Tiny Homes

Sunlight bounces off white-painted shiplap walls in the kitchen and the sleeping loft; the flooring is from Pergo.

Elsa, designed and built by Olive Nest Tiny Homes, is a 323-square-foot tiny house, complete with a pergola-covered porch, a swing, and a greenhouse. "We wanted to soften the look and the experience and extend the living space with something useful," says designer Melanie Aho, who launched the tiny home company with her parents Mary Susan Hanson and Randy Hanson. Elsa is outfitted with cedar shiplap, standing-seam metal exterior siding, and a standing-seam metal pitched roof. "The look is simple and earthy," Aho says. "We’re of Scandinavian heritage and are drawn to Scandinavian style and design."

RACV tiny home plan

Dubbed Small But Fine, a student-built 280-square-foot cabin in Finland connects with the outdoors and features a minimal footprint. Not pictured is a detached outhouse with a composting toilet.

Small but Fine floor plan

A look at the floor plan as designed, with approximately 500 square feet of interior living space, and around 800 square feet including terraces.

The fixed-gear bicycle hanging above the couch serves as an art piece; Chen no longer rides the bike. Le Corbusier Projecteur 165 pendant lights hang in the corner.

This photo shows the elevator bed in the raised position, leaving the living room open. A tiny fold-down desk provides office space.

A Schweiss hydraulic aircraft-hangar door connects the cube to the yard.

Chalet M floor plan

With an internal space of 132 square feet and a 18' x 9.8' footprint, the Artist Bothy is constructed from cross-laminated timber panels clad in Corten corrugated metal and Scottish larch.

Wisconsin-based ESCAPE, designed the ONE as a transportable tiny home with 276 square feet of adaptable space. The exterior features shou sugi ban siding, and the interior is wrapped in pine. The unit can sleep up to four people, and the pricing begins at just under $50,000.

With the average tiny home measuring under 500 square feet, these mini abodes often have to be designed radically different from larger traditional houses. We take a look at seven of the biggest lessons one can learn from tiny home design. No matter if you plan to call a tiny house "home" or not, these key tips are relevant to just about any space, large or small.

A little cottage in North Carolina is furnished with a cluster of wood-stump end tables by Urbia, two Eames rockers, and a 16-H wood-burning stove by Stûv. Scaly Mountain, North Carolina Dwell Magazine : September / October 2017

The Hive was completed in May 2015 for a total construction cost of $160,000.

The single slope roof is made out of blue metal sheets, and fitted with roof ladders supported by five brackets on each gable.