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The bookcase that separates the communal living space from the bedrooms is made of 12" x 10" x 30" and 60” plywood boxes.

The house has operable openings on all sides, including a floor-to-ceiling window in the shower and large arched glazing in the living area that faces west to capture sunsets.

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. The 200-square-foot house, with its honey-colored wood cladding and contrasting blond wood interior, suits Chris perfectly. “Since moving here I’ve simplified not only my way of living, but also my mentality and work ethic,” he says.

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.

The family home that residents Tyler Lepore, Lisa Giroday, builders Hanson Land & Sea, and September Architecture devised in the Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, Canada, is wrapped with cedar and brick, tying to its wooded surround, which is only a four-minute walk to the ocean. "The house feels like it's part of the setting,

Inside the house, a relatively new Rais wood-burning stove is next to a Risom Rocker from Design Within Reach, a 2009 piece from the designer.

The flexible space can be set up for working from home, working out, or woodworking.

The lights are naval outdoor switches that come from Ed’s father, who stumbled across them in a box: “They’ve got a really satisfying ‘click’ to them,” Ed says.

The garden retreat was constructed mostly over weekends and holidays, and when Ed had saved up free time as well as a budget for materials.

Rather than augment the site’s natural slope, the design introduces a cable-stayed cantilever that hovers over the landscape. This space is primarily used as a patio, with a hole cut into the flooring to allow an existing tree trunk to pass through the space.

Ed learned to build through first working on a home in Cornwall. Drawing from the Segal method, a self-build approach popular with timber-frame spaces, the design later inspired Ed’s garden retreat.

Many of the studio’s details match the main home like the pine floors, the recycled slate tiles, and the exposed galvanized wiring conduits.

Many of the studio’s details match the main home like the pine floors, the recycled slate tiles, and the exposed galvanized wiring conduits.

Floor Plan of House by the Cautín River by Iragüen Viñuela Arquitectos