 years. There was a small cabin on on the island that had seen better days and they have been restoring and fixing it up and that's where they live! The couple has solar power for electricity, they draw water from the lake (and filter it), and they collect their own firewood from the island for heat.
19:2772K views · 1mo ago · 19:27
Guest: Unique Design Features
It's off-grid systems include solar panels on the roof, a charge controller and batteries inside, on board water tanks, a composting toilet, and a tiny wood stove. But it also has standard RV hookups if it's parked where there's access to electricity, water and septic.
2:1251K views · 1mo ago · 2:12
This beautiful 300 square foot tiny house is the perfect combination of three things: a super clever layout, lovingly hand-crafted details, and an uber cozy interior design.
▶️ Mentioned videos: Video on youtube.com · Video on youtube.com · Video on youtube.com
1:1911K views · 1mo ago · 1:19
Guest: Energy Modelling
Mark is a structural engineer who works on alternative structures and is currently the caretaker of the Darfield Earthship in BC. He's been living there for nearly 2 years, and is also in the process of designing several Earthships so he is an incredible resource. We're grateful that we had a chance to spend an afternoon picking his brain about his experience living in an Earthship, and learning how they can perform in Canada's extreme climate (spoiler alert: it varies!).
19:08224K views · 2mo ago · 19:08
This is an epic self-built truck camper that sleeps 6 and is built for off-grid and off-road adventures. It's built on a Ford F-550 cab and chassis truck, it's 4x4 and has: 2 diesel fuel tanks, 220 L of water storage, solar panels and batteries, a toilet and shower, a wood stove and electric heater/AC, a fridge and propane stove, and more!
1:2719K views · 2mo ago · 1:27
Kenton lives off-grid in a really cool tiny house with his partner Destiny and their two lovely pets. They’ve lived in it for 10 years and have moved it three times. It is currently parked on a hobby farm in the interior of British Columbia, Canada.
▶️ Mentioned videos: the full video
12:29350K views · 2mo ago · 12:29
Ivan designed and built his own off-grid tiny house on a budget and he's been living in it for 3 years in Bulgaria. It's basically an off-grid studio apartment. It's 420 square feet and has solar power for electricity, propane for cooking, a well for water (previously rainwater collection), and a septic tank for waste. He says that learning to build was powerful knowledge for him because it made homeownership accessible.
23:42202K views · 3mo ago · 23:42
This is a multi-generational home in the Gulf Islands of BC Canada. It's built with natural materials including straw bales and clay plaster, stone and wood, and living roofs, and it's in a magical setting surrounded by trees, gardens and a pond. Colin and Wendi live here with their two kids and with Wendi's mother Margaret.
🎵 Mentioned music: Track on pondside.bandcamp.com
10:4773K views · 4mo ago · 10:47
This tiny house has big vibes! It was designed with a really unique layout that gives it some serious retro vibes. The elevated Queen bed is tucked away behind a lovely curved arch, and that elevation gives the living room the feel of a '70s style sunken living room (or conversation pit). The L-shaped couch was custom built and has recessed LED lights below to add ambiance, as well as a tiny wood stove for extra heat (there's also a heat pump!).
11:3168K views · 5mo ago · 11:31
Guest: Smart Functional Interior Design
Noah built his own tiny house 6 years ago, which he still lives in, and then he began building tiny homes for a living. His latest build is a variation of his Tantalus model, and it was custom built to be site specific, with windows to maximize where the views will be. It measures 26' long, 10' wide and approx. 300 square feet including the loft.
📰 Mentioned news: Article on leftcoastssi.com · Article on leftcoastssi.com
1:2014K views · 5mo ago · 1:20
Mark Young has been living a self-sufficient lifestyle on a remote off-grid island in British Columbia for the past 21 years. He has built 9 experimental buildings on his 20-acre property using local and natural materials like wood, stone and cob, including: a cabin for himself, utility buildings for his solar power systems, a sauna and dormitory, and most impressively, a stunning 2,000 square foot dance studio with a sprung dance floor that is built on recycled car tires!
1:3329K views · 5mo ago · 1:33
Brent built this super cool tiny house hobbit studio using a mix of cob, stick frame, and ICF (insulated concrete forms). It's 300 square feet, built in a pentagon shape, with a green roof, a masonry wood stove, homemade wine barrel furniture, and a separate shed with a shower and composting toilet.
11:2081K views · 6mo ago · 11:20
This tiny house is built with a light gauge steel frame! ORCA LGS are innovators in the construction industry and have developed printers that cold form light gauge steel into studs that can be used like wood 2x4 and 2x6 lumber.
12:09308K views · 6mo ago · 12:09
Erin lives in a tiny house that she built herself, she grows 50% of her own food, and she homeschools her two kids. They've been living in the tiny house for almost 3 years in Ontario, Canada. Building a tiny house was a way for Erin to have affordable housing after leaving her marriage, which in turn allowed her to have time to continue homeschooling her children.
1:2441K views · 7mo ago · 1:24
Tim made this DIY off-grid wood fired bathtub made with refractory concrete. A small fire with twigs can be made in the burning chamber, and then the coals are pushed underneath the tub where they heat the water that's in the bathtub. It can get very hot so it's important to have a duck board or a little bit of wood to sit on so that you don't get burned.
2:4723K views · 7mo ago · 2:47
Did you know that you can compost food scraps indoors with worms? In this video, Kenton Zerbin shows us his simple DIY indoor worm composter setup with two bins nested inside each other, and a lid on top. The main bin is where the food scraps go. The worms (usually a special type of worm called red wigglers) eat food scraps and their waste is an incredibly nutrient rich compost called vermicompost. The main bin has holes in it to allow excess liquid to drain off.
▶️ Mentioned videos: the full video
23:10294K views · 7mo ago · 23:10
Guest: Clever Systems
Kenton lives off-grid in a really cool tiny house with his partner Destiny and their two lovely pets. They’ve lived in it for 10 years and have moved it three times. It is currently parked on a hobby farm in the interior of British Columbia, Canada.
1:5119K views · 7mo ago · 1:51
Tyler is an engineering grad who built a budget-friendly DIY tiny house to give himself the gift of a debt-free home, and because he enjoyed the challenge of bringing a project like this to life. When we first heard about Tyler's tiny house, we didn't have many details about his build, so it was a complete surprise when we walked in and learned about the really innovative designs he used for his elevator bed and for his radiant heated-ceiling heat system.
▶️ Mentioned videos: Watch full tour
1:1326K views · 8mo ago · 1:13
This is a full tour of a super innovative net zero tiny house that is 100% solar powered! It has a roof made of integrated solar panels and an atmospheric water generator prototype. It’s insulated with vacuum insulated panels, it has a home automation system, a sliding loft, and more!
▶️ Mentioned videos: the full video
30:157.3M views · 8mo ago · 30:15
Mark Young has been living a self-sufficient lifestyle on a remote off-grid island in British Columbia for the past 21 years. He has built 9 experimental buildings on his 20-acre property using local and natural materials like wood, stone and cob, including: a cabin for himself, utility buildings for his solar power systems, a sauna and dormitory, and most impressively, a stunning 2,000 square foot dance studio with a sprung dance floor that is built on recycled car tires!
1:4816K views · 8mo ago · 1:48
This is a full tour of a super innovative net zero tiny house that is 100% solar powered! It has a roof made of integrated solar panels and an atmospheric water generator prototype. It’s insulated with vacuum insulated panels, it has a home automation system, a sliding loft, and more!
▶️ Mentioned videos: the full video
13:11111K views · 9mo ago · 13:11
Guest: SUPER Unique Reclaimed Materials
In the 1990's, this old house was on the verge of being torn down, but a family bought it and renovated/revived it very slowly (as their budget would allow) over the course of 30 years to create a stunning home for their family of 6.
19:19151K views · 10mo ago · 19:19
This incredible tiny house was hand crafted with high quality materials and beautiful wood to create a stunning tiny house on wheels, inside and out. Everything from the door and windows, to the cabinetry and shelving, was built by hand. Measuring 26' long x 8.5' wide x 13.5' tall, it's not a very big house but it has some of the most beautiful living spaces we've seen!
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