SALON

Books

A designer of perfect homes no one can live in

Meet the backyard architect whose book shows off inventive micro-homes with eye-popping, comic-book-style art

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. / Photo: Bruce Bettis
    Author Deek Diedricksen in his $100 disaster relief shelter, the "GottaGiddaWay."

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. / Photo: Deek Diedricksen
    Diedricksen's "GottaGiddaWay" en route to a Cape Cod Eco Fest.

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. Photo: Bruce Bettis
    Diedricksen in his backyard "laboratory."

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. Photo: Bruce Bettis
    The "Hickshaw," as seen in the first episode of Diedricksen's online show, "Tiny Yellow House."

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. Photo: Deek Diedricksen
    Diedricksen built this Vermont "sleep space" for his brother Dustin's 30th birthday.

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. Photo: Deek Diedricksen
    The interior of a guest house -- called the "Wolfe's Den" -- that Diedricksen built for a client in the Catskills, N.Y.

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT.
    A sample page from the book, showing plans for a tiny sauna: "Sweatin' with the Oldies."

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. / Photo: Bruce Bettis
    Another sample page, with a plan for a swamp-side abode (complete with dock and cantilevered cooking table): "Down at Big Lee's Swamp, a.k.a. 'Pondview.'"

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. / Photo: George Crawford
    George Crawford's portable "Vardo" is one of several non-Deek-created micro-houses featured in the book.

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    Reprinted from "Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts and Whatever the Heck Else We Could Squeeze in Here!" by Derek “Deek” Diedricksen. Published by Lyons Press, Guilford, CT. / Courtesy of Gemma Roe and Aidan Quinn
    Another is this Hobbit-home-like "Eco-hab Domehouse."

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