Most of the time when you think of tiny houses, if you’re like me, you’re thinking of a “micro” home of around 65 to 200 square feet.
This house is going to be a little bit different because I think it suits a small family perfectly.
Designed by Jessica Helgerson, photographed by Lincoln Barbour, and recently featured in Martha Stewart Living, the home won’t fail to impress you.
As you’re walking up to the home, you’ll immediately notice the green, living roof.
This small house is surrounded by beautiful trees and other greenery.
If you’re like me, you’ll love the attention to detail everywhere in this house.
Like the tree which comes out of the front porch flooring. I love that.
Notice the swing which is hanging from the tree, too. Wouldn’t you have loved to grow up in a house like this?
When you walk through the front door you’ll see the simple, rustic kitchen.
All of the appliances are compact, there’s plenty of storage, and there’s also open shelf space for frequently used items.
I really like the contrast of colors from white to the natural wood throughout the house and especially in the kitchen.
Walk away from the kitchen and you’ll enter the living room which is incredibly awesome.
There are book shelves from floor to ceiling along with ladders so you can reach the books up at the very top.
Notice how there’s no television and mostly books. No “sheep” living here (get it?).
But seriously, I really like how the environment encourages healthy habits like reading.
You’ll see that they designed and created custom furniture for this area which fits the space perfectly.
Continue climbing up that ladder and over the book shelves to find a super cozy upstairs sleeping loft, just like you’d find in a tiny house on a trailer.
Some of you will really like the large bath tub- something you rarely get to enjoy having in a tiny house on wheels because of extreme space constraints.
The last thing I want to point out to you is the children’s bedroom which features custom made bunk beds that compliment the rest of the home.
The design even includes matching, built-in closet space for the kids room. The bunks provide enough privacy for the children to feel they have their own space.
This remodel was completed using all reclaimed materials.
This small house was first built in the 1940s. Since then it has been through a lot.
From a goose-check station, to rental house, and now this wonderful remodel.
Check out the links below to get the complete story and to see more pictures.
You can read the photographer’s thoughts on the home directly over at Wonderful Machine Blog.
Photos by Lincoln Barbour
Tiny house design by Jessica Helgerson
If you liked this small house design, send it to your friends using the buttons below then talk about it in the comments below. Thanks!
Alex
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It is gorgeous! I also love the simplicity and rustic beauty.
I wonder where they put everything _else_ that they own, however. This seems like a fantasy of how life used to be before computers rather than real family life. I’d prefer to have my books on an e-reader of some kind and use that storage for other things that are meaningful to me, though I realize books are like that for some people.
The idea that a child would be fine with an empty bedroom and a book is pretty silly in the digital age. Digital fluency is every bit as important at literacy and critical for success. Though I realize that is most likely an artifact of the photographer’s preferences, I’d rather see real life, not faux Martha Stewart life. It’s vastly more beautiful, IMO.
Thanks Liz
our son if fine w/a room not filled w/toys & such in his room. Our family went through what I call the “GREAT PURGE” when we put our home on the market. We weren’t that bad to start with, but staging was highly recommended by our realtor. 1yr later our home hasn’t sold :(, but the fact that we are STILL purging on a regular basis is wonderful. We hope someday to have a much smaller home on 3-5 acres.
Now THIS is my ideal of HEAVEN!!! Has everything I want except a cover over the front porch…I could live here happily ever after!!! (and I’m a sucker for white, anyway)
Glad you liked it Deb!
Yes, I am drooling over that serene tub. A bit too serene sans any proof of bathing gear. Very sweet but too posed, like all MS. A bit too stark for young children. Why do some people think you can’t develop an appreciation of reading unless you’re stripped of all else? And NO..the bunks will not provide enough privacy. They have a boy and a girl. Lastly…why is the ladder posed on the cushion?
Thanks CJ, great points about boy/girl. As far as stripping everything else I bet they have ipads/laptops in storage. :)
I agree it’s a beautiful house, and the tub is quite inviting. One beauty of this mentality in building is that you’re not paying for the house the rest of your life, so when the time comes that boy & girl need separate spaces, adding on isn’t out of the question. Also, if you’ll notice on the floor plans (in the link), there’s a full size bed in that room as well, arranged so that a wall could be added between if really needed. It’s not about having everything you’ll ever need in the house you’re building now; it’s about having just what you need, and the option of addressing additional needs as they come. Ladder would be on the cushion when not in use to save floor space. Place it on the floor before you go up, obviously.
Thanks Glendon, great observations glad that you commented!
CJ…i grew up with five brothers and sisters in a two bed one bath home, it was a two bed cottage expanded to make the kids room a large bunk room about 9×20, in a small fishing village on the Chesapeake bay. We weren’t poor exactly, but for the time and place we were average.
Growing up we all moaned about privacy and space, but you know now that the six of us have grown up…3 boys and 3 girls…not one of us regrets our growing up there. We are all still very close and living as closely as we did we all learned some of the most valuable lessons life has to offer.
I wouldn’t hesitate to raise a family in such a way, brothers and sisters will avoid ‘looking’ at almost any cost!! In fact my sibs and i are probably better adjusted than any children raised in six separate bedrooms. Our oldest sister was in charge and dressed and bathed the youngest, we even had to double up for bath time as little ones. We never turned into ‘pervs’…
Americans have the most ridiculous ideas about body issues and sexuality, maybe that’s one of the reasons this country has so many freaks out on the loose. I don’t know, i’m no psychologist so i can’t be sure, but we don’t have those hang ups, body issues, shyness, as teenagers we weren’t sneaking peaks because it just wasn’t a big deal to us. Of course we weren’t born in America either, we came over from England, where nearly every family is packed into tiny spaces, we used to talk about our friends growing up and the attitudes and hang ups they had were just bizarre to us.
Five of us are married with children now, i’m the black sheep of the kids, single…but i have 22 nieces and nephews all being raised like we were, i don’t like the prudish American ethic…it causes a Lot of issues for children as they become adults and pass on those issues to their kids…i don’t claim the europeans don’t have their issues, but the kids over there are certainly better adjusted psychologically and are definitely raised differently from American children…again, on average.
This house happens to be my favorite of them all on this web site so far, as far as i can see the bunk room has room for four kids…of either sex.
jparkes-
Different time and place. I’m not young either and I didn’t grow up only in this country either. I’m also NOT insinuating that a family cannot be close and I certainly don’t know why you think I am speaking of ‘pervs’. (Although, I would actually like to see some of this ‘body shyness’ you speak of,in present day.) Because I think space is important? Why would you think ‘perv’? I am speaking of personal space…just personal space. Kids crammed in schools, buses, etc. with no space of their own for down time. Nothing perverted about it. It isn’t safe now for them to have forts in the woods…wander off on a horse, etc. Times truly are different.
We’ve all seen ‘Little House on the Prairie’. We aren’t there anymore. Many places actually have laws against having a boy and girl in the same room together now.
I think it’s wonderful if this is your perfect house. Understand that perhaps it cannot work for another and the forum is consistently pointing out the possible pros/cons…and they are nothing more than just that.
CJ…My post wasn’t meant to be antagonistic…i simply meant that life in a small home is going to mean changes for families. This is a newish concept only in America, the rest of the world…most of it…have always lived in small or tiny homes and there is absolutely not a bad thing for children to share a bedroom and it’s done the world over.
Only in extremist societies are the sexes segregated for even children, i’m sure i don’t need to name them all. It leads to some unhealthy attitudes like laws about women showing their faces or even ankles…true equality is all in, or all out…but i am from another generation, one with more sexual freedom, drugs and a time before casual relations didn’t kill you…but times and attitudes change, constantly, each generation has its own revolution of a sorts. I don’t know of many parents who are really comfortable or happy with what their kids get up to. its always been that way.
Placement of the wood stove is poor, much of the radiant heat from the back of the stove will be absorbed by the wall. The stove would be better placed closer to the center of the room. I see no fans on the wall or elsewhere (you can buy special metal fans to place on the stove to improve heat circulation) or other means for circulating the heat from the woodstove.
I can’t really tell from the photo, but it also doesn’t look as though it would meet the code in some states (mine for example) for distance from a wall. In the state I live in a stove that seems to be as close to the wall as it appears to be would have to have a non-flammable/non-asbestos board attached to the wall w/a 1″ or so space (between the board and the wall) to allow circulation of the air. I lived in a rental for several years that had to have such a board installed–otherwise there’s the risk that the wall behind the stove will dry out and eventually char/catch on fire. The safety retrofit is easy to do and makes a big difference in the temperature of the air next to the wall.
In my experience (years of using a woodstove for most of my heat and then some of my heating needs), if you have a ceiling such as this house does, the heat from the stove will rise up & be trapped at ceiling level (and it can pretty stuffy/hot for anyone near the ceiling), or inefficient use of the heat provided by
the stove. A ceiling fan is helpful in circulating the heat/air.
Thanks Azure! I think I saw one of those tiny metal fans in one of the photos on the ground.
I Love this house! I especially love the seating area in the living room: clean lines, looks comfortable, and looks like you could replace the mattresses when they’re worn out.
Agreed. And I bet you can lift the cushions to find more storage. The house actually has tons of storage built in if you look. Something I hardly pointed out when I wrote the post.
Wonderful space, ideas and organization. Some are really lucky to have the opportunity to ‘sample this’ type of lifestyle. Congrats.
Thanks Graham!
I tried to read the dimensions on the linked pages but couldn’t make them out. It looked like 16 something x 36 something. Do you have the actual sq. footage? I’m into small houses not tiny houses, although I’m guessing that this is under 600 sq. ft. Obviously that was not a real family living there. Also at some age the boy and the girl will have to sleep separately. I’d hate to have the seat at the table that backs up to the stove in the winter time. Maybe these parents are young enough to climb that ladder every night to go to sleep, but I would put the kids there. Lofts without stairs aren’t make for old folks. The seating arrangement appears to have been designed for sleep overs. The stove may have a heat shield behind it allowing smaller tolerances. I used to have and old wood/coal stove with a shaker grate and a ash pan with a heat shield on the back. The areas under the stove and behind the stove were never hot to the touch.
Thanks Charlie, good point on boy/girl situation, that has to be an issue at some point for sure, hehe, but they probably have at least a few more years. I agree, looks under 600 sq ft, but don’t know yet exact dimensions.
Finally!!! A house for a family. I have been receiving your newsletters for some time and while all of the tiny homes are interesting and inspiring, they do not seem possible for a family. I have 2 children and I just can not imagine living in less than 500 sq ft. I would love for someone to prove me wrong, but as of yet I have not seen it. Anyways, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this small home! Would love to see more small homes. I appreciate what you do Alex;trying to help people to see that we do not need big homes. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Thank you so much!!
There is a video on YouTube there is a family of four living in a 168 sq.ft. house:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gL5hC4KjpQ
Oprah did an interview with a family of five in India who lives in a space of 100 sq.ft.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L83EANbv04
What a person or family can or can not do is all a “state of mind” !
Thanks, L.A.! So true, all starts in the mind!
I had never seen that Oprah one, wow
First house I’ve seen that’s small enough and big enough for the average family. For my empty-nester needs I’d omit the bunk beds and take the closet all the way across, leaving only the “adult” bed. I’d also have an extension ladder (NOT on the sofa) and the sofas against the walls – plenty of room for grandchildren there and in the loft. I’d also want it a bit larger, maybe 18 x 45, and a roof over the porch with NO tree in it!! I’d replace the heater with the new ENVI wall mounted that heat for four cents an hour. One on each end would be sufficient.
We need to see more like this that are suitable to a larger group. I’m ready for this house and hoping my family sized one will sell soon so I can build it.
Thank you Alex and I hope to see more soon.
Thanks Linda, glad you liked it!
Maybe the ladder is there to remind you to take your shoes off?
I like the changes you would make. As a close-to retirement person with no children in the home, those changes seem ideal. This is a home I could see myself living in easily, but would not want to chop or drag in wood for the heat. At 540 square feet (per the article by the photographer) it is just about right. Wouldn’t this look grand either in the mountains by a lake or close to the ocean? Wonderful!! J. Halgren did a great job on this!
Very nice small house. Thanks for the article. The plan in MS Living shows the dimensions as 16’1″ x 36’1″, about 580 square feet.
Thanks Frank!
I love this house! Being the proud owner of a 120 square foot fully functioning off the grid cabin up the hill at the back of my main property I love the presentations here of so many wonderful ideas!
Thanks!
Thanks! Anywhere on your blog that we can find your cabin? Would love to check it out.
I came across a book from 1953 (the house and the art of its design by robert woods kennedy) with a chapter entitled “livability”. this house has qualities that no mcMansion ever conveys; the true personality of it’s inhabitants. it is a place for them, to enrich their lives not to impress others. It’s wonderful that it has been featured in MSL and here. Has the designer been credited anywhere? Rich
Thanks Rich! The designers name is Jessica Helgerson and you can find more about her and her work over at http://www.jhinteriordesign.com/
Great job on creating a beautiful, functional home. I’m glad that it is not filled with electronic clutter and all the stuff we have grown accustomed to having. Electronic book readers make it easy to use space more efficiently because less is filled with books, this is extremely important because the house is small. I personally don’t think there is a problem with children not having their own room. I would have made the loft area larger and designated one side for each child. I would also make the couch shorter so the ladder wouldn’t have to be moved. This site is wonderful because it allows everyone to share likes and dislikes.
Thanks Lisa- great ideas!
Love the look of this house. this is what I need here in Australia.
Thanks Daniel!
Love the ideas! I live in a tiny space with my husband, 3 year old daughter, 11 month old son, 3 hermit crabs and a chihuahua :) and I love all the space ideas in these pictures! The shelving is all the way up too so my kids can’t destroy my books or artwork… lol
I found this page from a google search for “best shelving ideas in tiny space” this is just perfect. Thanks for the pictures!!
Hey Lisa that’s so cool! Thanks for sharing. Glad you landed here and hope to see you around again! Alex
This is my dream home. So gorgeous.
Glad you liked it Michelle! Thanks!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the kitchen!! Want to print it out for in my design book! This is so close to what I have pictured and not been able to put on paper! Miss Jessica and I must have similar tastes, because the whole place is wonderful. I would also, as above, want to take out the bunks and lengthen the closet – (no kids to worry about)and use a different style for heating, but I do adore that wood stove – such a classic! In the warmer area that I live, it might not be such a problem, tho. With all those wonderful windows, cooling would not be a problem. This is a little bit of ‘perfection’ in a not so perfect world. Thanks for the sharing – you do such a terrific job of bringing us the best in ultimate living in small, comfortable spaces.
Hi Kat I’m so glad you loved it!
I love most of the houses you post, but this one has got to be one of my favorites so far. My wife and four children live in a 950 square foot two bedroom one bath, with a loft for the kids (approx 6′x 30′, 5’5″ peak). We have what basically amounts to an extra bedroom (or a large walk-in closet with a spare bed) as our six year old sleeps with us most nights.
After going on a three week journey from Tennessee to California and back, I realized that our house was too big even for us! All this wasted space, rarely used! We lack for nothing, yet live in a size space that most would not even dream of for the size of our family.
Whats more, our 13 year old son shares loft space with our 11 and 9 year old daughters. nobody suffers from not having enough personal space (everyone has at least 6′x8′ to himself), we just don’t keep as much stuff as most people.
I would prefer a housetruck, with a tinyhouse trailer, joined by a walkway like those big hinged busses in the cities. But it is not up to my preference.
I think they did an absolutely excellent job on this house, and I’d live in it in a flash.
Thanks for sharing Jens! Glad your trip went well, too!
No place to shower. In place of the freestanding tub, I would have used a compact tub/shower enclosure. I agree with some of the other posters about being digital-friendly. Also, given how little space modern audio/video gear takes up, a compact home theater could be built into the living room of the existing structure, mounting the display and speakers on the walls. In the kitchen, I would have used an RV stove, over-the-range microhood and compact 18″ dishwasher under the counter. For HVAC, there are safer, space-saving units that are much more practical than what’s shown. On the upside, I liked how spacious the house is. Instead of painting all the interior white, I would have finished the living room in a clear poly stain/varnish to enhance the natural wood. Minwax Polycrylic is easy to use and relatively safe. Not being a parent, I’ll leave the kids’ sleeping arrangements issue to the other readers.
Thanks, Adina
“The bunks provide enough privacy for the children to feel they have their own space.”
err…yeah…right.
Depends on age and relationships, don’t you think?
I think it is amazing, ignorant, and arrogant, how many people are saying that these folks built/designed their own house poorly or wrong. They may only take baths, or have an outdoor shower. Maybe they don’t have electronics by choice.
Further, until the last two centuries, people did not each have their own boxes, and seperate bunks would have been a dream. But then, people who spend more on bookcases than home theater systems might already know that.
Thanks, Jens!
Thank you-you just helped a guy getting separated to decide on what type of home he will build for the second half of his life.
How can I get a clearer image of the floor plans? I would like to build a replica here in San Cristobal, Chiapas Mexico.
Thanks!
Hey Michael- sorry, I haven’t been able to find a floor plan sketch of the house for you. Wishing you the best.
I absolutely am hands down in love with this house. I love to read and the wall of book shelves is pretty sweet to me. I love the open concept. I am extremely interested in a tiny house for my husband and I, just don’t know where to start. I do think this house is perfect, except for us it would be a tad more modern with television space and what not! Thanks for all your post’s I think I fall in love with almost every house listed on here!!!
Only by reading the fine print (in the linked article) do you realize that in fact this house isn’t big enough for this family’s needs. The designer says there is a walk-in closet in a nearby barn.