Arkansas Houzz Tour: A Violinist's Rocking Tiny House
Electric violinist Asha Mevlana built her Arkansas home as a place to live, practice and perform concerts for neighbours
Asha Mevlana likes to make noise. She’s an electric violinist who tours with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra rock band every year, and who has performed with Roger Daltrey of The Who, Alanis Morissette and other top musicians. Her on-the-road lifestyle caused her to keep all her belongings in storage units in Los Angeles, Boston and New York. “It was all over the place,” she says. “I never felt I had a home.”
Mevlana’s situation changed recently when she decided to build a tiny house on land her brother and his family owns in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. Inspired by Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Mevlana wanted a clutter-free place where she could decompress after a long tour, build a community and, yes, make plenty of noise, which she does in a practice trailer designed to look like a real Marshall half-stack amp.
Mevlana’s situation changed recently when she decided to build a tiny house on land her brother and his family owns in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. Inspired by Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Mevlana wanted a clutter-free place where she could decompress after a long tour, build a community and, yes, make plenty of noise, which she does in a practice trailer designed to look like a real Marshall half-stack amp.
The 3.3-metre-high, 3 metre-wide amp works, too, and consists of four outdoor marine speakers. Mevlana connects her electric violin wirelessly to the speakers and plays concerts for her neighbours with other musicians on the porch. “I haven’t put it up to full volume yet,” she says. “It gets really loud.”
If she wants, she can take the music trailer on tour with her, though she hasn’t done so yet.
Exterior: vertical Abaco tropical hardwood and black corrugated aluminium; deck: composite wood
If she wants, she can take the music trailer on tour with her, though she hasn’t done so yet.
Exterior: vertical Abaco tropical hardwood and black corrugated aluminium; deck: composite wood
Just inside the front door, the living room basks in sunshine thanks to a garage-style door with windows. The high ceiling with windows near the roof gives the home even more roominess.
While most tiny houses are built on trailers, Mevlana’s sits on a concrete foundation and is 3 metres wide rather than the more typical 2.4-metre-wide designs. That extra 600 millimetres gave Mevlana room for standard-size appliances and extra storage in the 3.9 x 2.7-metre L-shaped kitchen.
Mevlana worked with builder Zack Giffin for the show Tiny House Nation on the FYI channel, along with designer Brian Crabb of Viva Collectiv, builder Stefan Vickery of Vickery Construction and general contractor Zara Niederman of 3Volve Housing. Niederman is Mevlana’s brother and Vickery is her brother-in-law.
Giffin designed a bicycle-wheel-and-crank contraption on the left wall that raises and lowers a pot rack.
Benchtops: black granite
Mevlana worked with builder Zack Giffin for the show Tiny House Nation on the FYI channel, along with designer Brian Crabb of Viva Collectiv, builder Stefan Vickery of Vickery Construction and general contractor Zara Niederman of 3Volve Housing. Niederman is Mevlana’s brother and Vickery is her brother-in-law.
Giffin designed a bicycle-wheel-and-crank contraption on the left wall that raises and lowers a pot rack.
Benchtops: black granite
Mevlana does a lot of video editing at home, so she had Giffin make her a custom coffee table out of Abaco tropical hardwood, which is similar to ipe wood, that houses her recording equipment, a TV and a computer monitor.
“It was really important that the bathroom felt big,” says Mevlana of the 2 x 1.8-metre space. “I didn’t want to be on the toilet and have my knees hitting the cabinets.”
Sea green tile, an Abaco wood drainage platform and black river rocks give the bathroom a spacious, spa-like feel. “It’s bigger than my bathroom was in New York,” says Mevlana.
The house is hooked up to the municipal water, sewer and electricity lines.
Sea green tile, an Abaco wood drainage platform and black river rocks give the bathroom a spacious, spa-like feel. “It’s bigger than my bathroom was in New York,” says Mevlana.
The house is hooked up to the municipal water, sewer and electricity lines.
This view from the kitchen shows a breakfast bar on the right. The hallway in back leads to the bathroom and stairs climbing to the loft bedroom.
The loft bedroom features a window at eye level.
Recycled denim insulation provides soundproofing in the music trailer so Mevlana can jam out without disturbing neighbours.
Mevlana performs with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Photo by Florian Stangel
Tell us
What do you love about this creative tiny home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to like the story, save your favourite images and join the conversation.
More
Want more? Take a look at last week’s Turin Houzz Tour: Modern and Classical Meet in a Unique Home
Tell us
What do you love about this creative tiny home? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to like the story, save your favourite images and join the conversation.
More
Want more? Take a look at last week’s Turin Houzz Tour: Modern and Classical Meet in a Unique Home
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Asha Mevlana, an electric violinist for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and her Havanese dog, Bali
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA
Size: 37 square metres, 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom; trailer practice space: 15 square metres
Designer: Brian Crabb of Viva Collectiv