Tiny House Design Ideas

THOW Design

Tiny House Design

The first step on your tiny house journey should be planning around your needs and wants. It’s the most critical phase of the entire building process, as you can determine why you will build things a certain way as much as how you will build them. Understanding the purpose of your design now will help you avoid the really costly mistakes after you’ve started construction.

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Designing Your Tiny House On Wheels

Simplify the process even further with our printable step-by-step guide to Designing Your Tiny House. Learn about budgeting, materials, scheduling orders and more. With the included floor plan kit, you can quickly add, remove and re-arrange kitchen appliances, furniture, doors, windows, walls and more until you arrive at your perfect layout.

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How Much Does A Tiny House Cost

Windows, siding, flooring, roofing, appliances—the cost to build a tiny house can add up very quickly, if you’re not prepared for it. And don’t forget the trailer! The budget you have to work with affects your tiny house design as much as, and maybe more than, anything else. We cover costs and materials, and whether you should DIY or hire a pro to build your dream tiny home.

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Before You Build Your Tiny Home

Is a tiny house right for you? Tiny house living isn’t for everyone, but those who successfully embrace the lifestyle have become more at-ease and in tune with what they want out of life. Assessing your needs, wants and daily living habits are key to being happy in a tiny house.

FLOORPLANS

Tiny House Plans

The number of professional tiny house designers and builders has grown exponentially in the past few years. Finding the right tiny house plan for your needs is one of the biggest challenges before you begin construction. We’ve sorted through plans created by some of the most popular tiny house designers and organized a list of our favorite floorplans.

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Floorplan Inspiration

Will your tiny house be on wheels or on a fixed foundation? Have you considered expanding your space with slideouts? How many bedrooms do you need? There are a lot of variables to consider for tiny homes. And just maybe you want something different that a “traditional” tiny house, such as an A-frame, skoolie or a barndominium. Explore all your options right here.

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Two Bedroom

Depending on the size of your family, or how often you plan to have guests over, you may want to consider a tiny home with two bedrooms. Whether you need space for a full-size queen, twin beds or bunk beds, we have a variety of two bedroom floorplans to fit your situation.

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Three Bedroom

A standard sized tiny home was originally defined as being perfect for a single or a couple. But now there are some fantastic tiny home designs sporting three or more bedrooms capable of fitting the whole family in comfort and style. Check out some of the spacious floorplans and prefabricated designs outfitting the next generation of tiny housers.

DESIGN DETAILS

Tiny House Windows

There’s a dizzying array of choices available when looking at windows for your tiny home. The different styles, the way they open, the materials they’re made of, and the costs involved with all the different window designs. We’ve put together a comprehensive article explaining everything you ever wanted to know about the world of windows.

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Tiny House Doors

Every decision you make about your tiny house’s appearance is crucial, and the entry door can say a lot about your home. We go over the basics of door anatomy, standard door dimensions, and the fundamentals of door construction (just in case you’re the do-it-yourself kind). Be sure to check out the photos of some very creative solutions for tiny house doors.

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Tiny House Siding

The siding on your tiny house can have a huge impact on the look as well as the long term maintenance of your tiny home. Cedar shingles, Hardie board planks, vinyl siding and corrugated metal—we cover the pros and cons of these and other common siding materials to give you a better idea of what will look good and last a long time on your house.

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Tiny House Roofing

Your roof defines the character of your tiny house, keeps the rain out, the heat in, and protects everything under it, so make sure to get this part right. Whether you prefer a classic gable roof or a modern looking shed roof, it helps to view the roof of your house as a system where all the parts need to work together to cover the rest of your house.

UTILITIES

Tiny House Plumbing

Plumbing your tiny house yourself sounds intimidating, but it’s not that difficult with a basic understanding of common plumbing materials and how to install them. We discuss what materials work best for your tiny house, whether it’s mobile or on a foundation, and list the costs involved for a simple tiny house plumbing project.

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Tiny House Electrical

Wiring your tiny house can be even more daunting than the plumbing, but that challenge is also easily overcome with the right resources at hand. As luck would have it, we just happen to have the most detailed, comprehensive guide to installing electric in your tiny house right here.

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Tiny House Water Heater

If you’re considering a water heater than you’re most likely looking at a tankless hot water heater option for your tiny house. They take up a fraction of the space that a traditional hot water heater does and they’re way more efficient and cost effective for tiny houses. Check out our ranking of the most popular models to see what will work best for you.

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Heating A Tiny House

There are quite a few options available for heating a tiny home, including: natural gas, electric, propane, wood pellets, oil, cord wood and others. We go over the pros and cons of each as well as the costs so you can make an clear, educated choice how to heat your tiny home.

BATHROOM

Designing Your Dream Bathroom

The bathroom may be the most important room in your house, so it pays to spend time before you build by planning your tiny house bathroom with your daily routine in mind. Think about how often it’s used and how many people will be using it. Consider storage for toiletries, towels and all the other accessories that go into a daily bathroom regimen.

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Tiny House Bathtub

Who doesn’t love a long, hot soak in the tub at the end of the day? A bathtub is one of those little luxuries that many tiny housers just don’t want to give up. We float some of the best freestanding tub options available to you in this post on tiny house bathtubs.

Tiny House Composting Toilet

Compost toilets for your tiny house: how do you set them up and do they really work? First off, they’re not that smelly and they’re easier to maintain than you might think. We cover these and your other pressing tiny house toilet questions in this article on the often taboo subject of what to do where you poo.

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Tiny House Water

There are two primary methods of getting water to a tiny house, one being an RV connection and the other a permanent hookup. We cover the pros and cons of each system and detail several important points when connecting a water supply to your tiny house.

KITCHEN

Tiny House Kitchen Ideas & Inspiration

One of my favorite parts of my tiny house build was reviewing all the different tiny house kitchen ideas and inspiration. I enjoyed figuring out how to make my space more functional and fit everything that I needed into my small kitchen. From cabinets to cooktops to cupboards, this article features everything you need to design your tiny house kitchen right the first time.

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Tiny House Appliances

Every tiny house appliance has two requirements: power and space. It’s critical to choose the best appliance for your particular lifestyle and living space. Consider how often you really bake something before deciding to install that dual-fuel convection oven that looks so nice in the brochure. And will you have the power to handle all those different appliances?

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The Complete Tiny House Kitchen Guide

This can also be described as “Things I Wish I Knew Before I Set Up My Kitchen.” This goes beyond decorative ideas and inspirations to cover the nitty-gritty of why I made the decisions I did when planning my tiny house kitchen, including ventilation, storage and lighting..

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Tiny House Cabinets

Storage is at a premium in a tiny home, so plan your cabinets to maximize every square inch of space. Base cabinets in your tiny house are the mainstay of your kitchen. They’re often are the bulk of your kitchen storage because people like to keep their home as open as possible. Learn about standard sizes and basic cabinet construction to outfit your tiny house kitchen.

BEDROOM/LOFT

How To Set Up A Sleeping Area

Almost every tiny house has at least one loft, and sometimes two. They’re a great way to maximize space for both sleeping and storage, but they come with their own set of challenges. Will you access it by a ladder or will you make room for stairs? And what size mattress can you comfortably fit in your loft and have room to move around?

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Tiny House Stairs

Climbing a ladder to your bedroom can wear you out after a while, so a set of stairs in a tiny house is an option that has become more and more popular over the years. There are pros and cons with both designs. Ladders take up almost no space on the first floor, but a well-designed set of stairs can also pull double-duty as a storage closet and more.

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Tiny House Closets

Before you build your closet space you should first look at your wardrobe. In a perfect tiny house you would design and organize your closets based on what you wear and how often. This post shows you a variety of clever closet solutions and details standard closet space dimensions, so there’s a place for everything and everything will actually fit in it’s place.

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One Story Tiny House

One story tiny homes have their advantages and disadvantages; you may gain taller ceilings but you also have to give up that loft bedroom in the process. There are a number of ways to make a one story house feel larger than it really is. Murphy beds, elevator beds, futons and even hammocks are quite a few ways to make efficient of the space you have.

OFFICE

Tiny House Office

More people are working from home than ever before, and the limited space in a tiny house can have its own set of challenges. We show you how to get comfortable, organized and stay productive in a limited space. And, do it all with a little bit of style and a view.

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Tiny House Furniture

You may be wondering what tiny house furniture you will need for your new home, and if you can you use the furniture you already have? Turns out, many choose built-in tiny house furniture because it takes up less space. And multi-use furniture (think trundle beds, built-ins and fold-down counterspace) is a great solution to a lot of space constraints.

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Tiny House Storage

Storage space … there’s never enough of it in any house. To make the best use of the space you first need to come to terms with your possessions and buying habits, then declutter before you organize. For everything that’s left, we’ve assembled an inspirational tour of tips, tricks and hacks to make your tiny house a veritable storage container on wheels.

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Off-Grid Internet

Like the internet, tiny houses can be found everywhere, from the inner city to the suburbs. But it’s those backwoods rural locations where internet coverage can range from weak to near non-existent. We’ve put together a resource to help you compare the options and get connected no matter how far off-grid your tiny house may go.