This is the Bird House tiny cottage in Asheville, North Carolina. It’s a tall and skinny foundation home in a great location.
This little home has an interesting floor plan because it offers three levels of living space! When you walk inside through the front door, you’re entering the second level which is your living area. This is also where the bathroom is placed (near the front door entrance). When you head downstairs using the black spiral staircase you’ll find the kitchen and dining area in the first level. From the second floor living room, when you head upstairs to the third floor, you’ll find your cozy little sleeping loft with dormers.
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The Bird House Tiny Cottage in Asheville, NC
Images via Airbnb/Dana
Images via Airbnb/Dana
Credits: Dana via Airbnb (https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6863511)
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I really like this little house, very interesting! Nice design, nice work.
I, too, love this little house for its great use of color and space…however, I could not use it due to not using stairs very well…it is ideal for younger folk in that regard. So interesting to see what people come up with when they build!
I dig this one. I mean, finally, a stand-up loft ;).
It’s really cute. I guess the only way to do tiny under current codes is to build as a guest house behind a “legal” house.
You can build tiny homes and mini homes on any property as long as you talk to the city building inspector, get the minimum building requirements the city requires, own the land with no mortgage, and have a building permit. If you have these and talked to the city building inspector, not even homeowner associations can make you do anything.
So what is their property value drops, so does yours and your property tax is lower as well if you build out of wood instead of brick or stone. If they complain to loud, offer to sell it to then at 5X’s, cash in hand, what you have in the land and in the house. Either they will shut up, or buy you out. Never build in the rich sections anyway, most of them are one paycheck from bankruptcy anyways.
In theory, yes. The reality is that you can’t get the permits, etc in most non-rural jurisdictions for a tiny house. Most cities and towns just won’t grant them under those circumstances, unless it is a “guest-house” which implies that there is a main house being used as the primary living space. As an example, the town I grew up in had a 900 sq foot minimum requirement to build. 900 sq feet is hardly a tiny house. Small, but not a tiny. That’s just the start of the zoning issues.
The neighbors will likely neither shut up nor buy you out — if they’re even the problem. They’ll just call zoning who can force you out. Remember, if property values drop, so does the property tax, and that upsets city hall. Not everywhere, but in most places, it’s the municipality that is the bulk of the trouble, not the neighbors.
Who cares how many paychecks away from bankruptcy your neighbors are? That’s their problem, not yours.
I love the architecture in this house!! I love the bedroom even though it’s tiny, you can fit a full size bed up there along with a good size bureau. I love how the owner has the colors coordinating throughout the house. I love the nooks and crannies that the house has to offer. It seems like they even have ideal storage where some tiny houses don’t offer any, even in the kitchen it looks like they have a pantry which helps out with storage. It looks like they thought of everything.
They really did their house up nice!! Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed viewing it!! Carol Perry
This tiny house comes closer to perfection in my eyes than any others Ive seen! I don’t do ladders, but these stairs look very doable to me. Just the perfect amount of furniture and accessories along with the perfect amount of space.
Sigh…I’m in love…
Not a fan of spiral staircases but absolutely love this design! Very nicely done.
So the shower is on the second floor (main entrance floor) and the bedroom is on the next one up? Don’t know that this is very practical for daily living but probably ok on a very short term.
Isn’t it funny what we link with “daily living”? Where I grew up for 18 years we had no bathroom at all in the house, our toilet was outside in a Johnny house, and we bathed in metal basins in the kitchen that we emptied out the back door and then filled up again several times to get through an entire bath. There were quite a few of us in the two room house with a sleeping loft, so this process took some time. That was daily living and we loved it. It was what we were used to and did not think that we were being inconvenienced in any way. So the bathroom being on a different floor didn’t even phase me until I read this post. I just think it’s amusing the different definitions of “practical daily living”.
Beautiful tiny home. It is too bad that they did not had the same stairs for downstairs to the kitchen.
This is a darling little house, and a great design for the space. I wouldn’t mind staying here. I’m sure it feels bigger than it actually is because of the 3 floors.
What a totally charming small house and super oversize windows which make the house appear larger than it is. Thanks for sharing and cheers from Australia.
would love it on a foundation(basement)…
This is one of the best tiny houses I’ve seen! It’s adorable & functional in every way, shape & form. The only (very) disagreeable thing I see is the bathroom placement. Did I misunderstand or is that the shower right next to the sitting area on the main floor?
Not only is the shower/toilet right off the living room, but the bathroom sink is in the little cubby right behind the front door, not even in the bathroom. I suppose for company you could stash the toothbrushes and toiletries and make it look like a bar sink instead, though…
Totally sweet and unique little house. I love the tiny kitchen, the bedroom loft as well.
This is toooo cute. Luv everything about this tiny house. The design is beautiful.
This is a cute house. But I would make some changes. I don’t like the bathroom sink out in living area. That wall should have been all one bathroom. Next the stairs going down to kitchen would be changed.
Now why can’t we “the communities all over North America” build tiny houses like this for people that need a safe haven.
People that can climb stairs easily, that is.
This is an outstanding tiny house that fits in nicely in the neighbourhood.
Nice- I think I would move the bed to the second floor with the bathroom and then have the sitting area up on the third floor. Love the fact the kitchen is in the “garage” one way to get around some zone issues I would guess. Open up the garage door and you can have a café table out on the sidewalk. the door on the second floor- could be viewed as more of a window that happens to be a door. I might have done the spiral stair all the way up like a lighthouse. might need to change the roofline a little to do that.
What a stunning cute little house, the floor plan is amazing all the essentials are there in such a small space. The interior decorating is very tastefully done. I would love to stay for a few nights.
What an adorable space. The interiors all “hang” together which is so important in a small space. Love it but stairs would be a challenge for some but great use of a small “in fill” lot.
This is a real little gem of a house! Having a bathroom on the same floor as the living room, but downstairs from the bedroom can be an issue. On the plus side, you don’t have to go upstairs to use it during the daytime. However, you do have to manage stairs if you get up in the night, which is when you are more at risk, as you may not be fully awake! The exterior seems to match the main house, so it may have been an outbuilding before it was converted. I totally agree that local councils need to allow for more small/tiny home developments that are stylish, then the empty nesters will have a manageable home and the young and growing families can buy the bigger homes and reduce the development of McMansions and other large homes. I am 56 and all in favour of a smaller home which equals LESS housework. Hubby and I still 3 adult children (who we love to bits!) living at home, so this isn’t an option just now, but one day 🙂
.. Very cool
So cute!!! Is it blocking completely the deck of the house (and sunlight, view) of the house right next to it?!?!
I love the layout of this house. But I would have made changes:
1) I would have taken out the window behind the staircase. Too much light and glare. 2) I agree with Curt, I would have done the spiral stairs all the way up like a lighthouse (my grand kids love going up/down spiral staircases). 3) Less dresser more closet space.
Questions: Where would you put a TV? Does it have a bathtub?
This is fabulous in so many ways.
I leased and lived in this home for a year (2014), prior to the owners taking it to a vacation/weekend rental, and am grinning ear-to-ear reading the article and comments! I loved living in the Bird House, and only moved away to further a relationship and, hopefully, buy land and build our own little home.
I loved the location, as it was a short walk to downtown. The house is in the Montford Historic District, which is a vibrant community. After I moved out, I suggested to my out-of-town friends that if they were to visit Asheville, they should rent the place because it is so easy to access from I-240, and a great “home base” when exploring Asheville on foot.
For those wondering about the small space, understand that I am a 47 year-old, 6’3″, 250 pound man. I not only lived in the house, I telecommute for work, so the top floor was my bedroom and office. I’d researched tiny houses for several years prior, and considered other tiny houses to rent. I was very glad to have chosen this house, and I do miss it.
I love this house, what is the square footage and how would I go about getting plans for this tiny house.
Thanks
Tyler
Ken V., I live in Asheville, and would love to find a small house like this one to rent or preferably, to buy. Would you be able to share info about other small houses you researched in the Asheville area? I’ve been looking for about 600- 700sf, and not having much luck so far. I think you can message to my email through this site. To the owners of the “Birdhouse” – fantastic job! The place is a jewel box -just about perfect in its size, location and features -I love it!
Who is the manufacturer of the Bird House?
This is a cute as it gets even though I would change a few things I wouldn’t destroy the over all look inside. That being said, living on 3 levels can be a hassle. At my age it would be more than I’d want to do to get from one room to another. I think its clearly meant for young people with no children or older athletic individuals. But to stay in for a short period of time I believe would be great.
We live here! Some lovely folks just walked up to our door (while I was scrubbing the bathroom floor) and asked for The Bird House. We had no idea what they were asking, but were thrilled to show it off nonetheless. We absolutely adore the house and the year and a half we’ve spent here- it really is as fun as it seems! A cursory Google search afterwards has delighted and amazed us. We’re so glad to see that the home we love has a fond place in so many hearts. If you’re in the neighborhood before Nov. 2021, knock on the door for a drink and chat, we’d love to show you around.