Two Poolside Tiny Cabins by KANGA

Here’s a reclaimed 500-square-foot small apartment conversion in the East Village Manhattan area of New York City covered by SpacesTV on YouTube.

When the owner first got the apartment it was in bad condition. It was unfinished, had holes in the floor, framing was exposed, and there was a lot of cleaning up to do. The owner, Bill Di Paola, was envisioning it’s potential and began to create a completely customized place for himself. He wanted it to have a spacious feel, give it lots of light, and use as many recycled materials as possible.

Bill chose bright white colors, shiny stainless steel, and a minimal amount of furniture which I think really helped achieve all of that. After you take a look, let me know what you liked best about it in the comments.

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Photo Credit SpacesTV/YouTube

There are very few pieces of furniture and they almost blend right into the walls. Bill says, “It’s perfect … it’s what I want.” Take a look at the rest of this home and watch the entire video tour below:

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Now here’s a brilliantly designed small apartment in East Village area of Manhattan in New York City.

Michael, the apartment owner, uses the space as both home and office which makes the 500-square-feet all that much tighter.

I also work and live out of my apartment which is about 450-square-feet while sharing it with my girlfriend as well.

The amazing part about Michael’s space is the enormous amount of storage that he has created which is illustrated at the bottom of this post.

All of this storage space allows the apartment to be a home instead of a workplace quite easily when friends or family visit.

There’s even an upstairs sleeping loft but thanks to the tall ceilings inside it doesn’t look like it feels cramped at all. In fact, there’s plenty of lighting set up and it looks roomy and comfortable throughout.

What I thought might be one of your favorite parts of the design is the staircase that leads up to the loft because it has built-in drawers underneath each step.

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Photos by Frank Ouderman and Sean Karns

Jordan Parnass Digital Architecture helped with the project to make it what it is. It’s best to watch the video tour at the bottom of this post to grasp a feel of what they were able to do with this small apartment conversion.

I encourage you to see the rest of it below:

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A few years back, CNN covered this three story tiny house in Japan that fits in a parking spot. In the past, I’ve covered a few similar small homes on Tiny House Talk, including:

• Tokyo’s Modern and Minimalist Parking Lot Small House
• Japan’s 900-square-foot Penguin House
• Hong Kong’s Futuristic Multifunctional Tiny Apartment

The kitchen, living room, and dining area is the size of an average American’s walk-in closet. Instead of cabinet and closet doors, they use sliding curtains to conserve the most amount of space. Their washer/dryer is not only a combination unit, it’s also tucked underneath a counter so you hardly notice it’s there. Some small appliances like their microwave are hidden inside of a slide out cabinet so that it’s easy to access yet not always visible.

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Photo Credit CNN/Youtube

I encourage you to check out the rest of this unique home, and watch the video tour and interview below:

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Have you heard of Tammy Strobel’s You Can Buy Happiness (And It’s Cheap)?

It’s a book she just released today.. I just got my copy on Amazon a few minutes ago. In this post you’ll get to read my thoughts, notes, and highlights while reading the book. In it, Tammy tells the story of how she and her husband went from a normal life, to living in a tiny house on wheels with almost no stuff. You can buy it now and read it instantly on your Kindle in moments.

Here’s the book description that’s published on Amazon:

Once, Tammy Strobel and her husband were living a normal middle-class lifestyle: driving two cars, commuting long distances, and living well beyond their means. Now they are living the voluntary downsizing — or smart-sizing — dream. In this book Strobel combines research on well-being with numerous real-world examples to offer practical inspiration. Her fresh take on our things, our work, and our relationships spells out micro-actions that anyone can take to step into a life that’s more conscious and connected, sustainable and sustaining, heartfelt and happy.

Get your copy of You Can Buy Happiness (And It’s Cheap) now on Amazon.com.

Here’s what other authors are saying about her book:

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Architect Luke Clark Tyler lives and works in a 78 square foot micro apartment in Midtown Manhattan, potentially America’s smallest apartment. The space features a custom-built couch that converts to a bed, maximizing the multi-functional use of every square inch in this extreme example of urban micro living.

Micro Apartment Specifications

• Location: Midtown Manhattan, New York City
• Size: 78 square feet
• Occupant: Luke Clark Tyler, architect
• Use: Combined living and work space
• Key Feature: Custom convertible couch/bed

Manhattan Micro Apartment Interior

Photo Credit: SpacesTV/YouTube

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If you’re looking for a small house design that’s still less than 500-square-feet..

And if you also like yurts..

Then you might like this small home from Mandala Homes.

It’s a 21′ round cottage that adds up to approximately 322-square-feet of interior living space.

In the time lapse video below you’ll get to see the circular cabin being put together in “fast-forward”.

Since all of the panels were prefabricated- including the subfloor- it took less than 9 hours to put together.

I encourage you to watch the video below then if you want share your ideas with the community in the comments at the bottom of the page.

Photo Source Mandala Facebook

If you want to watch the time-lapse construction video click below:

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By Laura LaVoie

Someone asked me the other day what the advantages were of small houses versus apartment living? Why, she asked, would someone prefer living in a small house rather than renting an apartment? Certainly one is not superior over the other. The simple answer comes down to preference, but here are some other reasons people may consider tiny houses rather than apartment living.

• No Shared Walls. I’ve lived on the 16^thfloor of a high rise apartment. I really liked it there.  And I would do it again. There were occasionally issues with a neighbor playing music way too loud at 2 A.M. or us needing to be cautious of our television volume or playing the guitar too loud and bothering other residents. This is simply a fact of apartment living.

Photo Credit Brownstoner.com

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This 8′ x 26′ tiny house on a trailer is being built by Bob Pritts of East Tennessee. It has a country cottage style to it and is being constructed on a 26′ trailer. At approximately 208 square feet it’s going to be his retirement home. With no mortgage or rent, it’s going to help him create a lot more disposable income. So that’s why people say less is more… Since it’s such a small space, Bob splurged on some granite and cherry wood for the inside. Once he’s done building it, it’s going to be parked in a mobile home lot. Bob chose to install plenty of windows throughout so he can enjoy a lot of lighting. Instead of having a sleeping loft he went with a longer trailer and designed the living room to double as a bedroom just like you’d see in a studio. Bob also opted for a full sized shower and insulated the house really well so that it’ll be easy to cool and heat throughout the year.

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Photo Credits Bob Pritts

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