Tiny houses push the boundaries of the smallest amount of space needed to comfortably live in. You want to “make the most” of this space, but how? In this article, I talk about the pitfalls of adding too much stuff to a tiny house, and propose 7 design tips for making a small space feel more spacious.
If you’re trying to fit your whole life into a tiny house, your first instinct is probably to find space for all the furniture, appliances, devices, and belongings you’ve always needed to be comfortable. And obviously you’ll need to partition out a living room, kitchen, bedroom, reading nook, and office… right?
But before you add too much, consider this: Your house design is tiny already. Why do anything to make it feel more cramped or enclosed? Here are 7 design tips that will help you design an interior that feels spacious, and avoid making your tiny space feel claustrophobic.
Text. Photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times
7 Spacious Tiny House Design Tips
- Avoid unnecessary partitions. For example, instead of creating separate “living” and “sleeping” rooms, consider ways that one larger space could function as a living area by day and a sleeping area by night. A folding or hideaway bed could help.
- Keep the space uncluttered above waist height. Anything above waist height that projects into the living space will make the space feel that much smaller. That means kitchen base cabinets are not a problem, but upper cabinets might be. Limit cabinets, shelves, or anything else that intrudes into this space.
- Take advantage of vertical space. Whether you choose a gable roof, shed roof, or any other style, make the ceiling as high as you can. High windows can allow additional light into the space, and they’re preferable to skylights for passive solar purposes. (More on roof design, and passive solar techniques, in later posts).
- Use light colors to create a spacious feeling. Light colors make a space seem bigger, while dark colors make a space seem smaller. Choose white or light-colored finishes for the ceiling and walls. (The floor color is less important for this purpose).
- Add a mirror in a strategic spot. Hang a large mirror, and you’ve instantly doubled the visual size of your space. Use your creativity. Make a whole wall a mirror. But don’t place the mirror directly facing the front door, it’s bad feng shui.
Photo credit: Tiny Home Builders - Carefully place windows to provide daylight and views. Light the space from multiple sides if possible. Extra-large windows may look awkward on a tiny house, but choose windows that are big enough to provide a view of the outdoors. Devices like venetian blinds can help diffuse light up into the room while providing a measure of privacy.
- Open up to the outdoors. In addition to windows, think of creative ways that doors or even whole sliding walls could allow you to open your house up. (Check out the Virginia Tech LumenHaus for one elegant example). With a porch, deck, and a whole landscape outside, your tiny space won’t feel at all claustrophobic.
The ‘Tiny Living‘ plan from Tiny Home Builders (at right) is a good example of design that creates a spacious feeling. The walls are not white, but are relatively light in color. A high ceiling and high windows bring in light. Only the small bathroom is partitioned off. And no cabinets or other elements intrude into the space above waist height.
There’s no doubt about it—downsizing and simplifying your life to fit in a tiny home is a very difficult thing to do. And you certainly will want some storage space, partitions, and so on. But beware of the “big house mentality” in which a room can be packed with cabinets, bookshelves, and furniture and still feel spacious. In a tiny house, it can’t. Restraint, and a little bit of good design, will go a long way towards making your small space feel plenty comfortable.
Have more ideas on how to make a tiny space comfortable? Share them in the comments below! In my next post, I’ll talk in more detail about lighting strategies for tiny homes.
Latest posts by Vincent Baudoin (see all)
- Small and Affordable: The 20K House Project - April 1, 2013
- Solar-Powered Tiny House Prototype: the LumenHaus - March 16, 2013
- Tiny House Communities: Urban, Suburban, and Rural - March 7, 2013
Most of my research to prepare for Tiny House living has involved watching tons of videos, and reading massive amounts of articles on multi-use furniture, and cabinets. There is a lot of information on this available on YouTube. Resource Furniture has tons of amazing ideas, however they are terribly expensive. I happen to be quite creative, and capable, so I am using the ideas I have obtained through these hours of research and discovery to design and create the furniture/cabinets that will suit us to the best of possibilities for our family. If you haven’t already, try searching YouTube for Resource Furniture, Lego Apartment, Multi-use furniture, Space Saving Furniture, Hidden Beds, etc… What you will find is really a lot of fabulous ideas. This is a great posting Alex, Thank you for thinking of it. I am looking forward to reading all the ideas I am sure people will post on this thread.
Good tip!
I think another mistake people make is in expecting that some life activity that requires more space to fit in a tiny gem of a home.
I always come back to my personal library. It is an element of my life that is important and constantly used. I have discovered that, like the Tiny movement, there are entire rooms in a regular home that are pointless for me.
So my ideal tiny home, includes the necessary space to house my library, yet, I am content with the rows of bookcases set up relatively close together. I don’t need the 4+ feet between units that a public library might use. Suddenly, I can find room for the entire library in one good-sized room that includes my office, a couple of reading spots, and even my sewing tables set under windows. My entire life can fit into one room. I am amazed by this. Years ago I would have said it could only be done in a huge house, but by evaluating, downsizing, parting with things I don’t use, and being absolutely honest about who I am and why certain things are important to me, I am able to plan for a small house.
Living fully tiny does require a lot. It is a beautiful ideal, especially for persons who find they actually don’t have anything they have to have that requires square feet to house. If you don’t need it, why not go tiny and enjoy those miniscule heating and cooling bills?
RE-use, re-purpose, downsize, simplify– such freeing concepts and good for the spirit!
Thanks for this great perspective. If downsizing were about getting rid of everything indiscriminately, imagine how dull the end result would be. Instead, you get it exactly right: it’s about getting rid of the unimportant and focusing on the important. All of the tiny house designs I draw for myself have generous space for books as well. (But for someone else, it might be photographs, or knitting supplies, or an art collection).
And bookshelves can add be beautiful and sometimes very unique element of an interior. For example, I’ve seen some great pictures of bookcases built into stairs or ladders. There’s a website, http://bookshelfporn.com/, that is a good spot for design inspiration.
Yup been to that web page. Love their ideas, but most don’t handle my two needs: 1. huge amounts of shelf space and 2. accessible without a ladder.
I must admit, I always wanted a book case that hid the door to a room. It just seems like it would be a hoot. Better yet, rather than make the entry to the room inconvenient, perhaps a bookcase door that hid the exit onto a tiny balcony?
I will likely not do anything so fancy and just line up my bookcases like good little soldiers, tie them together for stability, hang simple lighting to shine down each aisle, and keep my desk near whatever windows there are for natural light where I work.
That is a great picture from the Chicago Sun-Times for this article.
Welcome Vincent! I enjoyed your article and look forward to more.
Alex, I’ve really enjoyed your guest writers… great move!
Vincent, thank you for such a succinct article and I’m looking forward to your next contribution on lighting.
I’ve subscribed to PilotHouse Design and will be happy to see your plans & designs in Feb.!
Vincent, nice article. I’m looking forward to the next one on passive solar lighting/heating. Also thanks for the links to Bookshelf Porn, PilotHouse Design, & Virginia Tech Lumen Haus.
Question you might or might not be able to answer in an article–Re: tiny house communities, how far apart should houses be spaced in order to gain the maximum sun exposure on all 4 sides? I’ve looked at a couple pocket tiny communities and the sides look too close to each other to get maximum daily sunlight all day long for everybody.
Carolyn, thanks for your comment. I would love to do a post about passive solar design. In fact, I will probably do several because it’s an important subject!
Your question regarding house spacing is a good one. It depends on a lot of different factors, including orientation, latitude, and the flatness of the site. On a flat site, at 38°N, about the latitude of Washington, D.C., you would want to keep 17-20 feet between tiny houses if they are placed directly south of one another. But of course most real-life situations will be more complex than that. If this is something that interests you, I can certainly address it more in one of my future posts.
Definitely interested in this. I may not understand it all but I’ll try to wade through any explanations. Thanks!
Fantastic tips! This came at just the right time for me as I am considering our house design again. I’m looking forward to your post about strategic lighting.
After a few years part-timing in a 13′ Boler trailer I’ve come to a lot of the same conclusions about tiny house design. Having a lot of area with a high ceiling is up there on my list, as well as maximising the windows on the view/light side. I also like having a window on each side that gives you a view of what’s going on outside without actually going out there (midnight critter panics, approaching relatives, etc). Life in the Boler would have been a lot less pleasant without the partially covered outdoor deck and having an outdoor kitchen is great for the summer. Also good when you want to cook strong smelling food but not be reminded of it for days. I’d also recommend getting the quietest,most powerful exhaust fan you can find for your kitchen. My biggest design challenge is the fabric and craft supplies and equipment, including a treadle sewing machine and spinning wheel but it’s amazing how much stuff you can store if you organize it properly. Those vacuum pack storage bags are great for squashables.
Alice, those are all great points. It’s amazing how the details you might not think of (like strong food odors) can make such a big difference.
My first sight of the interior of a tiny house was Jay Schafer’s “Epu” and I loved the way he handled storage, for books, clothes, the desk, etc. As much as nothing above counter space makes sense for making the perception of the space seem larger, there is no storage in this design. I actually liked the way the space was divided into living/working/storage, kitchen, bathroom. I suppose my love of boat interiors over the years has made me appreciate how we can make space work for our needs. Absolutely, everyone will have different needs. For me, the sleeping loft on the Epu was too low – I like to sit up in bed, to read, amongst other things. I would also want a way to get a real mattress up there and not a foam one. And you have to work out if you are building you home on a trailer to get around building codes, or if you want to move occasionally. Outdoor decks, etc, also add to what you might need to move, so the idea of the porch is a good one too. I am so enjoying what I am reading on all these blogs, and the things I am discovering. I am probably going to have to design my own home as I live in a metric country (Australia), but am just now learning to use SketchUp so that might help me along the way. Thanks everyone.
I didn’t mean to imply that nothing should come into the space above waist height — just that you have to be very aware of how it affects the perception of space. Certainly, some vertical storage can be very helpful and I agree that some of the Tumbleweed designs do this well. But I’ve also seen some pictures of spaces that look like the inside of a work truck, with shelves and cabinets on both side and a small, claustrophobic aisle in the middle.
My impression of metric countries is that wood and other building products are available in sizes that are fairly similar to our imperial sizes. I suspect you could convert a plan with only some minor changes, if you wanted.
Hi Vincent – well I am a long way from building my own tiny house, so as I’m assimilating so many people’s wonderful ways of doing their own places, I suspect that I will end up with a lot different house than is currently floating around in my mind. Love your design, BTW. I suppose I had my thinking on the 8ft wide model of doing it, easily movable if need be, but actually not intended for touring. I’m loving this discovery I’m on. Thanks for being part of it.
Ian, I’m going to build dormers in my roof to give me more loft height, light, & cross-ventilation up there. Also, Instead of using valuable space on my trailer I’ve seen some really cool fold-up decks that close up when you travel. I’d rather use my trailer length for inside space.
Hi Teri – I am also looking at the dormers to add extra space in the loft area and also push up the side walls a bit. I have also seen some of those extendable decks but I must admit I like the idea of a permanent deck at this early stage. I suppose one of the “mantras” that runs through my head at the moment is the one about, if you live in a small space, if you want storage, you have to go up the walls and use the space. I love seeing the inventive way people are doing their places. Even some of those ones that look a bit ungainly, they are doing the “form follows function” thing. and that becomes a delicate balance. I’m sure your tiny place will be wonderful. All brave people.
Hi back again Ian! If you like Pinterest you can find lots of good Tiny House ideas on it. I’ve got tons of storage solutions on my Pinterest board http://pinterest.com/terijanefoster/teri-s-tiny-house/ Feel free to check it out… :)
Teri, your Pinterest board is great. I say you use all of those ideas (of course, you will need a bigger tiny house!) :)
Thanks, Vincent! What really feels good is that I’m starting to narrow down my preferences as I get closer to building (have to sell my regular house first). What I love is that the TH people are so willing to share ideas, experiences & wisdom. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel and we’re not alone!