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200 Sq. Ft. Backyard Tiny House


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We estimate this backyard tiny house has almost 200 sq. ft. of space inside.

A reader, who sent the photos in, says it’s about 10′ x 20′ which looks about right.

I don’t have that much information on this but this was probably really affordable to build.

The design isn’t the best because there’s no dedicated bedroom space. The living area is multifunctional and serves as bedroom, living area, office, and shower. The toilet is probably in the outhouse shed you can see in the first photo below.

200 Sq. Ft. Backyard Tiny House

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Our big thanks to Pomah H. for sharing!

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 35 comments… add one }
  • jerryd
    January 14, 2015, 4:00 pm

    Fact is it’s a good design because it has no separate, wasted bedroom space.
    One of the many couch beds, futons, etc are better than fine in small units like this for many.

  • Cahow
    January 14, 2015, 5:19 pm

    Bachelor Pad. 😀

    • Cynthia Taylor
      March 8, 2015, 4:11 pm

      Is the little structure an outhouse and does it have an incinerating toilet?

  • Sally
    January 14, 2015, 8:16 pm

    Now that’s boho! Want to bet they know how to brew some tea, Cahow?

    • Cahow
      January 15, 2015, 12:18 pm

      Bwahahahahaha, Sally! 😉

      I also ‘love’ the lime-green shag carpet and the circa 1960’s sofa upholstery! I remember those sofas from my childhood; they usually ended up in people’s basements for the kids to play on. LOL

  • January 15, 2015, 10:11 am

    While I’m sure that’s true for many, I personally can only be in one place at a time. If I’m reading, watching TV, entertaining, etc.; I’m not sleeping. If I’m sleeping I’m not doing any of those other activities. For me small space is about multifunction and the ability to convert my limited space from one function to another is what makes it work.

    My spouse and I have spent the last 10 years living in 322 sq. ft. carved out of one corner of the barn. (380 if you count the fridge, freezer and laundry that live out in the barn itself.) 70 sq. ft. of that is a full sized bathroom (Concession to my wife.) and the rest is a single, multifunction space. My sister calls it our transformer house and it has clearly been working for us just fine without a separate bedroom.

    • Sally
      January 17, 2015, 2:53 am

      Interesting comment. I wonder what the results would be if some techy did an analysis to see how many rooms we actually venture into over a period of time. Today a friend mentioned she hasn’t been in her guest bedroom in four weeks except to look for her cat.
      Lucky you and spouse — I always wanted to live in a hayloft.

      • Stacy
        January 17, 2015, 11:40 am

        If you’re looking for an analysis of residential behavior, you might want to take a look at this, Sally. http://www.lifeedited.com/residential-behavioral-architecture-101/

        • Alex
          January 17, 2015, 12:06 pm

          Thanks Stacy, that’s a great article.

        • Stacy
          January 17, 2015, 1:12 pm

          You’re welcome, Alex. I’m still in the researching phase of my new, simpler life, but I found that article a while back and Sally mentioning that type of analysis made me head straight to my Evernote research files to find it! I’m glad it was useful.

        • Cahow
          January 17, 2015, 12:55 pm

          VERY interesting article, Stacy. Since Los Angeles has such an utterly different profile than Midwestern and Eastern areas of the U.S., I’d be very curious to see if this is the same result for those areas.

          I also have to say, “Shame! Shame! on the parent’s who allow this to happen!” What I mean by this is that Parent’s Set The Tone of the Home. If you, as a parent, are allowing everyone to just sit in the family room with a Hot Pocket, doing selfies and updating their Facebook status, then SHAME ON YOU!

          I don’t know how many people have seen the PSA’s that are out there about how important it is for a family to EAT TOGETHER at the table…wherever the heck that table is located. Not only does it teach children to have conversations with people vs. texting, but it also bonds people together and teaches proper table manners. When special schools in today’s society have to be set up to teach teenagers how to eat at a table, we’re going backward, not forward in human development! (and I’m not talking Downton Abbey dining, either. Just plain ol’ discourse and manners.)

          I grew up eating with 3 generations of people at the dining room table for 3 meals a day and I did the same thing with my family. Breakfast, even if it was a cup of yogurt, was to be AT the dining room table with everyone else before school. Dinner was also served at the table in the dining room and the kids were taught how to set and clear the table. How else do baby humans learn if they aren’t taught?

          So glad that you posted that link, Stacy. Compelling read, indeed. 😀

        • Stacy
          January 17, 2015, 1:25 pm

          Hi Cahow,

          I found it interesting as well. I would be interested in learning if there is much of a difference between the regions of the U.S. Perhaps you can share that information if you find it. 🙂

          While I understand your interpretation of how their family room was used, I tend to keep more of an open mind. In the last place I lived, there was a space for a formal living room and a family room, but the family room seemed cozier for spending time as a family. Sure, the TV was in there, but so were the board games we played each week, the books we took turns reading to one another, and plenty of places for extra-close cuddling for pizza and family movie night.

          As for dining together, we did that in the family room as well. As a person who suffers from chronic pain, sometimes (well, most times) it’s easier for me to sit or partially recline on a softer surface if I want to enjoy my meal rather than scarfing it down so I can get out of an uncomfortable position. If we had guests, everyone ate in the formal dining room and, yes, my son learned how to set a table for all occasions. But when it was just us, it was a “do what works best” approach and what worked best was not having me in agony for the rest of the night after sitting the dining room for 20 minutes.

          We also homeschooled in the family room when my son was younger because it was easier to keep him focused on the task at hand if everyone was comfortable. Overall, the family room was simply a more welcoming environment than the formal living room and it was a multifunctional room for us, which is what I took from the findings in this article as well.

          This could be one of those families who keep certain areas for “guests only” even if they rarely entertain. It could be a multifunctional room for this family. It could be any number of things that makes the people living in that home gravitate toward the family room and away from the formal living and dining rooms. Rather than shaming a family I know nothing about, I keep my mind open to a variety of possible living styles, which also helps as I research what tiny houses and simple living mean to me. I might not have the same reasons for or the same outcome of my journey, but that’s not what this is about. Is it? It’s about recognizing one’s patterns and building a life around what matters to us.

          Just my two cents.

        • Cahow
          January 17, 2015, 1:57 pm

          And a good .02 cents worth it was, Stacy.

          I understand pain. I have 4 fused disks from being a Hit & Run victim in 1985 and left for dead on the sidewalk. So, I get that sitting in a cushy chair is so much nicer.

          I was mainly addressing fractured families, the kind where everyone’s so busy being ‘busy’ that they have no time for togetherness. And I do agree that many people don’t use their dining room (if they have one) or their living room. In our own family, we were the home that all the kid’s friends wanted to come to, so we always had a football team’s worth of kids with their friends over. We used EVERY square inch of our home but we may have been unusual in that aspect.

          Hey, whatever works for everyone, that’s cool. But, I still believe in proper manners. LOL

  • alice h
    January 16, 2015, 8:44 pm

    I live in a studio apartment, so no separate bedroom space either. I like it that way and am quite content to sleep on a daybed that also serves as my couch. But that crazy shower in the corner would drive me bonkers. I’d have to cover that up with a curtain or something. That walkway to the outhouse looks like a bit of a trip hazard for the middle of the night pee excursion. Otherwise looks like a comfy little hangout.

    • Sally
      January 17, 2015, 2:47 am

      I think this old gal would have to bring in a porta-potty at night, especially during the rainy season 🙂

      • SunnieC
        January 17, 2015, 10:27 am

        I think a portable potty is a far better option in many areas. I drove a truck for a few years, and bought one for the times I couldn’t get to a rest area. Going between the tires isn’t an option for us women… Anyway, I kept hat thing for years- loved the convenience of it!

    • Cahow
      January 17, 2015, 10:33 am

      Hi, aliceh! I wish I had been as smart as YOU when I lived in my 144 sq.ft. studio apt. for a year! I don’t think I even knew what a ‘daybed’ was when I was a young, naive bride at age 20. But, I sure do NOW!!!! My husband was working in Holland for a year, so to save more money for our future home, we moved me into a studio that he’d stay at when he came back, stateside, but I was there full time. I had what was called a “micro-sofa” that folded out into a smaller than twin-sized mattress. By the 4th month, I hated that arrangement SO much that I spent more time sleeping on the floor than going through all the drama of unfolding the bed, stacking the cushions, making up the bed from the blankets, pillow and comforter stashed in the cupboard, and then repeating the mess the next morning. Had I know of daybeds, I’m sure that my time in that wee space would have been infinitely happier.

      Fast-forward to NOW, and in our guest room/husband’s office, we have a wicked cool sleigh-style daybed that EVERYONE loves…including us! All you need to do is pull the sheets up, fluff the duvet and you’re good to go. I often will keep my sweetie company while he’s doing paperwork and I just cuddle up on the bed with one of our kitties and my Kindle and we’re all happy campers. 😀

  • Marsha Cowan
    January 17, 2015, 12:59 pm

    Green is a color that is either loved or hated, I think. I find this shade of green very refreshing and beach feeling, so I really like it! The whole house is cool! Sometimes when you build small, you put things where you can put them, but in this case, with the shape of the shower, it looks kind of cute and fits in like a large hutch or something…I might would draw a curtain around it when not in use, maybe the same color as the wall, or a pin stripe with the wall color and trim color, or maybe even something that reflcts like a mirror to give the illusion of more space, but it is fine just like it is. The kitchen is great! Does that bar fold up? Just curious. You did a great job on this tiny house! Enjoy!

    • 2BarA
      January 17, 2015, 4:39 pm

      The shower doesn’t bother me. After all, this is a house for one person, not for entertaining. Whatever works. I do have trouble with the green. I’m old and remember when every doctor’s office, schoolroom, government office, etc. was painted green. (Maybe because of bulk, green paint was cheaper?) My mother had green wallpaper, upholstery, curtains, etc. and swore it was the most restful colour. I didn’t like it then and don’t now.

      • Cahow
        January 17, 2015, 4:49 pm

        Hello-Hello, 2BarA! Long time no see. 😀

        I’m old, too. I remember when EVERYTHING institutional was painted a sickly green and I equally turn “green” when I am reminded of those places. 🙁 Then, in the Swingin’ 60’s…Lime Green and Hot Pink were Da Bomb in EVERYTHING…fashion, jewelry, carpeting, dinnerware. You could NOT escape it! (I equally break out in hives from Burnt Orange, Harvest Gold and whatever the heck the Brown Poop colour was called from the 70’s.)

        I guess if the colour is new to you, then you don’t have those bad memories. I wonder WHAT colours symbolize the 11-19’s of this millennium?

        • 2BarA
          January 18, 2015, 4:24 pm

          Cahow, You forgot to mention the avocado green from bygone days. Kitchen appliances, both large and small, bathroom fixtures–yes most anything you wanted to buy was available in that colour. Now it looks so passe. I think a lot of people will remember this decade by stainless steel, complete with the inevitable fingermarks. Not for me.

        • Cahow
          January 18, 2015, 4:33 pm

          Oh, God, 2BarA…how could I have forgotten THAT!?!? I must have blocked it from my mind…such a dirty, nasty colour it was, too. Also, do you remember “Poppy” at the same time? It was those four keystone colours: “Fresh Avocado; Coppertone; Harvest Gold; and Bright Poppy” that really set the tone for some Butt-Ugly decorating…both in the kitchen and elsewhere. You can ALWAYS tell a “Flame Stitched Afghan” from the 70’s because the poor thing is always made in those wretched colours. LOL

          Thanks, I think, for the reminder of Bright Poppy, 2BarA. ~giggle~

          (by the way, I got the official names off of a vintage website.)

  • CathyAnn
    January 17, 2015, 5:41 pm

    I also remember the “utility” green of the past. Even the cheap models of cars had that green on them. My father bought a new 1954 Chevy, the stripped down model, that came in that green. However, enough years have past that I don’t associate that color anymore to the old days. My first reaction was the beach.

    I also would put a curtain around that shower, preferably of the wall color or with a coordinating accent color on it that goes with the room, perhaps with the yellow of the bar stools.

    When I first saw the pictures and saw the shower, I was wondering where the toilet was kept. A composting toilet inside would work real well at night and when the weather is bad.

  • trish
    January 17, 2015, 6:06 pm

    I would love to know who makes the refrigerator in this tiny house with the freezer in the bottom.

    • Cahow
      January 17, 2015, 6:29 pm

      Hey, trish. The frig/freezer you’re looking for isn’t uncommon.

      Here’s one model: Danby Energy Star 9.2 Cu. Ft. Bottom Mount Refrigerator- Spotless Steel for $616.55.

      There’s loads more for sale on the web, too. 😀

  • Rich
    January 17, 2015, 6:08 pm

    my compliments to you Alex for publishing things unconventional. The ‘lifeedited’ article that stacey posted is also terrific.

  • Liz
    January 20, 2015, 3:43 pm

    Looks kind of like someone got high and didn’t put a lot of thought into placement of shower, exhaust fan over stove, etc.

  • Kim W
    May 15, 2017, 5:11 pm

    The all in one room is fine, apart from the shower in the corner!! I might be able to cope with the toilet in an outhouse during the daytime and in fine weather, but woukd need a camping loo for all other times! The pathway looks very uneven, but could be levelled up. Actually, The outhouse could be linked to the house or moved nearer the house door.

    In France we have a main room (kitchen/dining/living room) of a similar size. The whole downstairs is 25 square metres, but that includes the entrance hall, staircase and shower room. We have a clic clac sofa bed, with storage below. It is easy to change from sofa to bed and back again and is comfy for an adult or 2 to sleep on. My son usually sleeps there, as he is not good on stairs. I have slept there when my son is not there, as it’s warmer when the log burner has been on.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      May 15, 2017, 7:21 pm

      Good idea on the outhouse, Kim!

  • Chel
    May 16, 2017, 7:40 am

    This is great for one person starting out. For those objecting to the open access shower, I recently stayed in an hotel with a bathroom pod shaped like that shower cubicle in a corner. No window in it, but it had a good sized shower and flushing toilet with a full sized sink in a generous counter. I’m sure the sink area could have been reduced and still left plenty of storage space underneath. Like smaller white goods, I expect the place to look for these ideas is on caravan and boating sites. I notice too, that there is a top load washing machine between the fridge and counter. Colour, sofa and more storage are easily changed or incorporated to taste. Excellent. Hmm, wonder if I can get my youngest to move into the garden shed and let me have a bigger art studio…bwhahaha.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      May 16, 2017, 2:47 pm

      Hahah 🙂 I wish you the best of luck!

  • Denise
    May 17, 2017, 6:02 am

    Despite the lack of functional bedroom space, I really like this. It seems to capture the original concept for a tiny house in that it is wholly ‘self contained’ – a great place to complete daily living with just baggage enough. Yes, the shower is a quirk right there in the living room corner and I wouldn’t be a fan of having to get up in the middle of the night in the dead of winter to use the potty, but something about this draws a person in. It yells ‘Come Stay in Me’. It is cozy, has everything one needs, all within a layout that you can see completely when you turn 360 degrees all the way around. Everything is just steps away, practical, and designed like discussed above to bring togetherness if another person visits. This forces the necessities, no frills, but still with a sense of comfort. I am surprised I haven’t seen this before since it was posted in 2015, however VERY glad I did.

    One thing I really, really miss is Cahow’s comments whom we haven’t seen in awhile. Going back, part of looking at each tiny house link was reading what she had to say about it. What she had to say was so lively, descriptive, and fun – I miss that.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      May 17, 2017, 11:19 am

      Not sure where she went, Denise! I’m always sorry to see regular contributors go!

  • Penny
    May 23, 2017, 6:11 pm

    I have missed Cahow too. Dedicated bedroom be difficult in space this tiny. Been trying to figure out how to make a 10×20 morgan building work. My main issue is trying to use some things I have and the ceiling height on the outside walls. Can only put tall stuff in middle. This is nicely done with exception of outhouse-once enclosed path to it can work. I expect since this was put up there have been some improvements that would be nice to see.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      May 24, 2017, 3:29 pm

      It’s pretty awesome! I wish I had a way to get back in touch with them (since this was a couple years ago) and see what else they’ve done.

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