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Scott’s 8×12 ZenDen Tiny House Design


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This is Scott’s 8×12 ZenDen tiny house design that he’s sharing with us as part of our 2015 8×12 tiny house design contest with Derek Diedricksen of RelaxShacks.com.

Here is my submission for the 8×12 tiny house plans.

Have to admit this is a very small space but I think it could work if it was done with fold out bed and with a drop down table.

This tiny home is nicknamed the ZenDen and features a murphy bed, fireplace, kitchen, bathroom, and more.

Scott’s 8×12 ZenDen Tiny House Design

Scott's 8x12 ZenDen Tiny House Design

Images © Scott

  • Composting toilet with shower area
  • Galley kitchen
  • Pocket doors
  • Murphy bed
  • Folding table
  • Propane stove
  • Solar Power
  • Under counter fridge
  • Deck with sliding door access
  • Bamboo floors and tile in the bathroom
Scott's 8x12 ZenDen Tiny House Design Scott's 8x12 ZenDen Tiny House Design

Images © Scott

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 3 comments… add one }
  • Mary Ann
    April 10, 2015, 4:51 pm

    Scott, I like your design for the shower area. Murphy beds are certainly a consideration. Would you please inform us what scale of measurement you are using?

    I started out thinking 1 sq = 6″ and that works for the actual entrance door, the width of the Murphy bed, the length of the folding table and the depth of the kitchen cabinets. However, using this scale your chairs would have a 6″ seat and the TH would be over 9′ wide, not the 8′ required.

    • April 11, 2015, 11:27 am

      I agree with Mary Ann. The interior of your TH appears to be 8′ (top to bottom of the drawing). Also, because it’s such a tiny space, unless you are going to be living in sub-zero temps, there is NO need for 2 x 6 walls, only 2 x 4. If the envelope is tight enough and the heat is sufficient, there is no need for the extra sace taken up in walls. Also interior walls can be made of other materials, such as 3/4 plywood, or 2×2 materials with as little as 1/4 inches on either side. This makes for a 2.5″ thick wall or less. This will save your precious inches. A 30″ wide shower is tight but do-able. BUT you can’t get an exterior door that will fit into a 2′ space (at the back of the kitchen) unless you make it yourself and there goes your tight envelope for heat.

      If the bathroom from outside framing to the outside (on the kitchen side) is indeed 4′ as the drawing shows, the kitchen will only be 3′-6″ wide (if using the 2×6 walls as suggested). This means that either the walkway is 18″ wide or the cabinets are less than 24″ deep. Either of these is insufficient for actual use by anyone other than a 98 lb person. Sure it’s doable, but not comfortable.

      Also, google Murphy bed dimensions. You’ll find that the frames those things are about 11″ – 12″ deep (the bit that attaches to the wall with the bed vertical). They also show how long they are when open. There are a few extra inches to allow for the rotation of the bed, etc. They have some really nice ones with a sofa/loveseat in front so that when the bed is put away, there is a place to sit, but when it is down, the bed is literally OVER the sofa so that there is never a reason to move the sofa because in this situation, you’ll have to hang it from the ceiling.

      By the way, pocket doors, while they seem nice, really require a lot of pre-planning. The cavity for the door to slide into is at least 4.5″ thick (normal house interior walls) and barn doors need a place to slide TO, so make sure the walls adjacent to the doors have a place for the pocket doors to recess into that is wider than the door itself by an inch or two.

      In a place as small as 8 x 12, you really need to consider using the smaller boat heaters that hangs from the wall, or another heat source (has anyone ever tried radient floor heat in a tiny house like this?). There simply is no room for a wood-burning stove type heating aparatus.

      So, for this one, Sure, it might be usable as a quick, vacation over-night hotel room, but for actual living, I don’t see it working. There is no closet, barely enough room to stand in the kitchen much less cook and clean for a long period of time. The “Cabin Fever” would kick in really quickly here, for me, anyway.

  • Karen R
    April 10, 2015, 7:41 pm

    It looks good, but a computer model would help.

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