Houzz Tour: Rock Musician’s Tiny House Wakes Up the Neighborhood
Electric violinist Asha Mevlana built her Arkansas home as a place to live, practice and perform for neighbors
Mitchell Parker
15 January 2019
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
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. 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. 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.
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
Size: Main house: 400 square feet (37 square meters), one bedroom, one bath; trailer practice space: 160 square feet (15 square meters)
Designer: Brian Crabb of Viva Collectiv
Watch now: Go inside Asha Mevlana’s tiny house
Find a custom home builder on Houzz
Who lives here: Asha Mevlana, an electric violinist for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and her Havanese dog, Bali
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Size: Main house: 400 square feet (37 square meters), one bedroom, one bath; trailer practice space: 160 square feet (15 square meters)
Designer: Brian Crabb of Viva Collectiv
Watch now: Go inside Asha Mevlana’s tiny house
Find a custom home builder on Houzz
The 11-foot-high, 10-foot-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 neighbors 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 aluminum; deck: composite wood
Shop for deck tiles and planks on Houzz
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 aluminum; deck: composite wood
Shop for deck tiles and planks on Houzz
Just inside the front door, the living room basks in sunshine thanks to a garage-style door with windows. (The door is open in this photo, and you can see the tracks on the left.) 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 10 feet wide rather than the more typical 8-foot-wide designs. That extra 2 feet gave Mevlana room for standard-size appliances and extra storage in the 13-by-9-foot U-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.
Countertops: black granite
Cool Ideas to Borrow From Tiny Houses
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.
Countertops: black granite
Cool Ideas to Borrow From Tiny Houses
A new coffee table recently replaced a custom table with an integrated video editing station that Mevlana didn’t use very often. The rug, art and pillows are also new additions.
Mulholland Drive cocktail table: Jofran; Matilda rug in gray and ivory, 6 by 9 feet: Safavieh; gold metallic pillows, 12 by 20 inches: Pillow Decor; Tetris pillows in silver: Cyan Design
Watch now: See more of this tiny house
Mulholland Drive cocktail table: Jofran; Matilda rug in gray and ivory, 6 by 9 feet: Safavieh; gold metallic pillows, 12 by 20 inches: Pillow Decor; Tetris pillows in silver: Cyan Design
Watch now: See more of this tiny house
“It was really important that the bathroom felt big,” Mevlana says of the 7-by-6-foot 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,” Mevlana says.
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,” Mevlana says.
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.
Prism II printed wall art: Yosemite Home Decor
Prism II printed wall art: Yosemite Home Decor
Recycled denim insulation provides soundproofing in the music trailer so Mevlana can jam out without disturbing neighbors.
Life Lessons From 10 Years of Living in 84 Square Feet
Life Lessons From 10 Years of Living in 84 Square Feet
A new outdoor furniture set gives Mevlana a place to relax after practice.
Milo seven-piece patio sofa set: Residence; Corrigan outdoor lumbar pillows in teal Sunbrella fabric, 6 by 20 inches: Mozaic Co.
Milo seven-piece patio sofa set: Residence; Corrigan outdoor lumbar pillows in teal Sunbrella fabric, 6 by 20 inches: Mozaic Co.
Photo by Bob Carey
Mevlana is pictured here on the right platform above the crowd as she performs with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. “What you don’t see is me shaking and trying to keep my balance,” she says.
Mevlana is pictured here on the right platform above the crowd as she performs with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. “What you don’t see is me shaking and trying to keep my balance,” she says.
Mevlana performs with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Photo by Florian Stangel
Watch now: See Asha Mevlana rock out at her tiny house
More on Houzz
See other creative tiny houses
Get home design ideas
Find professional designers and builders
Shop for furniture and other products
Watch now: See Asha Mevlana rock out at her tiny house
More on Houzz
See other creative tiny houses
Get home design ideas
Find professional designers and builders
Shop for furniture and other products
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