Designs for a Tiny Home
Some day I’d like to have the kind of life where I can drive around the country working and living out of a trailered Tiny House. I love modeling stuff in SketchUp, so I indulged my dreams and designed an ideal tiny house.
The house is design to be 22 feet long, and with a fairly simple envelope: basically, it’s just a big rectangular solid with a rounded “aerodynamic guard” cap bolted on the front. The cap is designed so that the house has a lower amount of drag than an unadorned box when the house is being driven along a highway.
The cap is designed to also swing open on a hinge so that things like bicycles could be stored inside. The cap would lock when in the closed position to provide security for the bikes.
I’ve also designed a Rogue Fitness-like barbell rig that folds out off the back of the house that I could use when I’m not near a Crossfit box.
Off the right side of the house is a patio/pavilion that can fold out when the house is stationary. There’s also a table that can be hung below the right wall’s main window that provides outdoor seating.
The patio, rig, and the front door’s landing stairs all fold up against the side of the house when the house needs to be moved.
I’ve designed the house to be as space efficient as I could on the inside. In the rear of the house, next to the entry door, is the workspace and an eating area. Above that area is a sofa which faces a large television mounted on the backside of the bedroom’s wardrobe. Toward the front of the house is the kitchen, and off that, the bathroom. Above the kitchen and the bathroom is the bedroom. The first and second floors are connected by a branching staircase.
The workspace is designed to have a large desk (large enough for a big iMac). The desk is tucked away underneath one branch of the interior staircase. The table behind it could be used for eating, but it could also be used as more desk space when working.
The bottom trunk of the branching staircase also can be flipped up, revealing a combination washer/dryer for clothes underneath.
The kitchen is designed to have a full-size oven/range and sink. Mounted on the backsplash behind the oven/sink is another flatscreen TV (along with a spice rack that spans the width of the backsplash). Above the backsplash is a a microwave and a cabinet.
Opposite the oven/sink is a wide prep table. Further to the front of the house is a full-sized refrigerator and pantry. The door seen next to the refrigerator leads to the bathroom.
Seen here in a cutaway from the other side of the house is the bathroom. The toilet is tucked away in its own water closet underneath the forward branch of the interior staircase. The shower is 2′6″ by 3′9″. The bathroom’s sink has a fairly wide and deep basin which extends into the shower area, which provides a vanity both above the sink and in the shower. Along the wall (which has been hidden in this view) is a flip up/down bench for seating.
There are two places for watching TV–one in the entertainment area upstairs, and one out on the patio facing the TV on the kitchen’s backsplash.
The house features an extensive shelving unit that rests on the branching staircase, featured in this cutaway of the house. The unit is molded into the staircase, and the doors are all designed to swing freely open in the tight space.
