This Ingenious Tiny House Saves Space With a Lofted Office and Underfloor Storage

New Zealand–based tiny house company Build Tiny used clever storage solutions to maximize space in this 183-square-foot home.

Text by

Michele Koh Morollo

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The Millennial Tiny House is a simple 24' x 8' residence with a dedicated office loft that can be accessed via a wall ladder. The custom home was created by Build Tiny, which is based out of the town of Katikati in the Bay of Plenty on New Zealand's North Island. The steel-framed tiny home is topped with a mono-pitched roof that maximizes height and accommodates a solar array.

A special legless floor chair—similar to those used in Japanese-style homes—allows the resident to sit at a built-in desk and swing their feet over the loft edge to rest on a shelf above the kitchen.

A cozy, carpeted, lofted office is one of the highlights of this tiny home.

A Japanese-style legless chair in the home office space.

"This is a ingenious way to stack the functions of one space over another, so the user can sit comfortably in the loft without bumping their head on the ceiling," says Build Tiny's director, Gina Stevens.

The biggest challenge for Build Tiny was keeping the house under the 3,500 kilogram weight limit for New Zealand tiny homes.

The exterior walls and roof are made of Corrugated Colour Steel in contrasting lancewood grey and pacific cloud white, complemented by silver pearl window joinery.

The Millennial Tiny House was designed by Build Tiny, who have built more than 12 tiny homes in 2018.

Another smart space-saving feature is the custom-made retractable, welded aluminum staircase that slides into a cabinet when not in use to free up space in the living area.

A Philips Hue lighting system enables the resident to program and control all of the lights with a smartphone app.

The retractable aluminum staircase can slide into a cabinet when not in use.

The loft bedroom is located above the bathroom/laundry area.

The area surrounding the stairs features built-in storage space that can be accessed from all sides. There's a wardrobe, drawers, space for a washing machine on the bathroom wall, and cubbies that can be used to display books and other items.

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The walls are lined with poplar plywood and sections are painted in a light-colored finish.

The kitchen counters are made from laminated beech. The home's vinyl flooring is easy to maintain.

To avoid visual clutter, which can quickly become a problem for small spaces, Stevens and her team installed underfloor storage above the wheel guards and between the trailer axels.

Floor panels open to reveal underfloor storage spaces.

A wall-mounted ladder provides access to the office loft.

"The underfloor space is so large that you can fit a vacuum cleaner and much more down there. The space over the drawbar was utilized by building a storage cupboard out over this space to accommodate the fridge, the electrical switchboard, and exterior storage. The wardrobe is concealed in the bathroom and only becomes visible when you close the bathroom door," says Stevens.