Tag Archives: tiny cabin

Buster tiny home is your escape from the city into the woodlands

Posted on by

For people like me who have lived in cities all their lives, the idea of having a retreat away from the hustle and bustle is probably part of your dreams. It certainly is mine. It doesn’t need to be a huge place especially since I’m single, so a tiny house in the middle of nature sounds wonderful. While for me it will remain a dream because of where I am, there are emerging designs out there in the world for those who can afford it. If you’re in New Zealand, there’s one that’s particularly interesting.

Designers: Rick Hill (architect), Nikki Adcock (Interior Design)

Buster is located in Matamata, just a couple of hours away from Auckland, New Zealand. You will be able to hear the sound of spring river water flowing around you as you’re surrounded by trees, stones, valleys, and basically the joys of nature. It’s located below the Kaimai Range “amongst ancient native bush and farmland”. It is a tiny home perfect for one person or a couple who want to temporarily or even permanently live in such an area and to have something that is built sustainably and with the environment and your comfort in mind.

Instead of being made from timber, it uses black corrugate as it will last longer and can survive all the different kinds of weather that the area experiences. They also used plywood to bring “a sense of warmth” to the house and is in fact what is also used in the traditional kiwi trampers huts, giving you even more of a local feel but with modern conveniences. It’s a pretty good combination, having a more natural lodging but using sustainable technology and devices to give you comfort and function.

Speaking of sustainability and technology, Buster is powered by GridFree solar panels, or at least enough power for a small fridge, lights, and to charge your smartphone. The idea of a tiny house is also to be minimalist so you should not have that much appliances anyway. The house is oriented to the north so that it will be able to maximize the light during the summer and even during the winter. Water-wise, the freshwater you need comes from the river just behind the cabin while the bathroom uses a Bambaloo composting toilet.

There is a main bedroom with a mezzanine for the extra person to sleep in. In the middle of the cabin is a Roaring Meg wood burner so that you will not freeze if you decide to stay there during the winter. If I would stay in a tiny house like this, I would probably do so during the summer or spring when everything seems to be all bright and perfect. But if you’re used to the cold and want to snuggle up in a tiny house, then this would be perfect for you too.

The post Buster tiny home is your escape from the city into the woodlands first appeared on Yanko Design.

A tiny glass cabin lets you enjoy Finnish nature in warmth and safety

Posted on by

For those who dream of living with nature but worry they might not have the stomach for it, this cabin in Finland might have the perfect answer.

Congested cities, crowded spaces, and COVID-19 may have had some people thinking about escaping to the great outdoors. Even the biggest technophiles will probably admit to being in awe in the face of the splendor of nature. Few, however, might have the heart to really camp out and give up on modern amenities for even just a day. An architectural firm in Finland has thought of the perfect solution, presuming you have no qualms about living in a tiny cabin that has glass for its roof and walls.

Designer: Luauri Solo/Pirinen Salo Oy

The Smart Lucia gives a whole new meaning to “living in a glass house,” though the glass, in this case, is far from the fragile material that the idiom implies. The glass here serves as more than just a safe viewing window into Finland’s majestic greenery. The thermal glass, along with glass and floor heating, will save you from frostbite during the country’s notoriously unforgiving winters. Then again, there might not be much to see during that season anyway, unless you’re the type that does enjoy frozen sceneries.

The glass allows natural light, be it from the sun or stars, to be the main lighting source for the cabin, though artificial lighting is also integrated into the structure’s slim steel structures. This has the combined effect of adding layers of lighting that seem almost magical, especially when the glass acts like a prism to break sunlight into its component colors.

In keeping with Finnish tastes, the Smart Lucia espouses a minimalist design even indoors. But where most houses make the living room or the dining table the centerpiece of the home, the bedroom or rather the bed is the pivotal element inside this tiny house. While the glass house is situated and oriented to capture the best views of nature at that location, you can really enjoy that view only when you’re lying in bed.

Of course, privacy can become an issue with a house that has glass for walls, and there are definitely options to address those concerns. Darkened or mirrored glass is available, but that could affect one’s unmarred view of the outside world. The simplest solution would be to have curtains that cover only the lower half of the house, obscuring only portions of the vista when the need calls for it.

Pirinen Salo Oy’s Smart Lucia is perhaps a dream come true for minimalists looking in search of tiny homes in the heart of nature. It probably won’t be the most efficient tiny home and is unlikely to be accessible to most people, even those living in Finland. Its design and concept, however, do spark the imagination and open up possibilities for enjoying the majesty of nature in a safe, comfortable, and modern but hopefully still environment-friendly environment.

The post A tiny glass cabin lets you enjoy Finnish nature in warmth and safety first appeared on Yanko Design.

This tiny black cabin is built from felled oak trees acquired from a home’s construction waste!

Posted on by

Studio Padron designed and built a tiny cabin entirely from mature felled oak trees acquired from another home’s construction waste.

As the old saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” When it comes to home construction, waste produced during the building process opens the door for more opportunities. While many home builders and architects plan homes around the site’s preexisting trees and landscape, sometimes felling trees can’t be avoided. After finishing work on a new home, Studio Padron, a US-based architecture firm, utilized the felled trees collected during the home’s construction and built a tiny black cabin to function as the home’s standalone library.

Calling the bookworm’s oasis Hemmelig Room, or ‘secret room’ in Norwegian, Studio Padron built the entire tiny cabin from disused mature oak trees that were felled during the main home’s construction. From the outside, Hemmelig Room finds a geometric structure clad in blackened timber. Following the main home’s construction process, the felled oak trees were cut into large, rectangular log sections that were left to dry over several years before building Hemmelig Room.

Inside, the blackened timber reveals the oak tree’s raw, polished form. From top to bottom, Studio Padron outfitted Hemmelig Room’s interior in nonuniform timber panels that merge with cavities to create bookshelves. Besides that, floor-to-ceiling windows bring the quiet space closer to the outdoor landscape. Equipped with a wood-burning stove to keep the space warm year-round, guests can enjoy enough space for a bed, armchair, and writing desk.

Designer: Studio Padron

The post This tiny black cabin is built from felled oak trees acquired from a home’s construction waste! first appeared on Yanko Design.

These Japanese tiny homes feature a honeycomb frame to immerse guests in nature!

Posted on by

2nd Home is a series of tiny homes planned and built by Japanese startup SANU with minimal building material to immerse travelers in the wonder of nature for a quick respite from the hustle of city living.

Ever since quarantine orders were put into place, many of us turned to nature for some respite from the stress brought on by the pandemic. In response, people have escaped city living for some isolation and quietude in tiny homes across the globe.

Out of 517 people living in Tokyo’s metropolitan district, 77% have gone on record to say they’d like to spend more time in nature; getting there is half the journey, we just need a place to stay. Adding to the plethora of tiny homes to have come out in response to pandemic wanderlust, Japanese startup SANU has produced a series of tiny rentable homes called 2nd Home scattered across Japan that cost a monthly fee of ¥50,000 ($441 USD) for interested members.

In planning and constructing the collection of honeycomb timber cabins, SANU ensured a lightweight, replicable design using only a small number of building materials to get the job done. Each 2nd Home cabin is built prefabricated from 100% Japanese cedar and fastened to the site by six piles, which hardly impact the preexisting landscape. Considering the cabin’s easy assembly system, SANU built 2nd Home to be easily dismantled as well, allowing the building materials to be reused for future projects.

Entering 2nd Home from the exterior wooden deck, renters are greeted by an open-plan living room that flows into a cozy alcove kitchen. Setting the tone for the rest of the bedrooms inside the 2nd Home, the small office space and main bedrooms are tucked away in wall recesses that open up the floor space while maintaining a sense of privacy.

Throughout the home, guests can enjoy expansive views of the surrounding nature from the floor-to-ceiling windows that span 2nd Home’s front facade. While 2021 has culminated in a total of five cabins scattered across two locations, reachable from Tokyo in a speedy 1.5-3 hours, SANU hopes to erect 50 cabins across seven sites by the end of 2022.

Designer: ADX/SANU

Alcove bedrooms expand the available floor space while creating a sense of cozy privacy. 

Light and bright design elements completely open up SANU’s 2nd Home interiors. 

The concealing side facades offer guests some privacy from neighbors. 

2nd Home’s front facade feature sweeping, floor-to-ceiling windows to bring guests as close to nature as possible.

The working space is formed by an alcove as well. 

The post These Japanese tiny homes feature a honeycomb frame to immerse guests in nature! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This tiny cabin’s asymmetrical roofline uses a Scandinavian-inspired interior to keep warm during winter

Posted on by

The Luna is a tiny cabin from New Frontier Design that combines modern design elements with rustic appeal for a tiny cabin that’s destined for the winter.

‘Tis the season for tiny cabins. Growing in popularity, tiny cabins are the answer to our wanderlust amidst travel and other pandemic-related restrictions. The season is starting off strong with new tiny cabins that look more picturesque than ever in winter scenes filled with snow, pine trees, and candlelight. The tiny home builders at New Frontier Design Studio have been busy at work with their new tiny cabin, The Luna.

Defined by an asymmetrical roofline, The Luna embraces a geometric, angular profile to complement the natural ruggedness of snow-covered plots of land. Combining rustic energy with modern design, The Luna is clad in matte black, 100-year corrugated steel for a lived-in, yet contemporary look. New Frontier decided against filling up The Luna’s lengthier facades with windows, opting instead for a sweeping, floor-to-ceiling window wall on one end.

Immersed in the winter season’s full glory, the window walls drench The Luna with ample, winter light to bounce off the clean, white walls that line the interior. Walking through The Luna’s entry door, residents are immediately welcomed by a plethora of houseplants and Scandinavian-inspired design elements like white-wash pine wood flooring and minimalist furniture pieces. Just a few steps from the front door, a staircase leads to the main bedroom and doubles as a concealed storage system.

Leading from the cabin’s living room up to the main bedroom, the staircase brings homeowners to the main bedroom, where a king-sized bed awaits. Perched above the open-floor layout, guests of The Luna will enjoy unobstructed views of the surrounding landscape through a skylight and the window walls, where they’ll find the topmost views.

Just below the staircase, black cabinets and drawers provide enough storage space to fill up the cabin’s full kitchen. There, residents will find a full-sized refrigerator, laundry services, deep sink, induction stovetop, and oven. Just beyond the kitchen, the bathroom keeps a spacious shower and every amenity found in full-sized bathrooms.

Designer: New Frontier Design

Defined by an asymmetrical roofline, The Luna sweeping window walls find height through angles and geometric shapes.

Inside, the bright winter light pours in through the window walls.

The staircase’s integrated storage system provides space for kitchen goods while remaining hidden from view.

From the top-level loft, residents enjoy views through the window walls and skylight.

The asymmetrical roofline adds a touch of spatial coziness to the lofted bedroom while the skylight adds some height.

The post This tiny cabin’s asymmetrical roofline uses a Scandinavian-inspired interior to keep warm during winter first appeared on Yanko Design.

This 250sqf tiny cabin modeled after lofty log cabins finds height with a pitched roof and floor-to-ceiling windows!

Posted on by


Road-Haus is a 250sqf tiny cabin scaled down from a larger model designed by Wheelhaus, a tiny home company committed to modular and eco-friendly design practices.

Set on providing the kind of experience he had growing up in log cabins constructed by his father, ​​Jamie McKay developed Wheelhaus. More than a company that designs tiny homes, Wheelhaus remains committed to building modular log cabins with small carbon footprints that offer travelers and residents a true escape into the woods.

Wheelhaus’s current catalog offers nine different log cabin models available in an array of different sizes. The smallest, Road-Haus is a 250sqf adaptation of the company’s most popular tiny cabin that comes with all the perks of the larger Wedge model, without the unneeded space.

Taking the best from the more spacious Wedge model, the Road-Haus fuses elegant design elements with tiny living essentials. Considered crowd favorites by the tiny home company, Wheelhaus adorned Road-Haus with the same pitched roofline and wrap-around clerestory windows found on the Wedge model. From the bottom to the top, Road-Haus residents are immersed in the glory of the woods, with timber flooring that’s mirrored on the tiny home’s ceiling.

Halved by an optic-white-painted chunk that extends from the living room into the kitchen, all the way to the bedroom. Pools of natural light that pour in from the home’s glazed floor-to-ceiling windows dance with the white paint and help brighten the home’s interiors. Following a horizontal floor plan, residents are greeted by the living room from the home’s back deck entrance.

Walking in from the outdoor deck, complete with a protective overhang, residents will find the main bedroom on the opposite end of the home, with the kitchen and bathroom dividing the two living spaces. In the living room, residents can enjoy television or even a fireplace from the full-sized sofa that could double as sleeping arrangements. Then, the full kitchen is complete with lots of storage space and all the amenities of a traditional and modern kitchen.

Designer: Wheelhaus

The post This 250sqf tiny cabin modeled after lofty log cabins finds height with a pitched roof and floor-to-ceiling windows! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This tiny pentagonal cabin boasts of all the modern amenities needed to stay cozy through the holidays!

Posted on by

Cabin A24 is a prefabricated tiny cabin measuring 21-square-meters that comes with all the necessary amenities to enjoy a quick respite amidst the forest’s trees and mountain valleys.

When we’re camping or traveling through forested mountains, there’s always that one cabin in the distance, perched above the valley, all by itself, in its own corner of the world. With tiny homes becoming more and more popular, that sight has become that much more familiar, but each cabin sports its own personality and unique appeal.

DDAA (Dev Desai Architects and Associates), an offshoot from a firm specializing in residential villas and interiors, designed its own line of unique cabins to capture our gaze. The RCA – 03, or Cabin A24 is a prefabricated tiny cabin that keeps a unique pentagonal shape and comes fully furnished with a bathroom, kitchenette, and living space.

Designing Cabin A24, the team behind DDAA hoped to achieve a distinct architectural identity without compromising the tiny home’s household efficiency, amenities, or spatial functionality. Cozy and petite by design, Cabin A24 forms two halves.

One half leaves enough room for a spacious living area, complete with a bedroom and lounge space. From there, the bathroom takes up about two-thirds of the cabin’s second half, which is shared with a small kitchenette, complete with a sink and small stovetop.

The cabin’s floor-to-ceiling glazed window peeks into the bedroom area, where a queen-sized bed and full wardrobe are kept. Splitting the intersection between the bedroom and the bathroom, a kitchenette foyer resides in its own corner that remains separate from the rest of the home.

Right next door to the kitchenette, residents can enjoy all the amenities of a typical bathroom, equipped with a washbasin vanity, toilet, and a shower enclosure. Just beyond the bathroom, DDAA outfitted the home with a service area that keeps, “the condenser unit and the geyser among other service equipment and conduits ensuring a self-sustained cabin unit.”

Lined with walnut wood flooring and clad with a matte finish, the interior of Cabin A24 provides a contemporary and elegant space that is just as cozy as a traditional log cabin in the woods. Envisioned in the woods, the mountains, or along the shore, DDAA outfitted Cabin A24 with a timeless personality that looks good anywhere.

Designer: DDAA (Dev Desai Architects and Associates)

The post This tiny pentagonal cabin boasts of all the modern amenities needed to stay cozy through the holidays! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This tiny cabin floats above the forest’s sloping hills to preserve the natural landscape and preexisting trees!

Posted on by

With its exterior constructed from only one building material, Cabin Moss is a tiny cabin built by Béres Architects located in the woods of Kőszeg, Hungary where it floats above a sloping terrain on a collection of thin stilts.

Some tiny cabin designs try to make up for their small size with ornate interiors and versatile, expanding bedrooms. Then, there are the tiny cabins that let their small size take the spotlight, leaving the interiors at their most elemental and functional. Béres Architects, a firm based in Budapest, recently finished work on Cabin Moss, a tiny home of about 40m2 propped up on a collection of narrow stilts that work to not disrupt the preexisting landscape and lot of trees and plants.

When building Cabin Moss, the architects at Béres would return to the old proverb, “Measure twice, dig once.” Designed by Attila Béres and Attila Hideg, Cabin Moss seems to float atop an area of untouched forest ground, one of many choices made to preserve and respect the natural world that surrounds the cabin.

Describing the home’s stilt-based foundation, the architects at Béres note, “Thin stilts are carefully located so that we could keep and protect the roots of the surrounding trees. No need for any excavation or filling with machines that ruin the natural context. The structural system of the house had been created so that it offers some flexibility for this effort at realization.”

Appearing as if perching from the gradual incline of the hills it rests atop, Cabin Moss forms a cross-section and breaks down into two right angles that face each other, providing some dynamic contrast with the natural sloping landscape.

Forming an irregular shape in its entirety, the shape and location of Cabin Moss were specifically chosen to ensure that tall windows could be placed on both ends of the structure. With only two windows, the expansive glass panes provide a gateway into the outside world, while the lack of windows found on the cabin’s longer facades keeps the majority of the interior cozy with warm, golden light.

In a sweeping effort to remain small from all sides, Béres Architects ensured that Cabin Moss could be constructed from a single material, with no leftovers and no wasted space. Taking their sustainability efforts one step further, Béres Architects also outfitted Cabin Moss with electric elements like heating and hot water, taking the environment’s natural climate into account to equip Cabin Moss with its own microclimate.

Designer: Béres Architects

The post This tiny cabin floats above the forest’s sloping hills to preserve the natural landscape and preexisting trees! first appeared on Yanko Design.

This low-country tiny cottage embraces rustic minimalism for the ideal winter escape in the marshlands!

Posted on by




Low Country is a tiny home located in Lake Glenville, North Carolina that infuses touches of minimalism with rustic outfittings for a luxurious and cozy winter escape.

Tiny homes have become the blueprint for the perfect winter getaway. If you’re planning on hitting the coast for a warm getaway from the cold or escaping to the woods for a cozy, snowy holiday season, tiny homes can be found near and far. While each tiny home plays to its own personality and environment, some cabins fully embrace the storybook setting to bring guests as close to a wintry, fairy tale as they can get. Located in North Carolina, the Low Country Tiny Home built by architect Jeffrey Dungan from Designer Cottages is one such storybook cabin.

Infused with minimalist details and outfitted with rustic charm, the Low Country cottage was inspired by the marshlands of Savannah and Charleston. Born and raised on a farm in Alabama, Low Country architect Jeffrey Dungan understands southern coziness like his own backyard. Citing the tiny home’s bucolic detailing, Dungan asks of Low Country, “What could be more southern than a porch with bracket supports and hand-made details like carved rafter tails at the eaves for good measure?”

The exterior of Low Country appears like a woodland creature’s hideaway with cedar shake shingles and poplar bark siding completing the cottage’s facades and roof. Interrupting the organic look of the cottage’s poplar bark siding, Dungan implemented sweeping floor-to-ceiling and small dormer cross-bar windows.

Painting them a slate gray to merge the unstained poplar bark with the burnt orange cedar shingles, Dungan tied the exterior’s changing facades together. Ensuring warmth during winter months and a cool interior during summer, the windows are clad with energy-efficient Ply Gem® aluminum.

Inside, a large set of double doors provide generous views of the lush summer greenery or snow-covered patio outside. Sweeping from floor to ceiling, the double French doors bring guests into the cottage’s living room area which merges with the kitchen and finally the main bedroom in the back.

Throughout the home’s interior, Dungan lined the floors with tongue and groove 7” oak hardwood panels. From its oakwood flooring to the cottage’s pine ceiling, the natural coziness of Low Country might as well be written on the walls.

Designer: Jeffrey Dungan

Low Country’s interior embraces rustic minimalism for a bucolic winter escape.

During the winter months, Low Country looks like a snowy haven straight out of a fairy tale.

This cabin in the mountain foothills is inspired by the flight patterns and nesting habits of skylarks!

Posted on by

Skylark Cabin, a 50sqm residence located in the foothills of New Zealand’s Ben Ohau mountain range was inspired by the flight and song of skylarks.

We have birds to thank for our best designs. Their songs and nests have tugged our heartstrings for centuries. Often, birds’ natural instinct leads to the most formidable and elaborate nests. In Twizel, New Zealand, skylarks have a particular pull over the town’s residents. Just below Twizel’s Ben Ohau mountain range, skylarks soar and hover above their on-ground nests in the open skies with song and carefully orchestrated flights. In an ode to the skylark’s “distinctive aerial display” New Zealand architect Barry Connor designed the Skylark Cabin.

Following their client’s brief for a simple retreat made from honest materials, it’s no surprise that the skylark’s singing and nesting habits inspired Connor. As birds construct their nests using local materials from as near or far as their wings will take them, Connor used the surrounding landscape to decide Skylark Cabin’s makeup and design.

Similar to the skylark’s grassy, on-ground nest, Skylark Cabin, cloaked in rough sawn larch timber rain-screen, pokes a gently pitched, yet angular roof just above the sloping grasslands. Acclimating to the prairie’s harsh, windy conditions and radical temperature shifts, Skylark Cabin’s rain-screen cladding was chosen for its year-round durability.

Amidst the dark stained exterior, bright burnt orange window frames and beams lead the gaze towards the home’s front facade where they’re, “poised to accommodate the purposefully framed views of the mountains and the stars that throughout the day or night provide interest, perspective, and scale,” as Connor puts it.

Inside, the different windows are also aptly positioned to provide the best views of the skylarks’ skies. Connor built in a skylight just above the main bedroom, bringing views of the protected Mackenzie Aoraki Dark Sky Reserve as well as skylark-ridden daytime skies before the night show.

The skylark’s grassy, on-ground nest is characteristic of Twizel’s prairie lands for its lack of trees. Evoking the feeling of being completely nestled and immersed in Twizel’s grasslands, Connor paneled Skylark Cabin’s interior in light Beech plywood, “[reflecting] the warm cream tones of the exterior and [blurring] the threshold with the tussock grassland [to capture] the feeling of being nestled right in the landscape.” Connor reinforces this primitive inspiration with a sense of protection through black-edged plywood ribbing details that serve to cradle the home’s wild beginnings and beech-soaked interior.

Designer: Barry Connor