The Baltic is a beautifully handcrafted, 2-story (but still tiny!) treehouse in Ontario, Canada.  The idea to build the treehouse started back when Cam, a woodworker and furniture builder, was a kid and would build forts and treehouses with his friends. Then as an adult, he took a sustainable treehouse building course at Yestermorrow in Vermont to learn how to build in a way that would protect the trees and allow them to stay alive and healthy while supporting a structure. Together with his wife, Lauren, they founded Fort Treehouse Co. and built this incredible treehouse.
Using what Cam learned at school, along with advice from an arborist, he built a platform that is supported by two live maple trees (with custom treehouse hardware), as well as three steel posts. Some treehouse builders prefer to build 100% in the trees, but Cam and Lauren were limited by the trees they had available on their property and so they came up with this hybrid design.
Image © Exploring Alternatives
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The Shiship is a really cool tiny cabin that was designed and built by Repère Boréal in Quebec, Canada.
It’s a simple structure made with a single high-cube shipping container and it measures 31′ long x 8′ wide, and 9’6″ tall. On the exterior, you can still see most of the original shipping container with lots of exposed corrugated steel and massive cargo doors at one end. It’s an interesting visual reminder that the shell of this cabin had another life before it was repurposed.
The cedar accents balance out the more industrial look of the container and make it feel more welcoming, and the massive wooden window frame at the other end is a dramatic feature that defines the outside of the structure and makes it pretty unique.
Image © Exploring Alternatives
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Hope you’re not afraid of heights because this tiny A-frame cabin is perched 40 feet in the air! The exterior is all windows and angles, including a diamond shape on one side, but the interior is full of curved details and has a cozy ambiance to soften the feel of the space. It was designed and built by the team at Repère Boréal in Charlevoix, Quebec, and they call it The Uhu.
Getting up into the cabin is a pretty cool experience: you climb an enclosed spiral staircase and once you reach the top, you cross a 20-foot bridge to get to the cabin’s front door.
Image © Exploring Alternatives
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This is a 1969 International short school bus that was converted into the Old School B&B in British Columbia, Canada. It’s built with materials that were salvaged locally and it’s decorated with fun thrifted vintage items to bring us back to the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.
The bus has a roof built above it to protect it from the weather and to cover the outdoor bathroom/outhouse as well as the porch area.Â
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This School Bus Tiny House Has a Roof Built Over It!
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Prefab homes have had a negative reputation in the past for being mass-produced and poorly made but Hewing Haus is one of several amazing companies that are challenging this stereotype by building prefab homes with quality materials and attention to detail.
They have a series of small home designs ranging in size from 200 ft2Â to 600 ft2 and we had the chance to tour the smallest model at their warehouse in Chilliwack, British Columbia.
These tiny homes are not built on trailers. Instead, they can be transported on a regular transport truck and craned into place onto a variety of foundations, including helical piles. They can be used as cabins, bunkies, retreats, rentals, accessory dwelling units, and laneway houses to name just a few options, and they can be set up almost anywhere (be sure to check out the video below to see a bunkie being installed on top of a cliff with a helicopter!).
Modern Prefab Tiny House by Hewing Haus
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Jake & Kiva started building their 20-foot long tiny house in 2014 and they’ve been living in it full-time with their cat and dog for 4 years now!
They came up with some brilliant solutions and designs to maximize the small space and make it as functional as possible, and the build cost $36K CAD.
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Jake & Kiva’s 20-ft. Self-Built Tiny Home
Image © Exploring Alternatives
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This is a stunning DIY conversion of an ambulance into a camper van, built by Amanda and her dad over the course of 7 months.
The vehicle is a 2006 Ford E-350 cutaway that used to be an emergency response vehicle for the US Navy. Amanda bought it for $10,000 CAD and the conversion cost an additional $10,000 CAD.
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She Built It With Her Dad In 7 Months
Image © Amanda Lemay
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This beautiful and unique tiny house has an intricately curved gable roof.
It also features a hand-carved barrel door, two spacious lofts, two unique space-saving ladders, a large fireplace, AND a full bathroom with a cleverly hidden storage shelf.
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Incredible Tiny House With Curved Gable Roof
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This is Tal and Nao’s Rainforest Yurt!
It’s a 32 ft traditional canvas yurt that has been modified for the West Coast climate by adding a shingled roof, wooden siding, and extra insulation.
Don’t miss other super-interesting tiny house stories like this, join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!Â
Tal and Nao’s Rainforest Wooden-Yurt
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