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336 Sq. Ft. Modular Prefab Micro House: WeeHouse by Alchemy Architects


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This custom built modular prefab home has the most amazing windows I think you will enjoy.

Built in 2003 for approximately $60,000 by Geoffrey Warner and his team.

A humble little abode is where a violinist of the Minnesota Orchestra finds a peaceful off-grid retreat with her family.

WeeHouse Modern Prefab Micro House

Exterior of the Micro Home in the Snow

ARADO-WEEHOUSE-02

Amazing Modern and Space Saving Kitchen

ARADO-WEEHOUSE-013

Window View with Fireplace

ARADO-WEEHOUSE-04

Hidden sleeping areas

ARADO-WEEHOUSE-05

Floor Plan

ARADO-WEEHOUSE-08

Image credits: Alchemy Architects

How Would You Use this Home?

This design would make a great backyard guest house but it would also work great as a main house for simple living whether it’s in the form of a studio apartment, garage conversion, or modern cabin in the woods.

If it were up to me (and I had unlimited funds to work with) I’d buy a plot of land on the beach to put it on for full time beachfront living (the simple way). How about you?

What do you think of this modern prefab house? What would you use it for exactly? Is there anything you would add or change? Let us know in the comments!

If you enjoyed this 336 Sq Ft Modular Prefab House: Arado weeHouse you’ll love our free daily tiny house newsletter with more!

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Andrea is a contributor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the Tiny House Newsletter! She has a passion for sharing tiny and small house stories and introducing you to new people, ideas, and homes.
{ 40 comments… add one }
  • Alberto
    March 3, 2014, 12:34 pm

    Where is the bathroom? 🙂 Aside of that I love it.

    • Byron
      March 3, 2014, 2:19 pm

      Look out the window. See that cluster of trees……

    • Gord.
      October 30, 2015, 10:18 pm

      Called a ( one holer) 😉

  • Janine
    March 3, 2014, 2:03 pm

    Lovely windows. As an avid kayaker I would put it right beside the Ottawa River in Beachburg, Ontario Canada so I could paddle from the shore to the middle channel and find some rapids.

    • Alex
      March 3, 2014, 2:46 pm

      Sounds lovely Janine, thanks!

  • Brian Ansorge
    March 3, 2014, 2:14 pm

    60 THOUSAND bucks?

    Geesh! Where’d all the money go?

    Mini or micro budget, not!

    • Alex
      March 3, 2014, 2:46 pm

      Brian I think it’s because they paid architects and builders to do it all for them. And I bet that figure didn’t even include the land. But expenses on materials alone was probably not too bad. $60k likely includes construction labor, designers, etc.

  • Brian Ansorge
    March 3, 2014, 2:17 pm

    [and NO bathroom!]

    Value = FAIL

  • Alex
    March 3, 2014, 2:43 pm

    In the first photo there seems to be an outhouse structure you can see off to the right. I wish it had a bathroom w/ shower inside.

    • Cooltruth
      October 30, 2015, 4:52 pm

      That outhouse looked like it had a lot more privacy than the main house had, to do what has to be done in an outhouse. It looks pretty inside. Other than lack of any privacy due to the extra large windows…

  • Patrick
    March 3, 2014, 4:05 pm

    Pretty design…. has some good things going for it. But a dwelling structure of that size and expense ought to have at least a small bath of some kind included. Definitely a design overlook, from my vantage point. I’d dispense with the upper bunk bed and cabinetry below, placing at least a half-bath in that corner. Either that, or shorten the generous kitchen counter top and locate a bath where the stove presently sits, so as to share a common wet wall. Guess it all depends on what the owner wants: appearance or function, or both.

  • Carol Taylor
    March 3, 2014, 4:29 pm

    Are those quadruple paned windows?

  • Joni
    March 3, 2014, 5:33 pm

    How does one get pricing info on these homes? Where is the bathroom and can these homes be built in a city lot? I live in Austin Texas

  • CathyAnn
    March 3, 2014, 6:03 pm

    I think a place like that could be built quite inexpensively, and all of that glass on the two ends isn’t necessary for the design. All of that length of kitchen isn’t very well utilized to my way of thinking. A small toilet/shower could be installed on one side so that all plumbing is in one wall.

    The high bunk bed is a waste of space.

    I really like the design overall. With a few changes in layout, I could live in one of these full time.

  • TomLeeM
    March 3, 2014, 7:39 pm

    It reminds me of another house.
    http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/mica#ad-image-0

    It is a really nice. I think it would make for an excellent artist studio.

  • March 3, 2014, 8:40 pm

    I like the way it gets your creative mind going. I would put a wet bath where the bunk is and turn the bed facing out so you can walk down each side to get in, add a closet between the two and finish with giant sliding walls (doors) to hide each of these areas. Easy Peasy. I would imagine this home vould be built for less than the amount stated with a little know how.

  • Jenifer
    March 3, 2014, 10:25 pm

    The change that I would make is to put the bed-wall into a closet/bathroom space.

    The closet would then hold our bedding (since we sleep japanese style on futons that we put away during the day), then it would also provide any additional storage that we would need.

    We live on the floor otherwise, so it would be great.

    That being said, we have found that having a bedroom — a place that we can close off — is often helpful. DH needs his “ALONE TIME!!!!!!” (he usually freaks out like that), and so he goes into the bedroom and closes the door. I don’t know what his issue is, but he can’t seem to block out DS’s play-chatter like I can. I actually enjoy it as “background music.”

  • vstanley
    March 4, 2014, 7:06 am

    60K without bath,HA!!!
    Its too blank for my taste.
    In certain climates flat roofs and open underneath dont work.Fail.

  • Paul
    March 4, 2014, 4:56 pm

    Lessee! Floor to ceiling glass… outside snow… no curtains for floor to ceiling glass. Epic Fail! What kind of nut would do that? Oh, sorry, forgot, American Architects! //

  • Doc
    March 5, 2014, 12:16 am

    It seems some missed that this was for a family, so you cannot simply dismiss the second bed, or your sleeping with the kids!

    Still, for that price, you really should have a loo! At least a pot to p– in! Yes, it has an outhouse, that’s a long, really long walk at midnight, in January, in hip deep snow here in Michigan. Needs a pot!

    Love the windows, just not practical for anyplace that is cold enough to get much snow. They are always so pretty but act as a whole in the wall for heat loss.

    Nice modern design, just not for me.
    Hope the family likes it just fine.

    • Princess Mom
      March 10, 2014, 10:04 pm

      They must be practical windows, since this home is in Minnesota. We got five feet of snow this year. I don’t think you need curtains if you don’t have any neighbors. It really should have a bathroom, though.

  • gary
    March 6, 2014, 5:26 pm

    I have discovered Tularosa, New Mexico…a place of vineyards, wineries. and beautiful old adobe houses. It is an old Mexican village that is quite and a perfect place for my art. A perfect place to create and build a small house and studio. A lot of great ideas on this site……thanks!

  • katydidit
    May 2, 2014, 7:02 am

    Wow lilt kitchen! Bit of a stretch if that is the bathroom facilities outside! What about lighting, not that much is needed except at nite. I’d be in on having such a space at a beach area.

  • Liz
    June 9, 2014, 11:06 am

    I will never understand why anyone would ever build something like this without a bathroom. Without one, it’s a complete waste.

  • david
    June 9, 2014, 5:02 pm

    would look better with a pointed roof

  • Cynthia
    October 11, 2014, 4:26 pm

    After seeing this all that quickly came to mind was that Charmin’ commercial with the bears going behind a tree with the TP hanging on a limb. Seriously? Love the look but not for me with no toilee!

  • Brian
    October 11, 2014, 5:18 pm

    At first sight I said Weeeee, a design I liked. Than I noticed the Wee house has no Wee house which for $60k is a Wee bit expensive. Their website have many options listed for the Wee house but a Wee house is not mentioned. This is a Wee bit unfortunate as they wont sell many Wee houses without a Wee house. Thanks for sharing. Cheers from Australia

  • Nicole
    October 11, 2014, 6:30 pm

    sixty THOUSAND??

  • Jeremy
    November 26, 2014, 12:40 pm

    I’ve always loved this house as it was probably the single most influential dwelling that got me interested in small houses. From a practical standpoint I would add a washroom, but I love this house.

  • rusty
    November 26, 2014, 12:54 pm

    It is a nice box ! I like that it’d be a nice place to hang out in with the fire going and so on . I’m sure some design flaws to us aren’t a problem for the owner . I like it .

  • Hans @ Qberry Farm
    November 27, 2014, 3:00 am

    I think they wasted the space that could have been used for shower and toilet on the front deck. With this design just open the sliding glass and the whole building is a deck.
    To prevent radiant heat loss at night I would put a reflective role up on each side.

  • LK
    November 27, 2014, 8:10 am

    Love the house, love the furniture, need inside toilet since bladder, eye sight, & memory might fail on the restroom hike. As a person who has difficulty with some home decor that is distracting (what is comforting to many is a problem – I have a problem focusing) I love clean lines and see great beauty in it. However, when I visit homes that have more in the way of decor, I also find that beautiful. I just know that I cannt live with it.

    The home looked lonely to me at first, but then I saw the home surrounded by snow, and wow – how beautiful. I appreciate the ideas that I find on this website – some are for me, some are not – but I am grateful on this Thanksgiving day for those who share their homes. As Gary said, a lot of great ideas in this home.

  • Dick
    February 7, 2015, 5:26 pm

    I love it, I’d buy three, one for kitchen/living, two for bedrooms, connect them with skywalks and place them at beach or lakefront property.

  • kristina nadreau
    October 30, 2015, 4:56 pm

    This house was years years ago on a pricey piece of property. It was the beginning of the “wee house” designs. they used SIPs which should have been cheap. I love the location and glass. The interior design sucks, because there is none. No bath or closets, no water in kitchen…… This is a shoebox with 2 beds. Apparently it was unique at the time it was conceived and built. Compared to the beautifully designed and crafted Tiny and Small houses we see now, this is a complete loss. She could easily add water by drilling a well and a septic. How about going all out and getting some electricity???? Solar if the cost of running lines in the country is too great…. some interior design which included a bath and storage, and even comfortable seating is possible. I wonder if the woman still lives in it like this. These pictures were taken in 2003, when it was new.

  • Susanne
    October 30, 2015, 7:26 pm

    Yeah after adding everything Kristina just mentioned it’s how much beyond $60,000?!? Not including the land. This isn’t saving money. Expensive as a regular home but lacking the footage.

  • Rich
    November 1, 2015, 12:30 am

    When I first saw this “weehouse” years ago I thought it was decent and simple but by now I would think that the architect/builders would have offered up some improvements to make it more livable and a better value. Here are my suggestions: put a wet bath where the single loft bed and the closet are located; replace the double bed w/a small kitchenette next to the wet bath (with shared plumbing); line the opposite end wall with one or two “murphy” beds. Reduce the glass wall to one, 8ft wide (triple glazed) flanked by 2 closets facing South. Voila! You might even be able to reduce its cost. See tumbleweed’s Mica or Jay Shafer’s original z-glass model for more ideas.

  • AVD
    March 4, 2016, 7:32 pm

    If you click on the architect’s link in the article you can see more pictures. One shows the prefab unit being delivered on a flatbed trailer to the construction site. There is ample room left on the truck bed to accommodate a longer unit that would have easily been sufficient to include a 3-fixture bathroom and other amenities. One-off prefabs are still relatively expensive, but the unit-price drops if the design goes into full production and multi-units are fabricated. The crane capacity may be the other limiting factor. But the crane in the photo looks like it was capable of lifting and placing a unit that would have been 10-12 feet longer.

  • Laura
    March 4, 2016, 10:42 pm

    For 60k there should be a great bathroom & sauna.

  • María Cristina Negrón Martínez
    July 31, 2016, 6:39 pm

    I like very much the architecture, but it´s very expensive and…with no bathroom inside! Can´t understand that.

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