This Adventure-Ready Tiny House Has a Mud Room and a Fold-Down Deck

Husband-and-wife team Brian and Joni Buzarde of Colorado–based mobile tiny house builders Land Ark RV recently completely their latest project—the Draper home.

Text by

Michele Koh Morollo

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Clad in sleek, black corrugated steel siding and equipped with a fold-down Cumaru deck, the Draper tiny house is ideal for adventurers. The 300-square-foot RV’s efficient floor plan includes a mud room entryway, a gallery-like hallway with clerestory windows, and a sleeping loft with large windows that can be accessed via a custom-designed oak ladder.

Having built and lived in their own tiny home, named Woody, since 2012, the Buzardes saw the need for a mud room entry that's separate from the main living/kitchen space. "The mud room entry features a generously sized seven-foot width wardrobe, a separate W/D utility closet, and a nook with a bench and cubbies. This maintains tidiness and creates a more calming living experience in the living/kitchen space where one would spend the most time," says Joni.

Land Ark RV used Camura—a renewable Brazilian hardwood—for the deck and the inset siding.

The sun-drenched main living area opens up to a galley kitchen and a convertible U-sofa that transforms into a queen-sized bed for occasional guests.

The hallway utilizes recessed lighting and clerestory windows to create a sophisticated and calming atmosphere as one moves from the entryway into the main living space.

The Cumaru deck can be lowered and raised for transport in two minutes via a manual winch mounted inside.

Draper's frame consists of cold-rolled steel and closed-cell spray insulation for the floor, walls, and roof. Land Ark RV added an extra layer of rigid insulation outside the framing for the walls and ceiling.

Draper is fitted with 12 dual-pane tempered windows, eight of which are operable and four of which are fixed angled.

The sofa and mud room bench cushions were custom-designed by Land Ark RV with Sunbrella® Elements Collection fabric.

A sliding patio door allows the living area to extend outdoors onto a large fold-down deck that can be lowered and raised for transport.

The walls and ceilings are made from white-washed pine. The floors consist of waterproof luxury vinyl planks, and the built-in components are made of Baltic birch plywood.

The custom-lined patio door curtains and convertible sleeper sofa room divider are made from Sunbrella® Elements Collection fabric.

A U-shaped living lounge can be converted into a sleeping area for guests.

Levolor Light-Filtering Cellular Shades provide privacy and energy-saving insulation.

The Buzardes didn't want the deck to look tacked on to the rest of the unit, so they continued the Cumaru hardwood decking along the deck inset siding. The wood siding pleasantly contrasts with the black corrugated metal, and the Cumaru deck wraps along the wall, blending in with the facade of the house.

"In a small space, materials shouldn't demand your attention. From the light-colored cabinetry to the white-washed pine walls, and the slightly darker LVP flooring that grounds the space, the materials meld with the outdoor scenery, and the eye is instead drawn to the views framed by the large windows, and the overall refined feel of the space. The angled clerestory windows follow the roofline and draw your eye up as natural light pours in," says Brian.