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Ivan designed and built his own off-grid tiny house on a budget in Bulgaria, and he’s been living in it for three years. At 420 square feet, it’s basically an off-grid studio apartment, with solar power, propane for cooking, water piped from a neighbor’s well, and a septic system. He wanted a place to play music without bothering anyone, with the comfort of a city apartment and the self-sufficiency of off-grid living. Exploring Alternatives takes the tour.
Built on Pillars on Agricultural Land
Ivan built the house on concrete pillars on a small piece of agricultural land, about 4,300 square feet. To follow the local land rules, he had to make sure the house stayed movable. The studio measures 4 by 10 meters, or about 40 square meters (420 square feet). The simple gray-clad box sits in a meadow with mountain views, about a 20-minute drive from Sofia, the capital, with a wooden deck out front and a ground-mounted solar array nearby.
An Open Studio with a View
Inside, the layout is one open room. At one end, a platform bed with drawers underneath sits beneath large windows looking out to the meadow and mountains. The space is simple and bright, with room to relax, sleep, and play music. A row of electric and acoustic guitars hangs on the long wall.
The bed has two deep pull-out drawers underneath, which hold most of his clothes.
At the other end, a desk with a monitor and speakers serves as Ivan’s workspace, where he designs projects in 3D.
A Full Kitchen and a Handmade Sink
Ivan loves to cook, so he wanted a well-equipped kitchen with a full-size oven. The L-shaped kitchen has wood-look counters, a full-size refrigerator, a microwave, and a dishwasher to save water. He cooks on propane even though his solar could run induction, and he goes through about one 27-liter bottle a year.
In the bathroom, the vessel sink is one he made himself from a piece of rock, and he built the sliding bathroom door too.
Off-Grid Systems
The house runs on solar power. Ivan assembled the system himself from 32 lithium iron phosphate cells, about 30 kWh of storage, charged by 660-watt Canadian Solar panels. Bulgaria is sunny, so for most of the year his batteries rarely drop below 75 to 80 percent. In winter he runs a gasoline generator five or six times to top them up. An air conditioner handles both heating and cooling when it’s sunny, with a small propane heater for dark winter days. The walls have 15 cm of rock wool insulation, the floor and ceiling have 20 cm, and there’s an extra 5 cm layer of XPS foam under heated floors.
Water was the hardest part. Groundwater lies deep here, so Ivan first built a rainwater system with gutters, a filter, and an underground tank. It didn’t keep up, so he ran a water line from his neighbor’s well and rebuilt the filtration, which now gives him an unlimited supply of fresh water. A septic tank handles waste and only needs bacteria added about once a month. With no utility bills, the house delivers the self-sufficiency he was looking for.
What It Cost
Ivan tracked every expense in a spreadsheet. He shared these numbers in the video, from building the house about three years earlier:
- House: about €24,000 for the finished shell with floors, windows, and bathroom fixtures, not counting his own labor
- Land: about €14,000 for roughly 4,300 square feet of agricultural land
- Solar system: about €6,000, assembled himself from individual components
- Total: slightly over €50,000 including furniture, appliances, and smart-home systems
He notes that materials cost more now, so treat these as a starting benchmark rather than a current quote.
His Third Build
This is the third home Ivan has built. He lived in his first tiny house for a year and a half and also built a home for his neighbor. He says learning to build made homeownership accessible for him, and he’s now working on a video guide to help others build their own tiny houses.
Watch the Full Tour
Exploring Alternatives visits Ivan’s studio in this video.
Video: Exploring Alternatives, “Man Builds His Own Affordable Off-Grid Tiny House.”
Design Details
- Owner and builder: Ivan (Gradoboev Builds)
- Location: near Sofia, Bulgaria, on agricultural land
- Size: 4 x 10 m, about 420 sq. ft.
- Foundation: concrete pillars, kept movable to meet local rules
- Layout: open studio with a platform bed and a workspace
- Power: solar with about 30 kWh of DIY lithium iron phosphate batteries; gasoline generator backup
- Heating and cooling: air conditioner, small propane heater, heated floors
- Cooking: propane
- Water: line from a neighbor’s well (previously rainwater collection)
- Waste: septic tank
- Total cost: slightly over €50,000 including land, solar, and furnishings (per Ivan, about three years ago)
What Makes This Build Special
- A self-designed, self-built home made on a budget.
- Off-grid systems with no utility bills.
- A quiet studio where Ivan can play music without disturbing anyone.
- A builder who’s sharing what he’s learned with others.
For more self-built and off-grid homes, see 13 off-grid builds that prove self-sufficiency works, the Wobbly Hobbit cob and timber tiny house, and another Exploring Alternatives tour, Be Tiny’s B.Drop.24f in Quebec.
Learn More
Ivan’s Off-Grid Studio
Ivan’s website: gradoboev.build · YouTube @gradoboev.builds
Video tour: Exploring Alternatives · exploringalternatives.ca · @exploringalternatives
Video stills: Exploring Alternatives.
Highlights
- A 420 sq. ft. off-grid studio in Bulgaria
- Designed and built by owner Ivan
- Solar, propane, piped well water, and septic
- Built on pillars and kept movable
- About €50,000 all in, including the land
- His third home build
Explore More
- 13 Off-Grid Builds That Prove Self-Sufficiency Actually Works
- Wobbly Hobbit: A Cob and Timber Tiny House
- Be Tiny’s B.Drop.24f
- 11 Alternative Tiny Homes Bursting with Personality
- Video Tours
Would you build your own off-grid studio like Ivan’s? Tell us in the comments.
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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through one of our links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Alex
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