thevalleydreams

This is a new version of an old design I made back in 2019. The web based software I use has developed a lot since then and has lots more features now. I will probably be remaking other old designs of mine later on, it was really fun.

This cabin is designed to be an off grid cabin with solar power, situated in some beautiful spot with nature all around.

I finished this tiny house design in October last year, but forgot about posting it here. This layout is based on a house located not far from where I live. It was for sale two years ago and I went on a viewing to get feel of the house. The floor to ceiling windows on both sides created lots of natural light and a sense of space making it seem a lot bigger inside.

Here's my latest project - a small home for those that don’t want to compromise too much on space when downshifting. It is actually a redesign of an older floor plan I made, this time slightly larger to fit a second bedroom and with a somewhat changed floorplan. This version is designed for a family of three.

When I was in the middle of the design process I realised that the web based software I use (HomeByMe) had made significant improvements like customizable kitchen cabinets, curtains and beds since my last project. I pretty much started over with the interior design scheme when I discovered this and the new options made such a difference for the overall result. I am excited about going over some of my old designs and remaking them with these new features.

The open kitchen and living area has large windows to open up the house to its surroundings. The kitchen and dining area is quite spacious for a small house.

The living area features a closet and two built in sofas with built in storage underneath. The sofas are made to standard single bed measurements and can also double as guest beds.

The master bedroom fits a king sized bed and a roomy closet. There are sliding doors to the back patio.

The smaller bedroom is perfect for 1-2 younger children or as a home office. The room fits a single sized bed or bunk bed. I opted for a loft bed with desk space underneath to optimize the space for this version of the house.

The bathroom is spacious and has room for stackable washer and dryer in addition to a normal sized bathtub.

Outside there is decking running along the side of the house to the back where there is a covered patio with a lounge area and a dining table.

This is a slight remake of one of my older tiny house designs. I had a lot of fun with this one, trying out a more feminine style with pastel colors this time.

The house is 29 square meters (312 sqft) and features a full size kitchen combined living area, two closets, a bedroom and a bathroom. 

The built in sofa has storage underneath and doubles as a guest bed. Adjacent to the kitchen there is a spacious closet that could be used as a pantry or storage.

The bedroom fits a queen sized bed, a small dresser and has a built in closet. There are large double doors that open up to the patio on the back of the house.

There is a combined washer/dryer and a good sized shower in the bathroom. The water heater is hidden behind a cabinet.

After a long hiatus I’ve finally taken the time to finish my latest house design. It’s based on a prefab modular building. These can be bought cheaply here in Sweden and are often used on build sites for workers. They come in many sizes ranging from about 15-40 m2. This one is 31 m2.

For this design I also made an glassed in patio, which is an additional living/dining area (not included in the 31 m2). As always, I’ve tried to incorporate lots of storage in the floor plan. There’s a closet in the bedroom and a smaller one next to the entrance.

The main living area has a kitchen with an integrated small fridge, kitchen table, sofa and space for a combined desk/bookshelf.

The bedroom fits a queen sized bed, dresser and has an integrated closet.

The bathroom is quite large for the size of the house. There is an enclosed space for the water heater and a worktop on top of the washer for folding laundry.

The patio could be used as an additional living room, dining area for family gatherings, art studio etc.

So it’s been a while since my last post and my last tiny house design on the blog. There have been a few reasons for this and I thought I would share with anyone who’s interested.

First of all, the situation at work has been rather disappointing to be honest. There have been some changes that has affected my work group and me specifically - a close colleague going on extended sick leave, vacancies that need to be filled, a promised pay raise that didn't happen etc. I have actually been questioning if I should move on and try something else, or maybe even change field completely. The thought of studying something like design and/or architecture is quite enticing (but not living on student grants and loans again).

Secondly, me and my partner have been trying to figure out our future together. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, this year I’ve been making great progress figuring out what I want out of my life for me. The thing is, I used to believe that my partner’s dreams of how to live life were my own. I know now that’s not entirely the case. So yeah, there have been some major things to deal with emotionally lately.

Lastly (and this is a positive reason), a lot of my free time has gone into renovating the cabin. I’ve spent several weekends there on my own with Grace painting, doing little improvements here and there, reading, walking in the woods and enjoying the present. It’s definitely my happy place right now and it’s been so healing just being there, surrounded by nature and no one else.

Pictured below is my cabin in the woods, built by my late grandpa. It’s in need of some serious tlc after years of neglect. I simply love having a project and being able to transform it to something better.

Being surrounded by woods, lakes and mountains makes me truly happy.

How I like to spend my Saturday evenings - chilling with Grace in the sofa engrossed by a good book.

I used to enjoy shopping, especially online. I could spend hours upon hours browsing for the perfect items in home decor, furniture, clothing, tech stuff, random things from etsy and more. It was a thrill searching out the best bargains, comparing items and prices from different stores. This was something I did almost daily.

However, I recently realized that shopping and especially endless browsing doesn't have a hold on me anymore. I actually find it mostly boring now! This change has come since I started questioning all of my purchases. Whenever I for some reason I feel like I need something I ask myself a number of questions. Do I really need this? Do I already own something similar? How often will I use this? For how long will this last? This kind of thinking has become more and more natural to me during the past months. Because of this I don't do spontaneous shopping anymore and I don't buy things on a whim or just because it's on sale.

One area I'm still struggling a little with is clothing. I still get the urge to buy new clothes when seeing something particularly nice. What I did to help myself overcome this was to unsubscribe from all news letters that has to do with online shopping. Not constantly being bombarded with offers helps a lot!

My goal is to have a more minimalist lifestyle and to make more conscious choices in life. It’s also important for me to lessen the environmental impact in my day to day life. Shopping less, and being more picky when actually buying things is one step in the right direction.

My latest purchases was a Kindle e-reader and a beach towel from my trip to Aruba. The e-reader will pretty much be the only way I read books from now on and I’ve been using it daily, so it was a great buy. The beach towel will replace an old one that got ruined last summer and will be handy when summer comes.

Here’s another of my tiny house designs. I’m really pleased with how this layout turned out. With this floor plan you get large windows both in the front and the back of the house - perfect for a plot with beautiful views in two directions.

The kitchen and living area is really bright due to the large windows/patio doors. There is a built in closet next to the kitchen cabinets that could be used as a pantry or additional storage.

The bedroom is very spacious and features a large walk in closet and a nook that fits a desk or vanity table. You could opt out of the desk space and have a larger closet instead, depending on your needs.

The bathroom is rather spacious in this tiny home, and fits a bathtub, combined washer drier and cabinets for storage.

This small house is designed for two people living full time. The floor plan is quite versatile due to a small additional room that could be used according to your needs - home office, large closet, etc. With a larger window it could also be used as a guest room.

When you step inside there’s a small entryway where you can fit a shoe cabinet and a clothes hanger.

The kitchen has full sized appliances and is quite big for a tiny house (about the same size as the kitchen in my apartment which is twice the size!).

The living area has two large built in sofas with a separating table combined cabinet. The sofas are made to standard single bed measurements and work as guest beds. There is also built in storage underneath.

The bedroom fits a queen sized bed and has ceiling to floor windows that make the room feel spacious.

Small additional room, here pictured as a closet combined tiny work space.

The bathroom can be entered either from the bedroom or the living area and has room for stackable washer and dryer in addition to a normal sized bathtub.

I put up a goal for myself in December last year - to rid myself of all unnecessary items that I own. The idea of tidying up and getting rid of stuff is nothing new to me, though. When I was a kid I used to clear out my room from old toys and stuff on a regular basis. I have always enjoyed that feeling of relief when getting rid of stuff.

I decided that the best time to start decluttering was when I had time off from work during Christmas and new years. I got started feeling really inspired, and it definitely helped having a clear goal as to why I was decluttering. Envisioning my future life in a tiny house, with no unnecessary items weighing me down made it quite easy for me. It took me 2-3 days going through everything, the closet being my biggest hurdle. In the end I had cleared out about 2/3 of all my clothing (most of which I donated).

To clarify, I currently live in a two bedroom apartment with my boyfriend and our home was by no means overly cluttered before. That made the process easier, of course. Cleaning out a large house you’ve lived in for a long time is a completely different thing, but as long as you are motivated and dedicate some time to it, it is achievable.

My grandpa passed away a few years ago and when he was gone I helped my mother to clear out his house. Him and my grandma had lived there since the 1950's and they were prone to keep pretty much everything. It took several weekends to sift through all of their things. Then last year, me and my brothers took over their old cabin and it was the same thing there. So. Much. Stuff. What I’m trying to say is that decluttering a home is really just a matter of motivation and time. Also, it gets easier the more you do it.

Remember, if you are considering decluttering your home you are already well on your way on overcoming the hardest part - namely changing your mindset and the way you feel about your things. If you are truly ready to let go of things the process of decluttering will be that much easier.

Here are my tips on decluttering your home:

Have a clear goal set - Ask yourself why you are decluttering. What do you want your home to look like when you are done? How do do you want to feel when spending time in your home?

Make sure you are ready - If you have the right mindset before starting, the decluttering process will be that much easier and the results will be better. Overcoming the fear or hesitance of getting rid of stuff is the first step.

Dedicate enough time - It is important that you allow yourself enough time for decluttering. Plan ahead and put it into your schedule. In the end, the days that you spend decluttering will be made up for when your home is clutter free and easier to care for.

Make sub-goals  - If you have a large house and/or lot's of stuff it helps to make sub-goals, for example “this weekend I will clear out the bedroom, next weekend the garage” etc.

Get help - If your home is large and you have a lot of stuff I would recommend getting help from family or friends. The point is not to let someone else sift through your things and decide what you will keep, however there will be lots of lifting and moving things which could be delegated to others. It's also good to have someone who can motivate you if it gets tough.

Question every item - Do I truly need this item? Is this something that I use regularly? Do I want to have this item in my future home? (the one you are creating for yourself by decluttering). The questions can vary depending on the type of item, but the point is to re-evaluate each item and its purpose in your home. Do not keep items just because they have always been there.

This is my newly designed dual container home. It’s made up of two 20 feet containers and has a total area of 31 m2 (333 square feet). It’s the perfect space for 1-2 people looking to live small. There’s a patio/deck both in the front and the back of the house that enable outdoor living to the fullest.

The bedroom allows for a queen sized bed and has a built in closet. There’s additional storage space in the main room.

The kitchen table could be switched for a bar table that would also serve as additional work space in the kitchen for preparing meals. Multi-purpose furniture really helps in a tiny home!

The bathroom is relatively spacious and features a combined washer/dryer, but there is room for separate units to be stacked. The unsightly water heater is hidden behind a custom built cabinet.

What if you turned a 40 feet container into a house? It could look something like this.

The bedroom fits a queen size bed and I even managed to squeeze in a bathtub in the bathroom. The floor plan allows for a decent sized kitchen and a separate closet to store stuff.

Here’s a tiny home designed for 1-2 people. It has a light, airy feel due to large windows and minimalistic interiors. Featuring a custom built sofa with storage underneath that also functions as a guest bed. Gotta love multifunctional furniture in tiny homes.

I always try to incorporate ample room for storage in my tiny house designs and this particular house features two closets - one smaller in the bedroom and a larger one adjacent to the kitchen.