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Right now I’d like to show you this 610 sq. ft. cottage by New Avenue Homes and tell you the story behind it.

When the homeowner’s daughter and her family were in need of a change she invited them to move in to her larger main house since they’re a growing family with two children.

This way, grandma can see her grandkids every day without having to drive anywhere, and she can live simply in a 610 sq. ft. cottage with less maintenance.

I see it as a total win-win because her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren get to be nearby. And they can share the costs associated with the entire property since they’re on a shared lot. It simplifies all of their lives.

As for the 610 sq. ft. cottage, it has a two bedroom design (one room is used as an office), kitchen, living area, and bathroom. To me this story is important because we don’t always have to go the extreme of a ‘tiny’ house to enjoy the benefits of a simple life. Please enjoy, talk about it in the comments, and re-share below.

Grandmother Moves to Small Cottage to Simplify Family Life

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Images © New Avenue Homes

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I had to show you this modern prefab home designed by Stillwater Dwellings even though it’s hardly ‘small’ to people like you and me and definitely not ‘tiny’.

At 1100 sq. ft., it’s plenty spacious for most of us. But maybe if you’re raising a family, planning to, or just living with others this amount of space might be just right. You might need less, you might even need more; only you know. Either way I thought it was well done and worth looking at and gathering inspiration from.

What I love about this one is that unlike many of today’s houses, it doesn’t have two living rooms and a whole lot of other unused/wasted space.

Inside there are two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, and a large kitchen. The entry way is spacious- with a closet- which helps keep everyone’s shoes and coats at bay. Please enjoy the tour below and let me know your thoughts in the comments if you’d like to.

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1100 Sq. Ft. Two Bedroom One Bathroom Modern Prefab Home

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Images © Stillwater Dwellings

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If you’re ever looking for a place to stay in Colorado Springs this Victorian style little yellow cottage might be just the right place. I think this might make for a great little anniversary celebration getaway, too.

It’s so much better than a hotel, and you can get a taste of the small house lifestyle in this beautiful little bungalow. It’s a one-level floor plan with a porch and outdoor furniture for your enjoyment outside.

Originally built in 1909, according to the vacation rental listing over at HomeAway, and recently remodeled with inspiration from Paris. Please enjoy!

Related: 215 Sq. Ft. Tiny House in Paris

Beautiful Little Yellow Cottage in Colorado Springs

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Images © HomeAway

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This is definitely not a tiny house but most of you know how much I love showing all the different options out there like this beautiful zen small home in Kyoto, Japan by Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio.

From the outside it seems very humble in size indeed. But once you walk inside I think you’ll be surprised as to how much space and utility they were able to squeeze into here for this family.

As soon as you walk inside you’ll notice the fireplace which sits on a squared tiled area to your left. The rest of the home has natural wood floors and ceiling. The living area is also to your left from the front door beyond the fireplace after walking in.

Keep walking straight ahead and you run into the kitchen and dining area where you’ll also notice the staircase upstairs to the bedrooms. Downstairs, behind the staircase, is a wonderful study/office area with beautiful views of the backyard (and vaulted ceilings). Near the office and behind the kitchen is the bathroom.

Another wonderful feature of this home is not only that there are plenty of vaulted ceilings for that feeling of spaciousness but, for example, the bedroom has an indoor window where you can view the living area (see below). I absolutely love this.

In the current set up of the house there is only one bedroom. But you might notice that there are two doors to this bedroom which allows- later on- to partition the room with a wall to create two rooms when needed. More than likely, this is for when the kid(s) grows older.

Architects Design Modern Zen Small Home for Family

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Images © Kazuya Morita Architecture Studio

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The Pocket House Tiny House Vacation Rental in Portland, Oregon (featured in Portland Monthly) is actually a bit larger than it appears.

At 435 sq. ft. most of us would consider it a small cabin. But since it was built with seemingly a lot of tiny house inspiration, I thought you’d also find it fun to look at either way. And if you’re ever in the Portland area, why not stay here instead of in a motel if you can? Inside you’ll find a kitchen, sleeping loft, private downstairs bedroom, living area, and full bathroom. Plus there’s a private garden space outside. See it all for yourself below and… consider booking a stay in it too (someday.. I think I just might!).

Don’t miss other amazing stories like this – join our FREE Tiny House Newsletter for more!

435 Sq. Ft. Pocket House by Swift Architecture

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Images © PocketHousePDX

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Hello Alex (and Tiny House Newsletter readers), after some years of following the spread of tiny houses across the country through your site and others, my dream of owning one is now realized.

I am the proud resident of a less than 800 square foot 2-bedroom home in the country. The house was designed and hand-built by my retired parents and myself in only four months and cost about $15,000 to build.

Previously, the house was an unfinished storage building and small carport. It had limited electrical wiring and no plumbing. We designed the house to utilize the original roofline, enclosed the carport to become the two bedrooms and bathroom, and added a small porch onto the back.

Simple Living in an 800 Sq. Ft. Home in the Country

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Images © Emily T.

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If you like the idea of tiny living but still want to live simply in a bit of a larger space you might like this modern 914 sq. ft. small home custom designed for a client by JRKVC, a Slovakian Architecture Firm.

It’s called the IST-Family House and has now been featured on ArchDaily and Humble Homes so I thought I’d also welcome the design to you too. Would you consider living simply in a slightly larger home like this one? I’m curious about your thoughts on ‘tiny vs small’ if you’d be willing to share in the comments below.

Want more kind of like this? Join our FREE Small House Newsletter!

Modern 914 Sq. Ft. Small Home for Humble Family

Images © Peter Jurkovič

Images © Peter Jurkovič

Once inside I think you might be impressed by this modern small house below:

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This 998 sq. ft. small house is one of a kind. When you enter there’s a bridge that gets you to the covered entry way deck. This entry building is not air conditioned and so it isn’t included in the 998 square feet of living space.

In total there are three buildings that comprise of this 998 sq. ft. home. The main building is to the left when you are facing the entrance of the house. To the right is the building where you sleep.

There’s even a separate building for your guests to stay. And one of the most unique features of the design are the reverse shed roof on certain areas of the home as you’ll see in a moment below.

998 Square Feet Small House

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All Images © John Raabe via his Google+ Photo Album

I encourage you to enjoy the rest of this 998 sq. ft. small cabin below:

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I thought you might also enjoy this 510 sq. ft. beachfront tiny cottage that was originally built in the 1920s. Later it was somewhat abandoned for a few years so the new owners gave it a complete restoration while leaving it as original as possible.

Some of the unique features for this small beachfront cottage include clapboard siding, a stone chimney, an amazing porch, open floor plan, handmade furniture, and more (see below).

Want more kind of like this? Join our FREE Small House Newsletter!

Beachfront Tiny Cottage in England

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All Images © UniqueHomeStays

I encourage you to enjoy the rest of this story below:

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