Katie’s Kottage is a 688-square-foot cottage in Galveston, Texas, designed and built by Christine Plum of Plum Construction. The two-story home features a cathedral ceiling with exposed beams, an under-the-stairs reading cubby that doubles as a single bed, a queen canopy bed in the upstairs loft, and a second queen bedroom on the main floor. The layout includes a front porch, cozy breakfast nook, compact kitchen with full appliances, and a private outdoor patio area. The cottage is available as a vacation rental on Airbnb.
Cottage Exterior with Front Porch
Images via Plum Construction
Interview with Builder Christine Plum
Open Living Room with Tall Ceilings
Images via Plum Construction
Under-Stairs Reading Nook and Single Bed
Images via Plum Construction
Upper Reading Loft Above Nook
Images via Plum Construction
Cushioned Seating with Pillows
Images via Plum Construction
Exposed Beam Cathedral Ceiling
Images via Plum Construction
Staircase to Upstairs Bedroom
Images via Plum Construction
View from Top of Stairs
Images via Plum Construction
Queen Canopy Bed in Loft Bedroom
Images via Plum Construction
Breakfast Nook Dining Area
Images via Plum Construction
Compact Kitchen with Full Appliances
Images via Plum Construction
Kitchen Adjacent to Main Floor Bedroom
Images via Plum Construction
Downstairs Bathroom with Vanity
Images via Plum Construction
Enclosed Walk-In Shower
Images via Plum Construction
Main Floor Queen Bedroom with Mini-Split
Images via Plum Construction
Pocket Door Between Bedroom and Bathroom
Images via Plum Construction
Private Outdoor Patio Area
Images via Plum Construction
Design Details
- Name: Katie’s Kottage
- Location: Galveston, Texas
- Size: 688 sq ft
- Stories: 2
- Builder: Christine Plum / Plum Construction
- Style: Rustic modern cottage
- Ceiling: Cathedral with 35-foot exposed beams
- Bedrooms: 2 (upstairs loft queen canopy bed, main floor queen bedroom)
- Additional Sleeping: Single bed in under-stairs reading nook, sofa
- Bathroom: Full bathroom with enclosed walk-in shower
- Kitchen: Electric stove, refrigerator, microwave, SMEG coffee maker, kettle
- Climate Control: Mini-split AC system
- Special Features: Under-stairs reading cubby/bed, front loft with vinyl record player, breakfast nook
- Outdoor Space: Front porch, private patio with lounge area and charcoal grill
- Doors: Pocket door between bedroom and bathroom
- Entertainment: Smart TV, projector, books and games provided
- Parking: Private driveway for 1 car
- Availability: Vacation rental via Airbnb
Lessons from This Design
- Under-Stairs Spaces Create Dual-Purpose Rooms: Converting the area beneath a staircase into a reading nook that doubles as a single bed adds both charm and functional sleeping capacity without using additional floor space
- Cathedral Ceilings Multiply Perceived Space: A 35-foot exposed beam ceiling transforms a 688-square-foot cottage into a dramatic, airy space that feels much larger than its footprint suggests
- Two-Story Design Separates Living Zones: Placing a loft bedroom upstairs creates natural separation between sleeping quarters and living areas, providing privacy in a compact home
- Pocket Doors Save Space in Tight Layouts: Using pocket doors instead of swing doors between the bedroom and bathroom eliminates door swing clearance, freeing up usable floor area
- Breakfast Nooks Maximize Dining Efficiency: Built-in booth-style dining areas use wall and corner space effectively, providing seating without consuming the floor space a traditional table and chairs would require
Learn More
- Book a Stay at Katie’s Kottage on Airbnb
- Plum Tiny House Construction Website
- Plum Construction on Instagram
- Interview: Meet Christine of Plum Construction
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Alex
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Wow, this builder gets it. Beautiful small houses. Not sure which one I like better. Maybe this one, raise it up and finish the lower level like the first.
LOOKS INCREDIBLE! Would love to see a blueprint of this beautifully designed home.
You realize this is the perfect Alleyway rental for ‘Frisco, Puget Sound and New Orleans right? I can see it on a barge in the Portland water community or in the Delta or East Bay. The kitchen is almost too tight for fulltime living but with a pull out drawer type D/W under the sink would work slick. For that senior couple with visiting grandkids it would be a chore to get them to go home. With this many beds, a half bath/utility with W/D needs to be added somewhere, possibly in the entry have a hall with powder room split W/D and entry closet under that loft? You could use a commode with the built in sink on the tank? It’s a VERY RARE thing for me to find a small home that hits all of my buttons and THIS is probably as close to perfect as it gets. Plumb Tiny House is now my preffered builder/designer because she gets it, how to maake a home look like the classiest house in the ‘hood.
She truly did a fantastic job. I love how she made something new fit in with the “old” around it.
I forgot to add when the sea rise overcomes this part of Texas later this century, this unit footprint will allow it to be trailerd to any high ground and saved. Can you immagine where this could go if ever a Park Model manufacturer had foresight, or even a shred of decency with the ability to ignore the GREED instinct? But alas, the OWNERS of manufacturing don’t live in their product much like the OWNERS of a certain political party have no care for unemployed or homeless…Or health issues for that matter with their leader crying HOAX with every new fact.IMHO…
Bill Burgess, why do you have the need to bring politics into everything. I just love this site, have watched everyone sent. First time I have written anything. because it just ticks me off that some cannot leave it alone no matter what. (And I am a huge politics follower)
This home is so fresh and clean. Adding into my collection of favorits.
Because he’s substantially right. we have the same problem in NZ.
@Eric – Problem is much of what he stated is factually wrong. The Park Model industry doesn’t do what he suggests not because of greed but because they are neither set up to do so nor allowed to just do it legally.
Park Models in the state fall under RV’s/Caravans and are both financially and legally restricted from going beyond that usage.
So the real problem is a combination of government regulations that make creating options both restricted and more costly to provide but also society as a whole for what is considered acceptable housing that won’t have neighbors suing the hell out of each other to prevent it if it doesn’t meet those standards.
Industries can only operate within the constraints of the system and society that runs everything and so it’s the system and society that has to be changed if we really want alternative options.
Similarly, the politics are also inaccurate as much of what has gone on the states has been politicized, based on agendas, and the politics have been mis-characterized as the science when in fact they go against the actual science.
Like most of the actual scientific studies done, like the recent one from MIT that showed indoor social distancing doesn’t work, have been ignored and fake justification for existing policies continue to be pushed and those who question those policies treated as if they’re the science deniers when the opposite is true…
James, you misunderstood my comment. I was referring to the political side of things, not the house itself.
It was self explanatory to me, but not to you (and others?), and I promise to read my comments for ambiguity in future before I post. But I can’t say that I won’t muck up in future.
@Eric – No, my reply covered the politics, it was just in the context of Bill’s comment that referred to both the politics and how he believes it’s effecting the housing market…
Don’t confuse politics with facts, as the act of politicizing is the same as committing a hoax because it ignores the facts in favor of pushing a political agenda that ultimately doesn’t care what the facts are…
Like in any other context, the wholesale lumping of people into a stereotyped grouping would be called an act of discrimination but that shows how the truth gets lost in politics in favor of political agendas and justifying them… So the actual truth can be very different from what you’ve been led to believe…
I agree with J. — let’s talk about the tiny homes 🙂 And only the politics relevant to getting tiny living legal in more places! Woohoo!
Leaving politics to the semantic wastebin where it belongs, VOTING is action.
Good and evil are not a budget spreadsheet, however much CEO’s and politicians would have you believe otherwise. A whole life of good does not blot out the bad of helping evil people get more power they will use to hurt the most vulnerable among us.
BTW, this house is gorgeous, and very close to full-time livable for me. Also, the Conservatives on both sides of the aisle are the ones voting AGAINST tiny homes being legal in most cities and states. Guess who most of the property-management corporations are owned by? Not progressives!
@Jordan H. – Actually, no, as the progressives have largely taken over the whole country, media, Hollywood, and even big corporations… Problem is just most lie about who they actually are and what they really believe and it’s all part of the disinformation that helps to divide us and continue to allow those in power to remain in power.
The rare true conservatives believe in the constitution and freedom, that the power belongs to the people and the government is only there to serve the people. Government should be small and not large, they don’t believe in cancel culture, they don’t believe they know better than all the people how things should be run, they believe individual people have the right to be independent and make their own choices, etc. So they would not be the ones preventing people from being able to live in tiny homes… But again, they’re rare…
Real problem is too much disinformation and it’s too hard for people to learn what’s really going on, with also a lot who don’t even try to learn what’s really going on, and who they can and can’t trust, which is why they call it the swamp because it’s all one big mess.
So, yes, voting is action, but it has to be an informed action where people can unite and make real change or we will just continue the same cycle we’re stuck in now because we keep voting for those who will just perpetuate the same system of corruption for their own gains and our loss…
A good example of people finally taking action happened just a few years ago in a town called Amelia, OH… The people there finally got fed up enough with the corrupt local government that they voted to dissolve it and start over… Showing the one truth that those in power have been trying to hide from us that the power really belongs to the people… and we’re the ones who can make real change!
Politics has been used far too long to deceive and divide us, we have to stop looking at the world that way and remember what really matters. So we can realize the solutions lay with us, the people, and we can enact them if we just have the united will to do so…
The Tiny House movement has been many things to many people, but most of all it has been a push for change and a return to the idea of individuality, independence, self sufficiency, and humanity in which we are all important and can work together for a better world… We need more of that and less politics!
This is the second one of Christine’s I’ve seen. They are great!
She’s truly fantastic.
The designer and contractor/craftsmen/craftswomen of this house are SERIOUSLY TALENTED! If I didn’t have terrible arthritis in my knees, I would love to have this house. But, as a gentle suggestion, I would put a desk/work station under the stairs instead of a reading nook/bed. These comments are respectfully submitted.
Yes that’s an issue. But as I stated this unit is made for families and grandparents with frequent grandkid populations. I suggested a 1/2 bath and stack W/D on the entry porch as one bath is not enough for more than two. I would also change out the kitchen range for a cook top and micro/Convection with vented hood over so a D/W could be used below. This would make a great Prk Model in a mobile Home setting as well as put on a 16′ X 40’barge for a floater in a marine setting. Any of the Plum houses are a natural for factory production….They have no fear(Plum Construction) as the OWNERS of factories do not live in what their plants build and would never consider being progressive. I imagine in a factory setting these units could be built in the range of $80 sqft with all of aminities pretty profitably as beer cans are about $50 sqft now.
The point was still valid, these type units can be relocated with relitive ease and costs making one more segment of value that a LOT of Galveston and all coastal areas will not have. As a nation we are going to need a BUNCH of Tiny Texas Houses Salvage training to secure a majority of the oldest and best of past buildings. IMHO…
No, these aren’t small enough to be moved with relative ease and affordable cost…
Even actual mobile homes/manufactured houses aren’t that easy to move, requiring special permitting, special license, site prep, etc. and can get expensive quick if you have to move them very far, especially anything bigger than a double wide, which is why most are never moved… Even moving a single wide within 50 miles will cost over $5000… Never mind triple and quad wide models, even though they can be taken apart…
Unlike this house, which is all one piece and 2 stories tall from the first floor… and wherever you put it will still require a foundation…
Closest to relative ease and cost would be a Park Model RV because they don’t exceed 400 Sq Ft and always have wheels. But they’re only built to the ANSI code and thus don’t meet most residential building code standards, which is one of the reasons why it’s illegal for them to be bigger than 400 Sq Ft as otherwise then they have to switch to HUD and actually meet an official residential building code standard to qualify for a certificate of occupancy to be legal to live in full time.
While it’s RV manufactures who generally don’t use their own product… Many of the Manufactured House companies build for their employees, along with also making modular houses, which are just factory build residential homes. So have a lot more overlap with traditional housing market.
As I design and live in a Park Model I recognize size restrictions and moving issues, the sqft of these units add the upper floors to the 400 sqft first floor and other than the steel frame they are set on, these units as a whole are much stroger that a Park Model. Yes there will be a lot of expense to move them, but they are sized to move better than most conventional homes. The scenerio was moving to escape sea rise, most homes will be a total loss but not these gems, they will have a long life and value.
Last time I checked unless small enough and light enough to be moved easily by a fairly standard sized pickup (most people don’t own the heavy duty equipment required to move something like a mobile home) this isn’t going to get out of Galveston area before a hurricane hits. Roads are clogged with people trying to get to higher ground. Sometimes even then they can’t out fast enough tragically. Assuming these are built structurally well enough to stand a lot of wind rain and water and have good insurance. Like this design, just for me need 1 story. I have to see if she has floor plans on website. For elderly could put walk in tub. Like pantry in kitchen!
Penny you might check out my http://www.tugboatwilly.com site for plnning as a lot of what I put into my small home book series I share here. Almost everyting I deign has 1 1/2 Bath and pantry an I specify On deman H/W as well as a D/W and W/D is every unit for seniors. These Plum homes give an excellent Idea of proportion and style that can be obtained in that 400 sqft footprint. Usually I am more energy orientated with glass areas as most of my designs are for senior Mobile Parks and have very little views available so big windows are not required. The wonderful homes by Plum are meant to blend with the Galveston Victorian home styles and do it very well thus the window area is keeping in character. My comments bout the possibility of moving them was due to sea rise only and meant as a possible salvage operation.
Really smart design and floor plan. Beautiful finish work too.
Love the house but I can’t do stairs.
What I really want to know is the name of that beautiful color on the bottom cabinets in the kitchen!?!?
I wish I knew! But you could probably contact the builder and ask her. She’s very responsive on Instagram.
Nice house. But under the stairs I would have made that a closet.
Oh that’s a great idea.
Yes, that’s an excellent idea! Make the under-stairs area a closet. I certainly don’t see it as a viable reading nook. Respectfully submitted, Stephan of Arkansas
Maria if it were a full time residence I too would have used that space for a 1/2 bath and found room for a combined Washer/Dryer unit maybe. We had one of those W/D combined units in our last Motor Home and it was fine for two old folks. as we aged, we found we needed about 1/3 the clothes we though we needed and now a lot of my designs don’t even show closets as Armoires are more versatile and can be changed out as decore dictates. Even Wardrobes seem a better choice in these small 400 sqft homes as there is still some great antique units to be had with amazing colors and patinas. My lighthouse model has a wardrobe on casters that can be moved from the dressing area of the Master Bath to any room in the house as all doorways are 36″ wide in my designs. Take a look at http://www.tugboatwilly.com and you can see how this Plum Construction buildout lends itself to that factory style design system. She builds like factory homes should be built, style, craftmanship and terrific function….It will be interesting to see how they fare after the twin hurricanes as they may take a direct hit. I hope Nat and Alex do a followup.
Definitely lots of great style! Love the finishes and color. LOVE that there is a bedroom on the lower floor. As someone who is getting older at what seems like the speed of light, ground floor bedrooms are the only way to go since stairs and ladders, though still doable, will become problematic in the future. No need for wheelchair access but second floor anything is not practical. I would like to make one change in the kitchen and not sure how to do it but a corner cabinet with carousels in each corner would be helpful for storage purposes (I’m thinking of it as a full-time residence and not a B&B). Perhaps a smaller stove would help in that corner but getting rid of a full-sized refrigerator would not be good. A floor plan could reveal how it could be adjusted. That little reading nook with a ladder is charming but completely useless to me. Just little tweaks like that would make full-time living more convenient. This would be perfect to put in the backyard of your kids so you could have privacy and independence while knowing that assistance, if needed, is close. I’d like to see more small houses like this that are geared to those who have some difficulties with stairs. Overall, this small house is a real gem with lots of beautiful style!
Donna you might look at my http://www.tugboatwilly.com site as I specify a LOT of what this wonderful Plum Construction masterpiece has to offer. I agree on the kitchen but in reality itis only a one person space, replacing the stove with a induction cooktop and a micro/convection over would leave space for the Dishwasher most seniors need. Taking away the lofts is also a good idea for seniors as well as turning that understairs sleeping into a powder room with an all in one Washer/Dryer. Although the side wall in the bedroom was not shown it probably has a conventional closet which I substitute an antique Wardrobe and an Armiore for… but it’s pretty much my standard ‘J” Wall idea published earlier this year. I had been using the design since our 2008 trip to Galveston and viewing some Shotgun housing in New Orleans, while doing the eight year research for the book series.
Absolutely gorgeous. Nice finishes and materials throughout and so livable! Honestly, it is perfect except for one thing…the kitchen is shockingly small. I’ve seen larger kitchens in 200 sq. ft. tiny homes. It’s adorable but too small for the size of the home. Too small for almost any size home. I love everything except that. Nicely done, for sure.
The house is great but look at the one next door that is in disrepair.
I love everything about it. Very well done!
I love the design, but the kitchen is a little too small for me. I love cooking and for me this would be a walk-away me. But OMG everything else is just gorgeous.
This is an amazing tiny house; but it has been in your posts many times. Perhaps incorporate the positive aspects and compare them to those found in other countries to build a broader viewing base?
This is gorgeous. Are there any closets?? Where does all the “stuff” go?
There’s a closet, large enough to accommodate luggage, and space under the bed to store more things…