Help! I want to live in this tiny home!

Hi tiny house enthusiasts!

I'm looking to live in a tiny house (38' x10'6") which I designed.  I was wondering if you would be so kind as to give your opinion on my design and if you have any suggestions?

Thank you!  Dave

Link to design files:   shorturl.at/ewADK

Posting a copy of the plan so we can discuss it easier.

Looks quite spacious for effectively a studio apartment. It appears fully functional, no compromises to save square feet. All I have are nitpicks like kitchen planning suggests sink between fridge and stove for smoothest workflow. What sort of eating table do you plan to use? More storage (wall cabinets over counter) is always useful. I would put a bifold or swinging door on the closet instead of sliders that will limit access to about a foot wide.

How much experience do you have in living in a minimalist space with little room for stuff?

I like Glenn's suggestion for the kitchen workflow.

Usually, the stove and the fridge are separated due to the heat cast from the stove so having the sink between them will help.

Also having the sink close to the bathroom will help save money on construction.

A 3' wide fridge is a large family size. Unless cooking is a major focus of your life, I think you could live as a single person or even a couple with a 24" wide fridge and have noticeably more counter space.

On your specific build, I'd say skip the "apartment" stackables and get the full-size stackables.  The full-size ones are just so much better made that for the few inches you save, you'll be better off in the long term.   That end wall where the picture is should either be storage or glass.  It looks like you have space to do floor-to-ceiling storage there.  Storage is going to be your key to living in a tiny space without going insane.  Without you saying, it looks like you'll be on-grid but I'd suggest preparing for power outages if you're in a rural or remote area.  That means some oil lamps or candles, and alternative heat sources like a propane heater.   The heat might be uncomfortable but there are ways to work around it and it won't bust your pipes.   We came through Snowmageddon in a 2 season RV that never froze despite the outside temps hitting -9F for a few days because we were prepared.  

I also recommend a shed or other outdoor area to store things that don't necessarily need to be temperature controlled - bikes, sports equipment, out-of-season clothes, and out-of-season bedding. Space bags and plastic bins are your friends here.    Toss in a dryer sheet, vacuum them up, bin them up and they'll be ready when the seasons change.  


Not so much a specific suggestion but a tiny house living in general.  Try to leave yourself space to build on or attach another container, etc. so that you don't have to start from ground 0 if your needs change.  That might mean doing something a bit different with the roofline to accommodate a potential future build or installing storage that you can relocate if you add on to the existing building.  That said, glass is your friend.  Yes, drywall is cheaper but being able to see out makes things feel bigger.  Having a good outdoor space that's at least 2-3 seasons if not 4 (depending on your location) is also quite helpful.  In all but the coldest part of winter, I prefer to cook outside whenever I can.  

A single person in 380 square feet is doable if you're very disciplined about making your bed, folding it back up, putting everything away as soon as you're done with it, and generally being extremely tidy.  There is a rigor to living in that small area that few people talk about.

You also need to be extremely disciplined with your possessions.  Everything needs to have a reason and a place or it should be jettisoned.  If something new comes in, it's because something old is going out.   You'll want to squeeze in storage space where ever you can.  You'll also want to be sure that you can do all the basics inside (cooking, laundry, eating, etc.) so that when the weather's bad, you don't have get out into it for basic needs.  

Add another adult person and things will get crowded quickly since the space is already filled with your items.  That's going to mean reaching an agreement with who's going to get rid of what items in order to merge households.  Bring in a baby - with the crib, playpen, diapers, etc., or a toddler with their toys and now you don't fit in 380 sq feet so well.  There are two things that ruin most couples faster than anything I know of - fights about money and the home being a constant mess.  

DaveU, what climate are you in? That dictates many things, especially with a tiny house.

Douglas has asked a good question.

Another one would be will the tiny house be stationary or moveable?  If moveable weight is a big factor so having an RV fridge, washer, dryer, stove, etc are considerations.

How many people will occupy the space?  It looks like one or two though more might be in the future.

The"picture" on the end wall is a TV. I agree that making the whole end wall a closet would make sense, with the TV shifted around to more directly across from the couch. Looking sideways from your seat at a TV is uncomfortable anyway.
The washer/dryer appears to scale to 30" wide, the normal size.

Climate certainly has a major effect on the practicality of design decisions. A sliding glass door and large kitchen window on one side suggests that that side would best face south unless cooling is more important than heating. A house on wheels gives that freedom.

I would like to know what form of heating is being considered. There is no visible heating unit, though maybe the apparent air conditioner mounted on the tongue is double-duty? Depending on climate, an alternate heat source independent of power would be a good idea or even a necessity. An RMH is obviously not appropriate here, but there are efficient tiny wood stoves, and propane heaters that can keep a space from freezing if unoccupied for a while.

I really like the bedroom in the loft setup, which is what my 12x16' house has, but it looks like you've decided on one level.

I would hate having to fold my bed up every day, and I like having a separate bedroom that's my private space. So I'd try to have the living room end be a bedroom instead. Even when I lived in a normal house, I didn't really use the living room, though. Maybe that's important to you.

I'd shuffle the kitchen around to make it more of an L shaped one. I'd probably have a small, under counter fridge, as well.

I agree, more storage would be nice.

Ditto on the under-counter refrigerator and cabinets above all counters.  Making the end wall where the TV is now indicated a full-height glass window or door will indeed not only make the place feel more spacious, but could facilitate future add-ons or a porch.

Make the closet doors full height.  A high deep shelf can be used for luggage, backpack, or a cooler - bulky items not used every day.  The flow of the whole space does feel nice to me.

Your minimalist creds would put my wife to shame Sounds like you have the right balance for you... probably nobody else would be happy with some of those decisions, but as long as you don't care about resale that doesn't matter.

I also admire your minimimist ablities! I would need a place that size just for my books. I don't think a tiny house is in my immediate future!

I have a couple of thoughts about the bathroom. It would not be normal in the UK to have the washer/dryer (or any mains sockets) in there for electrical safety reasons. I guess this isn't a problem in the US though?
With such a big shower area, you could maybe have that area as the wet area with the basin as well in a real wetroom and keep the rest of the area as the utilty area. I gather you were fitting a composting toilet. If that doesn't fit in a wet area, you might not gain as much space as I was thinking.

I have a friend who lived in a tiny van. He has used the rear door area to hang a water heater. Roof windows really make a space feel more spacious as well.