Houzz Tour: A Tiny House Packed With Style
A couple in Northern California opts for a customized home on wheels with clever design and storage solutions
Julie Sheer
August 11, 2016
Houzz Contributor; journalist with more than two decades of experience as a graphics editor and writer at the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune; outdoor guidebook author; lover of all things outdoors, nature and wildlife. Follow me at https://westcentric.wordpress.com/
Houzz Contributor; journalist with more than two decades of experience as a graphics... More
This tiny house combines the ease of building a model home with the option of avoiding a cookie cutter structure. It’s a customized version of the Loft model from Mint Tiny House, a company near Vancouver that builds microstructures on trailer frames. The owners of this house transported it to La Honda, California, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where it became their full-time residence.
The couple opted for some add-ons to the base model, which brought the price to about $68,000. The company offers five models, ranging from 16 to 34 feet long, and all can be customized. “We work with each client until the floor plan is exactly as they need it to be. No two of our tiny homes are alike,” says Shannon Persse, who cofounded the company with her husband, Brian. Not for everybody — they would be too microscopic for a large family — these tiny domiciles require creative design and imagination for livability in a downsized space.
The couple opted for some add-ons to the base model, which brought the price to about $68,000. The company offers five models, ranging from 16 to 34 feet long, and all can be customized. “We work with each client until the floor plan is exactly as they need it to be. No two of our tiny homes are alike,” says Shannon Persse, who cofounded the company with her husband, Brian. Not for everybody — they would be too microscopic for a large family — these tiny domiciles require creative design and imagination for livability in a downsized space.
Photos by James Alfred Photography
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A young professional couple
Location: La Honda, California
Size: 300 square feet (27.9 square meters); the interior is 23 feet long and about 7 feet wide, and includes a sleeping loft and secondary loft, kitchen, bathroom and living area.
Builder: Mint Tiny House Co.
Dark wood floors and cedar beams, along with pine walls and full-size stainless steel appliances, make the compact living space stylish and functional. Open shelving keeps the kitchen uncluttered; it also has a whitewashed pine backsplash. The wooden bar on the left folds down; the stairs on the right lead to a sleeping loft. After the home was photographed, the owners added stair railings, which the manufacturer recommends.
Kitchen counters and cabinets: Ikea; 30-inch propane range: Unique
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A young professional couple
Location: La Honda, California
Size: 300 square feet (27.9 square meters); the interior is 23 feet long and about 7 feet wide, and includes a sleeping loft and secondary loft, kitchen, bathroom and living area.
Builder: Mint Tiny House Co.
Dark wood floors and cedar beams, along with pine walls and full-size stainless steel appliances, make the compact living space stylish and functional. Open shelving keeps the kitchen uncluttered; it also has a whitewashed pine backsplash. The wooden bar on the left folds down; the stairs on the right lead to a sleeping loft. After the home was photographed, the owners added stair railings, which the manufacturer recommends.
Kitchen counters and cabinets: Ikea; 30-inch propane range: Unique
The exterior siding is Canadian-grown cedar, treated with a dark stain, with painted white trim. French doors and industrial sconces add character to the front of the home. The bump-out on the left side in the photo here is an exterior storage box, which holds a propane on-demand hot-water heater, a 100-gallon fresh-water tank and other items. The box also has electrical outlets.
The home took about eight weeks to build. Persse says the current lead time is about six weeks, since the company has moved to a larger facility and increased production.
The home took about eight weeks to build. Persse says the current lead time is about six weeks, since the company has moved to a larger facility and increased production.
The 30-inch propane range is from Unique, designed for locations without a conventional electric supply. The home’s water is supplied by the 100-gallon tank already mentioned. All of the company’s homes come with 3-inch RV greywater and black-water hookups, which give owners the option of connecting to any septic sewer system onsite. The water is hooked up via a garden hose connection. The Mint builders also install rainwater tanks for off-the-grid locations.
For this home they also put in a solar conduit, and the owners installed solar panels after the home was delivered. “We recommend you have the solar installed locally, as it is much easier to maintain when the specialist is nearby,” Persse says.
For this home they also put in a solar conduit, and the owners installed solar panels after the home was delivered. “We recommend you have the solar installed locally, as it is much easier to maintain when the specialist is nearby,” Persse says.
The accordion window and fold-up wooden bar were add-ons the owners opted for. Another bar is just outside the window, and it is removable instead of folding up. The couple has since added a deck so guests can sit outside at the bar. An electric wall heater is below the bar.
The table-bar in the living area is folded up when not in use.
At the end of the table, a Cubic mini wood-burning stove is mounted on the wall. Just beyond that is a sliding barn door that opens to the bathroom-laundry area.
A window seat that becomes a desk is an example of a clever small-space solution. “When people are moving to such a smaller space, they need to really work with the small space so that it fits with their lifestyle needs,” Persse says. The cushioned bench seat provides storage and seating.
A mirror folds down to turn the bench into a desk.
Stairs with oak butcher block treads lead to the sleeping loft. The owners have since added railings to the stairs and the loft.
The sleeping loft is 10 feet long and about 7 feet wide.
The space fits a queen-size bed, and storage boxes sit next to the mattress. Upper-level windows add light. The owners use a second loft on the other side of the house as a reading area.
Whitewashed pine walls, a beamed ceiling and a double vanity inject character into the bathroom.
Vanity: Godmorgon/Odensvik, Ikea; faucets: Moen; composting toilet: Envirolet
Vanity: Godmorgon/Odensvik, Ikea; faucets: Moen; composting toilet: Envirolet
A space-saving combination washer-dryer resides in the bathroom. This version is from Midea; Presse says they’ve also begun offering an LG version.
More: Could You Live in a Tiny House?
More: Could You Live in a Tiny House?
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I think tiny houses are as cute as a bug, but RVs are so much better designed and more comfortable for living, I can't imagine why this craze has taken off.
Cheaper cost too build/own one compared to owning an RV. With an RV there's always maintenance costs to the mechanical parts not the same with a tiny home.
If you purchased land, you can expand these tiny homes with the money you have saved over the years accessing "Off the Grid" appliances or Solar Panels. Ninety-five percent completed in creating my storage container plan, definitely have a big dream in owning/building one in 10 yrs.
Mike C..how much room do you think you'll need for battery storage? Do you think the technology might evolve in that time to make that less of a space hog?