Tiny houses are the little bit deal nobody can stop talking about. But chatter is one thing: what about actually living in, or even building, one?
As much as the tiny house movement has exploded, those of us who are looking for tiny house ideas and inspiration are in luck. There’s no end of amazing blogs, YouTube channels, and Pinterest boards filled with tiny houses of all shapes and sizes, so you can start brainstorming to create your own adorable, functional tiny house design.
Or, hey, maybe you aren’t looking to make the big downsize your self, and you just want to ogle other peoples’ tiny homes. Either way, this post has got you covered! Here are some of the best tiny house designs we’ve seen from all across the web.
Tiny House Designs
Although they’re all, well, tiny, that’s about where the similarities stop when it comes to tiny homes. Check out how many different tiny house ideas clever creators have come up with and implemented!
1. The Mustard Seed Tiny House
You know what they say about how it only takes faith the size of a mustard seed to make big movements? Well, that certainly seems to hold true when it comes to this tiny house design. Outfitted with both fun design touches and functional engineering, the Mustard Seed tiny house is constructed largely of reclaimed and upcycled materials, and has some unique extras that make it especially liveable.
For one thing, it utilizes tiny-friendly technology, like a tankless hot water heater and a loft stairway equipped with built-in storage. But it’s also got a built-in litter box that’s accessible for outside, making it perfect for pet owners — especially pet owners who don’t want to get cat litter inside their living spaces! It also has a secondary loft space with a ladder up and a firepole to slide down, which makes it a great space for a family who has young children.
2. The Mother/Daughter Tiny House
Take all the challenges that come with being a single parent, and then add building, designing, and living in a custom-designed tiny house on top of that. That’s exactly what this mother did, crafting a beautiful home on a 32-foot trailer, which she lives in in the Bay Area with her teenage daughter.
Because the trailer’s on the larger size, they were able to squeeze quite a bit of square footage out of the design. The fully-equipped kitchen has a gas stove and standard-sized oven, and with a front door and back door, the space feels open and easy to both walk around in and let air pass through.
Because mom works from home four days a week, there’s a great corner office space that allows her to both sit and stand in front of her computer. And although she lives tiny, she still likes to collect rocks and gemstones… and she’s found an inventive way to keep her collections accessible, yet easily rolled out of sight to make the space feel less cluttered.
Cool Tiny Homes
Here are some more awesome tiny homes for you to ogle.
3. Emily’s Tiny Adventure
Emily Lindahl Willix had been interested in tiny houses since the movement started really catching wind in the early aughts. After experiencing dorm life in college, she wondered how she could continue to live as lightly as possible — and tiny houses seemed like the perfect answer.
Although she initially started out her adult life in a standard home, she quickly felt overburdened by the amount of, well, *stuff* she accumulated — you know how it goes! So she took two years to plan and then six months to build her beautiful little yellow tiny house, which is a wood-framed structure built onto a trailer. She maximized her living space by adding a 6-foot porch on the back, and since she’s based in central Florida, added a high-efficiency air conditioning unit, which not all tiny homes have! Because she wanted a place to bathe her dog, she also added outdoor plumbing, which could easily be retrofitted for an outdoor shower or kitchen. She also added in both a front and back door, with French doors to make the living space feel more open and utilize outdoor space to the maximum.
You can learn all about Emily’s tiny house by watching her tiny house tour above! We especially love the color coordination and the in-floor storage, which is a brilliant idea for extending the limited space to stash your stuff in a tiny house.
Beautiful Tiny Homes
From tiny cottage homes to repurposed shipping containers, here are some more tiny house design ideas to spark your creativity!
4. The Storybook Cottage by the Sea
Ever wanted to literally live inside a fairytale? This beautiful tiny home nestled on the shoreline of British Columbia’s Vancouver Island makes that dream a reality — in a bit, yet perfectly little, way. With its sweet shingles and its dramatic, over-emphasized roofline, it cuts a unique profile and instantly transports you to a different time and place.
At 600 square feet, the storybook cottage by the sea is a little bit bigger than some other tiny houses — especially those that are built on wheels. But once you step inside this “Hansel and Gretel” abode, you find yourself in a totally modern, yet still comfortable and whimsical interior: the full-sized kitchen includes electric stove burners and the bathroom’s got a glass-encased shower stall, but there’s also a stone-built fireplace to keep the space warm throughout those dreary Vancouver winters.
The only drawback, says the owner? Living right on the water — which gives him that breathtaking view to stare at every day — does mean he gets some stares of his own from the people who go by in the boats that pass. But given a house that looks like that, who wouldn’t want to stop and take a second look? And honestly, when you build a fairytale cottage… you do kind of have to expect it!
5. The Tri-Shipping-Container Approach
Love the idea of living tiny, but not super into building things from scratch? Luckily, a growing number of tiny house dwellers and enthusiasts have figured out a workaround: repurposing shipping containers.
Available fairly cheaply, a shipping container makes the perfect exterior shell for a tiny house, and is easily outfitted with all the things you need to make the space livable and comfy. We love this design, which actually uses not one but three shipping containers, adding them together to create one beautiful tiny house.
It’s set up for solar and uses zero-formaldehyde joinery to keep the space healthy for both the environment and the humans living inside it, and it’s absolutely, undeniably lovely to look at. The young couple who designed it were eager to keep a low-debt lifestyle so they could focus on the things that really matter to them: spending time together and creating their family.
Tiny House Styles
We hope this post, and the tiny house photos and videos inside of it, has served as inspiration to you, no matter where you are on your tiny house journey.
But if you’re looking for alternative ways to live small, we also suggest you think seriously about RVs and travel trailers! Although they don’t have all the same design elements that tiny houses do, they make it super easy to get on the road as quickly and painlessly as possible… even if you’re not much of a builder.
If you aren’t sure if the RV life is right for you, consider trying it out for a weekend in an RVshare rental. Our trusted network of private owners offers the largest range of rigs in the country, with RVs available in every shape, size, and footprint. Instead of being stuck with a ho-hum Class A off the factory floor, you’ll get to choose from options like pop-up campers or sleepervans, which can give you a much better idea of what kind of RV will actually work best for your purposes.
Whether it’s in a tiny home, a travel trailer, or even just on your own two feet, don’t forget to take time for the things that really matter to you. (Chances are, that doesn’t entail taking care of a 2400-foot standard American home.)
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