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This 1249-sq.-ft. Courtyard House Has Tiny House Design Features


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This three-bedroom home is another perfectly-designed creation from Mønhuset that would work great for a small family. Like in the Farmhouse design we showed you last week, their “Courtyard House,” separates the bedrooms and main living area with a spacious breezeway/mudroom area. Which if you live anywhere with ice and snow is a HUGE plus.

Created by Danish designers, it has an unquestionably Scandinavian vibe, with light-colored walls and flooring and huge windows that look out on the surrounding nature. These homes can be custom-built and prefabricated to your needs!

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A Small Home Option for a Family? It Even Has A Sleeping Loft Much Like a Tiny House

Courtyard House V116S 7

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

Extending the living area outdoors with these couches.

Courtyard House V116S 6

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

View from the loft.

Courtyard House V116S 8

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

Time to snuggle up by the fire!

Courtyard House V116S 14

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

The kitchen, slightly separated from the living area.

Courtyard House V116S 13

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

It connects to the mudroom space.

Courtyard House V116S 3

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

There’s a lovely dining area just beyond the kitchen.

Courtyard House V116S 16

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

An extra sleeping space in the loft!

Courtyard House V116S 4

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

From the breezeway you enter the hallway to the bathroom and bedrooms.

Courtyard House V116S 2

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

Kick off your shoes and coats.

Courtyard House V116S

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

These doors let you really open up the house when weather permits.

Courtyard House V116S 11

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

There are two mirroring twin-rooms.

Courtyard House V116S 10

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

And a grand main bedroom for parents.

Courtyard House V116S 15

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

Check out the layout below!

Courtyard House V116S 17

Images via Mønhuset-Canada

Description:

Mønhuset’s courtyard house has a larger living area with several larger rooms. The courtyard house presents an opportunity for you to create a special terrace to escape from the elements. This courtyard house, and all of our homes, can be customized to meet your specific needs and desires.

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Natalie C. McKee

Natalie C. McKee is a contributor for Tiny House Talk and the Tiny House Newsletter. She's a wife, and mama of three little kids. She and her family are homesteaders with sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and quail on their happy little acre.
{ 20 comments… add one }
  • María Nieves
    November 30, 2021, 9:57 am

    This house is beautiful,but it’s not tiny , is veeery spacious.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      November 30, 2021, 11:15 am

      For sure, it’s definitely a “small” home.

    • SLA
      July 11, 2022, 9:12 pm

      It doesn’t say it’s a tiny, it says it has “tiny features’.

  • Donna Rae
    December 20, 2021, 11:04 am

    The exterior is intriguing and that center covered exterior space is very nice…though I might opt for making it possible to enclose it so it is usable in bad weather, whether it is too hot or too cold. I love how spacious it is and the materials are quality. However, I would argue that the fireplace placement is odd and takes up unnecessary floor space between the living area and the dining area. How can you take full advantage of a warming fire when the furniture is off to the side so awkwardly? Yes, the furniture can be rearranged but it would still be an awkward arrangement that wasted space. I would eliminate or move the fireplace, move the dining area…and the kitchen…closer to the living room so I could add a half bath for visitors to use. It would also be convenient to have a bathroom adjacent to the exterior space so no one would have to go through a living space to use it. I would also move the refrigerator so it didn’t obstruct the view into the living spaces. All doable changes that wouldn’t cause major structural changes. Overall, I really like the space, especially if I could make those few changes.

    • SLA
      July 11, 2022, 9:13 pm

      That center part IS enclosed.

      • James D.
        July 11, 2022, 11:46 pm

        Yes, it’s just not part of the conditioned space but that may be what she meant with the “whether it is too hot or too cold” part, possibly implying it should be made part of the conditioned space…

        Though, there will be some structural changes required with some of the recommended changes suggested and not everyone will agree those all would be good changes but to each their own.

        • SLA
          July 12, 2022, 12:07 am

          She said (which I also discovered later, like SHE did) that she hadn’t seen that part and acknowledged that she was wrong with her first comment. 😉

  • Donna Rae
    December 20, 2021, 11:09 am

    I do see now that there are doors that enclose that covered area which does make that space more usable even while making it so you can open it up for a nice breeze. I didn’t notice that at first.

  • Donna Rae
    December 20, 2021, 11:16 am

    I should have paid closer attention to the bedroom/bathroom arrangement so I could avoid making separate comments. Sorry. I would move the bathroom so it was closer to the main bedroom, even making it a suite. I don’t need the two small bedrooms so would make it one large room that could serve many functions, mostly as a place to do artwork but possibly as a guest area, too. All easy changes before construction begins.

  • e.a.f.
    December 20, 2021, 6:52 pm

    1,200 sq. ft. these days is small for a house. Now going back to the 1950s and 60s. most aging baby boomers in Greater Vancouver, B.C., Canada grew up in 1200 sq. ft. homes. two or three bedrooms. one bathroom. Today homes are 2300 sq. ft. to 20,000 sq. ft.
    From the outside this house reminds me very much of 1950/60 homes. As I age a 600 to 700 sq. ft. house with one bathroom would be more than adequate.

  • Lou Berkley
    January 1, 2022, 1:26 pm

    I hope houses like this (read: NOT Tiny!) are paying you for the advertising space, because they don’t add much to the content I’m looking for.

    • James D.
      January 2, 2022, 1:11 am

      May not be what you’re looking for but it’s still part of the discussion. Tiny is relative, for some even this is tiny, as it can still be well below what they consider a normal/average size, and doesn’t change the fact it still uses the design principles seen in smaller structures, which is often the actual focus of most discussions on tiny living.

      Besides, something like this may better serve a family and long term living, versus homes only intended for one or two people and for short term use… For example, long term needs can involve things like needing to account eventually for things like needing wheelchair access, an increase in family size, changing the usage of the home, etc.

      Sticking to only a specific range of size and options can leave out a significant portion of the population and limit the potential of how much of the housing market such changes can actually effect…

      • Donna Rae
        March 8, 2022, 1:56 pm

        I agree. Tiny and small are relative to what you are comparing it too. I like having a variety to view as I am interested in the ideas for clever storage or room arrangement, not necessarily size. There are many times when I see something that doesn’t interest me so I just scroll past it. No big deal. There is a Small House Newsletter where these larger tiny/small houses are featured and even there we might see something that seems in the “tiny” category. No big deal. My only disappointment is that the Small House Newsletter doesn’t get sent out very often. Another reason to enjoy seeing them here in the Tiny House Newsletter. No one says that we each have to look at every post, right?

  • Dee Miller
    March 7, 2022, 1:27 pm

    I don’t think the layout is very efficient. It’s very nice that all those doors open to the outside but the hallway wastes space as it isn’t useable for anything other than walking access. The mudroom is huge for entering and storing things. The kitchen is very small as is the bathroom which serves all three bedrooms. Our house is only 1270 sq. ft. but we have one huge master suite with bathroom/tub and walk-in closet, a second bedroom and another full size bathroom with a huge kitchen dining area and a living room that is big enough for a grand piano. No wasted space, more like a tiny house than this one. In this house where do the children play or do their homework, where is there work space or office or storage? If you are going to promote smallish homes that “think” tiny, maybe they should reflect tiny ideas better than this one.

    • James D.
      March 7, 2022, 4:46 pm

      Wasted space? Not really, it’s just not designed how you think it should be but it’s optimized for what it’s intended to be.

      First, it’s designed to be easy to place, even on a remote property. Like early pioneer homes, it takes advantage of breezeways to make it a more practical structure to place and that is actually what the “mudroom” is, with the angled layout to optimize the available views but without increasing the home’s footprint. Understand, the breezeway is connecting two separate buildings together!

      The primarily living area is open concept layout with the living room, dining area, and kitchen. While the other section consists of the bathroom and bedrooms, which is where most people would want privacy and that’s the purpose of the hallway there… Each of the bedrooms also have closets/storage.

      Along with other design elements like integrating a full length deck that helps promote extending daily activities to include the outdoors, which the breezeway/mudroom can be opened to open the space even more to enjoy the good weather days and makes it function more like a patio, which can remain enclosed or open as the seasons permit…

      While, like most tiny homes, it’s customizable and what you’re seeing is just the basic defaults as most will be using it for a countryside getaway, vacation home, etc. So someone could always designate areas for an office, etc. and it doesn’t have to be this specific layout, and there’s also additional structures, like that little shed that can be seen from the living room… Just like setting up any property, there’s multiple options…

      The structure itself is also built to Passive House standard, which use 80% less energy for heating and cooling than conventional buildings, and as they’re in Canada it’s optimal for rural placement and even off-grid usage.

      All of which better fits the ideal as there’s a lot of diversity in how people will want their homes optimized for them, where they may want to live, etc. and it should be understood what’s wasted space for one can be what’s perfect for another and vice versa, which is also why they offer multiple models and options…

      • Dee Miller
        March 7, 2022, 5:26 pm

        There aren’t measurements on the plans but those two tiny bedrooms seem like wasted space since they look at the most 7-8 feet wide with a door that swings in and takes up most of the empty space, while that breezeway takes up more space than most of the rooms. And it is only 1 bath for 3 sleeping accommodations. I suppose if you had shown it as a 2 bedroom with the extra loft space, possibly for guests, and a decent bath it would have made more sense for a house which is huge by “tiny” standards. Yes, it isn’t what we built out in the rurals of upstate New York, but I’m disappointed at the lack of tiny features.

        • James D.
          March 7, 2022, 6:48 pm

          Except it isn’t really lacking in tiny features, again, it’s just not designed how you think it should be but it is optimized for what it’s intended to be.

          Like the breezeway, that’s exterior space! Breezeways connect separate buildings and are not part of the interior living space… They’re usually open, just a connecting roof, but they enclosed this one so it’s like an enclosed patio, which I already pointed out in the previous post.

          The use of breezeways goes all the way back to pioneer days when people had to build their own homes. So they essentially have a long and deep history with tiny homes going back centuries. Though, as they’re not part of most modern structures, I can understand the confusion of not understanding how this home is actually designed and what purpose it actually serves…

          Designing tiny homes actually has to deal with the wide range of diversity of people, their needs, and what different situations it may need to be optimized to handle. So there isn’t any one design that will work for everyone equally and there will often be the case what one person thinks is perfect is what someone else may think is a nightmare and vice versa. Making imposing one’s preferences as the ideal as unrealistic as it won’t be for everyone…

          While Tiny design also tends to emphasize minimalism and elimination of redundancy, for more simple designs. So it’s not unusual for tiny homes to only have a single bathroom even with multiple sleeping arrangements. Having multiple bathrooms is actually a large house feature as a large house can afford having redundancy in design and there isn’t the issue to prioritize the use of space as there often is with smaller homes.

          The kitchen and bathroom also are usually the most expensive parts of a home and tiny design will usually focus on minimizing costs and not having more than really needed to achieve the desired function.

          Different people will just make different choices on what should be prioritized, which leads to one of the key features of tiny home designs is the fact most of them will be custom built and that is what this company offers. This isn’t their only model, they can customize it and make whatever changes the client wants, and they have a list of options to choose from as well. So every complaint you may have could be addressed…

          This isn’t a product you only have the choice to either buy it or forget it, but you can actually tailor it to your preference. Whether you prefer to be a minimalist or maximalist or something in between, what really sets tiny design apart is the ability to adapt and make it work, that just also means each solution may be different from one home to the next and seeing that diversity is part of the tiny home experience and reason for discussion…

        • SLA
          July 11, 2022, 9:30 pm

          One bathroom for 3 bedrooms is NOT a tragedy. Most families, even large ones, used to have only one bathroom. I grew up in a house with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom – we made it work just fine. The idea of everyone having to have their own bathroom is one of the reasons houses got so big here in the U.S.

  • Dee Miller
    July 12, 2022, 10:35 am

    I don’t think on bathroom is a tragedy but having so much space that doesn’t seem to have a purpose is if you would read my first comment. The house is beautiful, light and airy, but for three bedroom house there is not much room to be efficient at much more than looking good and ‘social distancing’ inside.

    • James D.
      July 12, 2022, 3:42 pm

      Yes but we already established there’s more to it and, even if it wasn’t, we also already established that it can be customized or an alternative design could be chosen instead. It was never a just take it or leave it choice with this company and you were always free to use the space as you saw fit…

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