The Alpine 2.1 by Den Outdoors is proof that a small house can feel anything but small. At 920 square feet, this two-bedroom modern home pairs a compact footprint with dramatic 24-foot ceilings, walls of glass, and an open, light-filled layout that lives far larger than its square footage suggests.
Unlike a one-off custom build, the Alpine 2.1 is a purchasable plan set — a design you could actually build on your own land. With a main-level guest bedroom, a lofted master suite, a full bathroom with a soaking tub, and a real staircase instead of a ladder, it’s a small home designed for comfortable, full-time living. Let’s walk through it and look at the design ideas worth borrowing.
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Images via Den Outdoors
Soaring Ceilings That Make 920 Square Feet Feel Huge
The heart of the Alpine 2.1 is its double-height great room, where ceilings soar to roughly 24 feet. That vertical volume is the secret to why a 920-square-foot home feels so expansive — instead of spreading out, the design reaches up, drawing the eye skyward and flooding the space with light from tall windows. It’s a strategy borrowed from modern architecture: when you can’t add floor area, add air.
Images via Den Outdoors
An Entry Straight Into the Kitchen
You step directly into the kitchen, which doubles as a circulation spine that leads through to the living area, the deck, and the outdoors beyond. It’s a smart use of space in a small home — the galley kitchen, fitted with full-size cabinetry, isn’t hidden in a corner but becomes part of the daily flow, keeping the cook connected to the rest of the house.
Images via Den Outdoors
A Living Area That Opens to the Outdoors
The living area is built around its connection to the landscape. Large glass doors open the room directly onto a deck, effectively extending the living space outside whenever the weather cooperates. Blurring that indoor-outdoor line is one of the most effective ways to make a modest interior feel generous, and it’s a defining feature of the Alpine’s design.
Images via Den Outdoors
A Main-Level Guest Bedroom and Full Bath
On the main level you’ll find a guest bedroom positioned right next to a full bathroom — a layout that lets the ground floor function independently of the loft above. That matters for accessibility and flexibility: guests, or anyone who’d rather not climb stairs, get a private bedroom and bath without heading upstairs. The bathroom even makes room for a soaking tub, a genuine luxury at this size.
Images via Den Outdoors
Images via Den Outdoors
A Full Staircase, Not a Ladder
Rather than the ladder so common in lofted tiny homes, the Alpine 2.1 includes a full-size staircase to the upper level. Real stairs make the loft usable every single day — easier to climb, safer at night, and far more practical for carrying laundry or a morning coffee. It’s one of the clearest signs this home was designed for long-term living, not just weekend stays.
Images via Den Outdoors
The Master Loft and Its Gazing Window
Upstairs, the master loft enjoys the best seat in the house. Thanks to the open, double-height great room, it looks out over the living area through an interior gazing window and shares in all that natural light. It’s a private retreat that still feels connected to the rest of the home — open enough to feel airy, tucked away enough to feel like a true bedroom.
Images via Den Outdoors
Images via Den Outdoors
Images via Den Outdoors
An Upstairs Laundry Closet
A dedicated laundry closet on the second level keeps the washer and dryer out of the kitchen and bath, freeing up valuable space on the main floor. Built-in laundry is a comfort many small homes skip, and locating it near the bedrooms is exactly where you want it day to day.
Images via Den Outdoors
Windows Placed for Light and Views
Carefully positioned windows along the sides of the structure round out the lighting strategy, framing views and pulling daylight deep into the interior. In a tall, narrow home like this, that thoughtful glazing is what keeps every level bright rather than relying on the great-room windows alone.
Images via Den Outdoors
A Modern Profile, Inside and Out
From the outside, the Alpine 2.1 reads as crisp modern architecture: a tall, gabled form measuring 36 feet long and 18 feet wide, rising about 25 feet from foundation to roof peak. Those proportions — a narrow footprint with generous height — are what allow the soaring interior while keeping the building small enough to suit tighter lots.
Images via Den Outdoors
Images via Den Outdoors
Images via Den Outdoors
The Floor Plans
The plans break the home into a practical two-level layout: kitchen, living area, guest bedroom, and full bath on the main floor, with the master loft and laundry upstairs. Den Outdoors lists an approximate cost to build of around $225,000 (subject to change and heavily dependent on your location and finishes), while the plan set itself is available for a few hundred dollars — check Den Outdoors for current pricing.
Images via Den Outdoors
Images via Den Outdoors
Design Details
- Model: Alpine 2.1 by Den Outdoors
- Type: Modern small house plan
- Size: 920 sq. ft.
- Dimensions: 36 ft. long, 18 ft. wide, about 25 ft. tall (ceilings up to ~24 ft.)
- Bedrooms: Master loft (upper level) plus a guest bedroom (main level)
- Sleeps: 4 to 6
- Bathroom: Full bath with a soaking tub (main level)
- Kitchen: Full galley kitchen with cabinetry
- Laundry: Closet on the second level
- Heating & cooling: Mini-split, plus a wood- or gas-stove option
- Approximate cost to build: Around $225,000 (subject to change)
- Plans: Available from Den Outdoors (starting a few hundred dollars — see their site for current pricing)
What Makes This Design Special
- Volume over square footage. The 24-foot great-room ceilings make 920 square feet feel dramatically larger than the number implies.
- Stairs, not a ladder. A full staircase makes the lofted master suite genuinely usable every day.
- Two separated bedrooms. A ground-floor guest room and bath plus a lofted master give the home real flexibility and privacy.
- Indoor-outdoor living. Glass doors connect the living area to a deck, extending the space outdoors.
- A buildable plan. Because it’s a purchasable plan set, the Alpine 2.1 is a design you can actually replicate on your own land.
- Full-time comforts. A soaking tub, built-in laundry, a full kitchen, and mini-split climate control make it ready for everyday living.
Learn More
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Alex
Definitely not for me. It’s laid out for hindering interaction of the occupants. The kitchen is remote, not conducive to conversations unless you shout or actually get up to talk to the cook. I guess I’m used to the open concept house plan and interacting with family members. Seems sterile to me. But, to each their own. It will fit the bill to some.
Serious lack of storage. It reminds me of a weekend get-away but not of an every day domicile.
The plans are optional and can be changed, the company basically works like hiring an architect except you can make the choices online and choose what package fits your budget and then choose whether you just need the basic starter package or go completely custom with the complete package option that also gives you all the cost estimates and can be submitted for planning approval and permitting process…
The above is just one of many examples of plans they have to offer and each of them can be completely changed if you decide to customize it…
Interesting house. I like the way it gently sets in the landscape surrounded by trees and a sea of uniform coarse clumps of grass. (If it were mine, I would have to scatter clumps of native shrubs about the grounds if for no other reason than to give birds a place to nest.) The master bedroom is upstairs without even a half bath on that level. Many people — including me at 73 — need to take a toilet break during the middle of the night. How unhappy it would be to have to navigate the stairs twice to do that. These comments are respectfully submitted. Stephan of Arkansas
Me, at 68, have to get up to go to the toilet up to 5 or 6 times a night. All I can say is that it is good exercise that I wouldn’t get otherwise. But I can think of other things I’d rather do for exercise.
After almost giving up our hillside-house hopes due to inflationary construction costs, we found Den Outdoor’s Alpine 2.2 with two bedrooms/two baths +loft space and we have revived our hopes. With 1,360 sq ft, it doesn’t qualify as a “tiny house” but still has an ingenious, elegant design that is a welcome alternative to the stereotypical modern look. Our builder likes it and we’re waking the sloping lot this weekend to see if it could work.
I love it! I would need a bathroom, upstairs, otherwise, it would be perfect for me…
Love it, just the way it is!
I love this design for a smaller home!
Looks nice but, way too much waste of space and loss of function for the price.
Just a note but price estimate is for placing this on undeveloped land…
Way too expensive for 920 sq ft at $244 per sq ft. Lots of wasted space and resources used for wasted space.
Well, cost per sq ft isn’t a useful metric to use for comparisons because it becomes meaningless for anything different as it doesn’t account for build quality, functionality, efficiency, performance, or the actual true total price.
So, regardless of the cost per sq ft, it won’t tell you if the home will be healthy to live in, whether it will be easy or hard to maintain, whether the structure will last or need to be demolished within your lifetime, whether it will be cost effective or money pit, and it will be very misleading when comparing anything significantly different as it doesn’t account for any differences like scale. Many do not even calculate cost per sq ft with the same variables, like often non-living spaces are excluded from the sq ft measurement.
So homes with basements, garages, and attics will seem to have a higher cost per sq ft than another house with the same footprint but with more living space as part of the total, even if the two cost the same in total. While a contractor may quote the actual total sq ft of the property and give a figure based on that but will another may go with only using the living space or include on certain aspects of the total property, giving a wide range those estimates can go and basically none give you a straight answer on true total costs and what they really mean.
It doesn’t help that costs are not the same everywhere. Everything from materials, labor, to the all the fees and services involved in construction will vary by location. Along with the local economy, which is another reason real estate prices will vary wildly across the country.
Add, there can be very significant differences between one house to the next. Some homes are very basic and not intended to last, will be uncomfortable to live in, and will cost more in the long run. While others may have higher up front costs but will save much more in the long run, will last up to multiple generations, will be comfortable and efficient. However, such details will never reveal themselves by just looking at the cost per sq ft…
Besides, you’re basing that on a cost estimate that includes building it on undeveloped land… So includes more than just the cost of the structure. Most existing properties don’t include the cost to develop, rather just sells the property at the present estimated value and the cost to build new is typically never passed on to later owners, which is yet just another reason cost per sq ft can be misleading at best.
Something else to consider, is architectural designs not only consider functionality but livability and how living in the space will effect the occupant(s) both physically and psychologically. Terms like feeding the soul can be a factor in designs that may not seem relevant but can be to the person living in the space to the point of being the difference between it effecting their living conditions to either promote suffering or make them feel like they’re living in their dream home.
It just may not seem that way to someone else as people can be very different and diverse. So calling something wasteful should be remembered is in many cases subjective and like art can depend on the individual… After all, homes are often an expression of an aspect of someone’s life and personality. So some designs may just only work for certain people and not others but that’s why it’s good to have choices and as previously mentioned, the plans can be fully customized and changed, along with alternative plans to choose from…
Overall I like the design but when you have over 900 sq ft, you should be able to easily have two full bathrooms. Definitely need one upstairs. Personally, I like a kitchen that is at least partially blocked from the rest of the house because when you are preparing for guests, there’s usually a mess that is best left unobserved. Though the extra tall ceiling in the living area is impressive, I think I’d rather have more room upstairs. As James said, the houses can be customized during the design phase…and that appreciated…but the comments are about this particular model. And the changes I mention…and I think most people do the same…are based solely on personal preference. They are suggestions that are meant to give designers food for thought when designing in the future. Many will like the designs as presented but most people would like the opportunity to tweak a design a bit. As always, thanks for sharing! That I have a wide of designs in many sizes sent to my computer so often is really appreciated. And that I receive them for free is amazing. People put effort into these posts and they deserve our gratitude! Kudos to the designers for some nice ideas.
Food for thought is fine, but it shouldn’t just be for designers but also for others to consider with their choices. Since, among things to consider, is that people can be very diverse and simply not agree on all the possible tweaks. So there can be plans that are simply meant to be tweaked to deal with that diversity and the designer is just giving a starting point.
While also part of the process is often choosing a designer because like an artist they will have their own style and preference. So it’s also about finding compatibility, which is the responsibility of both the designer and the client to ensure they can work together.
People can also choose to be their own designers and just hire a structural engineer to make sure it all works…