Take it from the experts—we asked 10 tiny home owners what they wished they'd known before downsizing.
The interior of the Murphy bed compartment is lined with a stained cork panel and contains a smaller shelving unit for bedside reading, alarm clock, and reading lamp.
Refugio 3 x 3 section
Designed by Shin Ohori of General Design Co., the structure—Setsumasa bristles at the word “house,” since his desire was for something that “was not a residence”
A luxurious rural retreat that doesn’t skimp on comfort, JR’s Hut is an off-grid glamping destination with spectacular views of the 7,000-acre Kimo Estate in Australia.
Prefabricated and stackable, Kasita's high-density units may be a solution to America’s affordable housing crisis—with tech-enabled, high-quality design to boot.
After months of waiting for approvals to build a house in Sintra, Portugal, artist Chris Saunders decided to pivot, commissioning a custom tiny home on wheels from architecture studio Madeiguincho.
Landscape designer Benjamin Vogt is slowly helping to re-prairie suburbia and establish native habitats through his activism and business, Monarch Gardens.
"Giulietta Carrelli of Trouble Coffee says, ‘Build your own damn house,’ and I agree wholeheartedly with that," says Mason St. Peter, who crafted his dream surf-inspired cabin in Los Angeles’s Topanga Canyon with his partner, Serena Mitnik-Miller.
This ground-floor plan was used as a reference to build the Canadian Castaway Off-Grid Cabin.
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In Texas, where everything is bigger, Ryan McLaughlin is placing his bets on something small. Specifically, a simple 160-square-foot cabin that he hopes city-dwellers will book to get away, find some focus, and reconnect with nature. The result is a laidback, pitched-roof cabin in which every inch of space is thoughtfully allotted so that guests can spend the maximum amount of time outdoors.
Eclipse founder Justin Draplin explains his scheme for the 399-square-foot dwellings that include sustainable features such as solar power, in addition to spacious and flexible interiors.
Double glazed patio doors and bedroom window custom manufactured by Velfac.
The rear facade of the steel-clad tiny home has a large window that provides ventilation and an indoor/outdoor connection.
Constructed on land he had owned for years, this tiny cabin is also totally green.
Inspired by the idea of a living organism, Madeiguincho designed a 188-square-foot cabin that collects, stores, and reuses rainwater and produces food and energy.
Solar panels are installed on the sloped roof and help to produce energy for the tiny cabin, which features a large wood deck on the front facade.
In thinking about the worldwide lack of reliable water, sanitation, food, and electricity—and the fact that housing sector contributes more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions—the Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture and the New Haven, Connecticut–based architecture firm Gray Organschi Architecture designed and constructed a 230-square-foot home called the Ecological Living Module (ELM). The construction is a fully off-grid housing prototype that was designed to take advantage of sustainable materials, green technology, and simple construction methods. There's a a rainwater harvesting system, a solar system that provides 100 percent of the building’s energy needs, and a graywater system that irrigates food-producing plants that mark the building’s west facade.
The roof of the IWI is made of a special waterproof tarp, and pre-folded like origami, so it compresses smoothly like an accordion and provides protection from extreme rains and hail.
Surrounded by oak trees and lush grasslands, Field Cabin features a steeply pitched roof and an expansive glass door and decking on the front facade.
Kalon founder and creative director Michaele Simmering has worked from her in-home studio since she launched her business.
The interior paint is Roman Clay from Portola Paints & Glazes.
It’s simple to make lasting changes to your home, wardrobe, and everyday life that are kind to the planet.
ESCAPE's new line of all-electric tiny homes are finished with white birch flooring, walls, and ceilings. The pale wood tone offers a fresh aesthetic that ties to nature.
The Fish Camp acts as the couple’s forest getaway, just a quarter mile from their main house.
A small, single-story addition to the row house adds a playroom without eating up too much outdoor space. A green roof also helps makes up for lost garden beds, while creating attractive, leafy views from the second and third floors. In summer, when the sliding doors are left wide open, indoor and outdoor spaces blend together.
In an industrial neighborhood in Brooklyn, a verdant green roof of native grasses, wildflowers, and fruits creates an oasis.
Jon Ahrens of Madrone Landscaping, who layed out the plantings around the container, implemented a green roof on a drip watering system. The cantilevered overhang at rear is planted with cacti.
The sloped roof of Carlton’s art studio grows a colorful mix of sedum species.
The tiny home on wheels that Tru Form Tiny designed and built for Judy and Dean Anderson is wrapped in white-painted pine and accented with ebony-stained cedar around the door.
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