How to Design the Perfect Tiny House
Are you considering living in a tiny house but you don't know how to begin your design?
As you explore the internet for general inspiration, you'll notice that most tiny houses are built to suit each individual couple/family. Even our current collection is a foundation base with the majority of our customers choosing to tailor their tiny to fit their personal lifestyle.
So to get you started, we would suggest choosing a few styles of tiny homes, then follow the next tips to see if each style can fit everything you need in order to live big in your tiny house!
What to Consider When Designing Your Tiny House?
The most important thing to factor into a build is your daily routine. When working with a customer, the first question we like to ask is which room do you spend the most time in? We then encourage the person to think about how much time they spend in each room. For example, do they often cook, and would they require more space in the kitchen? Do they need a workspace for everyday use? Is a cosy living space more appropriate than a dining table for guests? This will determine the size of the rooms and how much attention each room should receive.
Tiny House Kitchen Design
The easiest way to see if a current kitchen design fits in with your lifestyle is to write down all the items you use daily and see if there is enough space for everything. Things to consider would be a pull-out pantry for herbs, tins and sauces or maybe a spice rack should you be a pro cook. Work out a place for plates, cups, glasses, knives and forks and bear in mind how many of each you would take with you. Next, you'll need to consider appliances: do you need a double hob or will two rings do? What about your fridge/freezer and washing machine? Where will you place your bin? What about smaller items such as a kettle, toaster and microwave? Once you have a list, you can work on a plan to fit everything into your kitchen, or you can find methods of editing your lifestyle to fit a 'tiny' one. At the end of the day, living tiny may mean giving up some luxuries such as an electric kettle (that also uses up a lot of energy should you be opting for an off-grid lifestyle) and replacing it with a stovetop kettle that can be stored away.
Tiny House Bedroom Design
The biggest concern when living tiny is the steps up to the bedroom and the height of the room itself. While living tiny requires a lower ceiling, some people may suffer from feeling claustrophobic so much that they may require a bedroom on the ground floor or to compromise with the bottom floor space to add additional height to the bedroom. Alternatively, you could add additional windows to give the room a sense of space.
Another thing to consider is how you enter your bedroom. While ladders take up less space, they are not ideal for people with health conditions such as poor joints or muscle wasting etc. Opting for stairs will also provide additional storage for coats, jackets and shoes and provide a safe method of entering your room. Your next problem to solve is where your wardrobes will be positioned. While many tiny homes have 'his and her' wardrobes downstairs rather than in the bedroom, you may need to consider where yours will be placed. You'll need to decide on how many items of clothing you will take with you, including any other items that you store in your wardrobe.
One last thing to consider is storage, small things like underwear, jewellery, plants and lamps will all require a home, and so we would recommend finding a spot for these items before you begin your build.
Tiny House Bathroom Design
For the bathroom, the first question is the size. Many choose to live without a luxurious bathroom and opt for a simple shower, toilet and sink to maintain daily standards of hygiene. While we have yet to come across someone who requires a spa-like bathroom with fitted bath and luxury features, we do know that these people exist and wish for this room to be a priority. Another important aspect of the bathroom is you'll need to work out how many shelves you'll need for cosmetics, towels and cleaning items. Wash baskets and washing machines can also be included in this space, or additional storage space can be created between the kitchen and bathroom. Something to additionally point out is that bath may not work in some tiny houses depending on how they are connected to water. If you are living from a tank and a low wattage heater, then its likely you will never be able to fill your bath! Before making this commitment, do speak with your builder to see how much water your heater can heat.
Tiny House Living Room Design
After listing everything that you need to fit into your tiny, you will need to find a space for any remaining items within your living room. This may be coats, jackets and shoes which can be placed under the stairs or the classic 'rubbish' drawer for pens, pencils and useless pieces of paper we seem to keep for a year before throwing away. Another thing to consider is how much time you will spend in your living space. With the great outdoors right outside of your door, you may opt for an outdoor seating area with less enthusiasm for you inside living space. We've had several talks about living spaces with each conversation being miles apart. Some are looking for the ultimate cosy living space that's clutter-free and feels like a typical household living space. Compare this to others who want drop-down tables for guests or double storage space to fit kids toys and other household items with a standard two-seater sofa and a TV being perfectly adequate living space. What we can all agree on is you need to design it to fit the way you live. If TV isn't a thing or cosying on the sofa is a rare occurrence, then we would recommend focusing on other areas of your home and leaving this area to be designed by a professional.
Ideas To Store Other Household Items
Compacting your life to a tiny home doesn't mean giving up the things that you love. It means you'll need to get creative when it comes to designing your home.
Some ideas from the team:
Bikes: Store bikes in a store cupboard that can be built on the outside of your home.
Fishing Equipment: All kinds of fishing equipment can easily be placed in outdoor storage areas which we'd recommend as some fishing products may hold strong smells that you may not want in the home.
Sports Items: Add drawers and cupboards to your steps to place bulky items.
Guest Bed: You could opt for a sofa that pulls out into a bed or have a mattress built in a storage space under the living room floor so it is out of the way until your guests arrive.
Dining Table: The easiest but not the most stylish approach is a drop-down table. They are perfect for occasional dining and workspace. However, if a table needs to be a permanent fixture, you could opt for adding a work/dining space to the end of your kitchen worktop?
Wine Rack/Alcohol Storage: We all love a drink so why not build a wine rack under a kitchen cupboard or over a doorway?
That's it from us, if you have any cool suggestions for our readers, feel free to get in touch! We love hearing your thoughts!
