This small beachfront home is the epiphany of a simple yet luxurious beach shack. It’s tiny, yet seems ‘small’. It’s a modern and open oceanfront hut which can completely close up to protect itself from the environment.
It was designed by Crosson, Clarke, Carnachan Architects for a family of five (clients) and it’s named the Whangapoua Sled House because it’s built on large wooden ‘sleds’ so that it can be moved when needed, more on that later. As most of you know, you can’t build a solid foundation on sand so the wooden ‘sleds’ are a great solution, allowing this home to be dragged by a tractor or placed on a barge where it can be moved a few feet or anywhere around the world. Although more expensive and difficult to move because of its larger size in comparison to most tiny houses that we feature, it’s still mobile if you absolutely needed to move it yet large enough for a family to comfortably live in. At 430.556 sq ft square feet it’s not very ‘tiny’, although relative to most homes today… it is!
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Modern Beachfront Cabin by Carnachan Architects… Built for Family of Five. The Whangapoua Sled House!
Photo Credits Jackie Meiring Courtesy of Crosson, Clarke, Carnachan Architects
One of the best features of this beach shack is how it can completely close up to protect itself from the weather. Being that it currently sits directly in front of the ocean, this must certainly come in handy at times.
As you can tell in the photos above and below, every door and window can be completely enclosed. I know that many large homes have shutters, but this is unique in that it’s built into the design architecturally.
From the picture above you might notice that the large windows facing the water are actually doors that completely open up. To transform the giant oceanfront shutter into an awning, just turn a winch. This gives you an amazing breeze throughout the entire home and gives you a chance to sleep and wake up to the sound of crashing waves.
The modern hut sits on the shore of New Zealand’s Coromandel Peninsula near the dunes and is home to a family of five. The reason it’s on sleds is that the land is a coastal erosion zone.
In the children’s bunk room there are secret storage spaces for them to use to keep their belongings. According to the architect, the clients wanted small, simple and functional.
Notice the little closets on the left but don’t miss the little bookshelves right by the pillows. Very cool! Below you can check out the master bedroom.
This room shares the large window/doors and view from the downstairs living area. From this room, if you continue using the ladder you see above, you can get to the roof where there are rainwater/gravity fed water tanks making this modern beach hut self contained (see below).
Sources:
- http://www.ccca.co.nz/projects/residential/hut-on-sleds
If you enjoyed this small beachfront home on ‘sleds’, “Like” and share using the buttons below then let me know what you liked/disliked most in the comments below. Thanks!
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More Like This: Tiny Houses | Cabins | Modern
Alex
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INCREDIBLE…you made my day (nite)…I am very impressed and so jealous. Would like to see more of this ‘variety’. Thanks
Thanks Graham I’m glad that you liked it!
My words exactly…Awesome!
Love the interior and design elements. I could see living in this one with just a few mods to make it a bit larger…600 sq ft or so hits my sweet spot for some reason but it wouldn’t be hard to do.
Thanks jp!!
This is good living! Please find more of these wonderful, practical houses.
Will do, Mark, thank you so much for checking it out!
Great work, Alex! You’ve uncovered a lot of really wonderful “Tiny Homes,” and I just want to thank you for all you’re efforts. The Tiny House Movement is a real breath of fresh air in the housing scene in the U.S., and the general realm of unrestrained materialism and status seeking.
Thank you Cal it’s such an honor!
One of the best you’ve had Alex. I especially like the shelves in the studs.
BTW Cal 20 is a sailboat, not a person’s name. But you’ll find many sailors go for TH’s as that is what they are use to.
Am I the only one who thinks they see more than 131 square feet here? Beautiful place, though!
It seems way bigger than that to me too Stan I figured maybe they weren’t including the sleeping loft space or something, not sure.
Being that this is in New Zealand, it’s not hard to imagine that they meant meters sq.
I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed the photo
tour of the beach house. I wish there had been such
a wonderful beach house available when we were a young
family.
Thanks Dick! Me too, I’d love to see homes like this become more normal and available as options.
Awesome, indeed! Thanks for the inspiration and taking it to the next level.
Thanks Jay!
still in love with this one…. great design.
Nice! For a time away from home.
Thanks Elizabeth glad you liked it 🙂
very,very nice and practical. I would love to see it in more detail.
Such a cool cabin! Any idea how much a place like this would cost to build? I’d love something like this on the coast in BC. Thanks
Very nicely done! Seems a bit larger than 131 sq ft though. I’d probably add a fold-down table somewhere, provision the shower to be more outdoor than indoor and turn part of the roof area into a tiny balcony. The sled and cisterns are great ideas. Thanks, Alex.
In NZ (where I now live; I am from the US), they use “sq m” not “sq ft.” I followed the link to the architect’s web site, and clicked on “project info.”
In the description, it was 40 sq m or 430.556 sq ft.
It also describes it as a “hut” which is another name for the quintessential “kiwi bach” (pronounced “batch”). This is a holiday home, not a home where the family lives 24-7.
That being said, my husband and I are looking into such an arrangement for ourselves. We’d like to build (eventually, after we find and buy land — likely in our urban environment here in Wellington). But, we want a beautiful, well-made, efficient house.
Everything in NZ is expensive — and I mean *everything* — so even these simple elements will probably cost a fair amount per sq ft (or meter as the case may be).
We are a family of three (two adults, one child), and I could see the “bunk room” being a loft-bed for the kiddo and play area beneath and more opportunities for toy storage.
As it is, we live in a 550 sq ft cottage, but there’s a fair amount of inefficiency in it. We think going to a more efficient 450 would definitely be doable, and the wood burner would definitely heat the whole place, we could put on a wind turbine for power (lots of wind here!), and go for rain/grey water and basically be ‘off grid in the city.’
Not a bad plan. We’ve put the architect’s name on our “dream homes” board. 😀
Likes most of it, but what’s with the.”barn yard” faucets?
Lovely! The link to the architect’s project page is not working; it’s renamed (Link Expired: ccca.co.nz/projects/residential/hut-on-sleds.)
Thanks Amy! I’ll update that for us.
Love this home because I have aspergers and the consistent use of wood tone as well as clean crisp lines,colour and ease of cleaning and staying organized would be perfect for me and my family.
Oh wow.. just perfect. I always say I’d be happy in a shack on the beach, and this one is awesome and beyond even my pipe dreams.
Wow! Inspirational! Wonder if they use the collected rainwater for drinking as well… Would be great to know how they filter it…
Coromandel is one of the most gorgeous beaches I’ve ever had the opportunity to hang out on – and the most amazing sunrises. This looks absolutely perfect. If the family ever want to sell, I’d buy it in a heartbeat!
Nice place. Good ideas. Ty for sharing Alex. Perhaps hurricane joists and corner bracing etc. would work for the “earthquake” areas Lisa. Happy Trails and God speed!