4 july 2018 |
COVER STORy
A 280-square-foot tiny home
gets built in Kapa‘au by Hap
Tallman’s crew of craftsmen.
Asian-style accents will
transform the basic box
structure into a lovely dwelling
with soul and character.
Kapa‘au woodworker experiments with tiny home project
lthough he specializes in fi nefurniture
making and other areas
of woodcraft, master woodworker
Hap Tallman has always been
captivated by the idea of building
tiny homes.
Within the last year, Hap began pondering the
idea of building the homiest, most basic dwelling
possible utilizing cost-effective materials that also
showcase sophisticated architectural accents.
At his 12-acre compound in Kapa‘au, Hap started
by framing up a basic tiny home he describes as
being akin to a wooden shipping container or
shed. He built it in two parts with his friend Mel
Ako, lifting the second-story loft onto the lower
half of the house. Although he enjoyed the
process of experimenting with his fi rst tiny house,
his natural inclination was to build something with
a lot more character and soul.
“Almost anybody can make these things, but if
you don’t add some interest and visual style, it’s
just a tool shed with a bed in it,” he said. “We
knew that if we tried building another one, we
could complete it in less amount of time and also
transform it into something more than just a basic
rectangular box.”
Hap brought in his friend Todd Gregory, a builder
from Kapa‘au, to take his tiny home ideas to the
next level. With Todd leading the charge, Hap
came up with a Japanese-style design that features