Tiny House Fridge Doubles As Seating!

When you go the cooler route you are taking the path less chosen. One that speaks to a more off-grid lifestyle. The expedition style cooler with its thicker walls is supposed to keep ice going for three days or more. After comparing various ones all my online searches brought to my attention an ad for a cooler that could be had for half the price of the name brand ones by ordering directly from the manufacturer. The RTIC cooler was back ordered for a month or two, but once I took delivery of it I was quite happy with its sturdiness and massiveness.

I had it dialed into my layout to sit next to the kitchen counter lengthwise under the loft ladder. This was a difficult position for access so I thought I might put it on wheels so I could pull it out when needed. But I shaved off a few inches from the kitchen counter to 22" in width and I didn't like the way the cooler jutted out past the line of the counter. So I repositioned it across from the kitchen where it got involved with the dining room table area. Once I got it it occurred to me that it could be seating for the dining area. I'm not sure if sitting on your food is good fung shui, but people do it camping so there you are. Once I broke the ice on sitting on it so to speak I thought to buy a 5 gallon Igloo water cooler dispenser to use as a stool and back-up cooler for produce. And next time I was at the Home Store there was a white one for $7. That's how it's been going for me. Think of something and soon it is found just the way I like it—used.

I decided not to get a fridge for my tiny house because I don't have room for a full size fridge and those dorm room size ones don't have freezers worth talking about, plus any fridge that is not oriented as a chest style cabinet just spills the cold air out every time you open the door. I had for a long time wanted to make a fridge that could be operated with a solar set-up. That's when I learned that you could take a freezer and turn it into a fridge with a temperature control device. So I got a 7 cubic foot freezer off craigslist for $50 and a year or so later I bought new a temperature control device. But I never got around to trying it out.

However I did learn to make block ice for a solar powered DIY swamp cooler I made using a fan blowing through a styrofoam cooler that was being demonstrated all over youtube. And now I can use the freezer to make ice for my coolers. Plus have the use of a freezer. No reason why it cannot live outside. The tiny house has an outdoor plug even.