We've previously written about how France's relatively strict towing laws mean tiny houses in the country must be much lighter than those in North America, naturally resulting in smaller homes. Despite these restrictions, Baluchon managed to build a tiny house that serves as home to a family of three, and can even sleep double that, at a squeeze.
The Valhalla measures 6 m (19.6 ft) long and is based on a double-axle trailer. It's clad in red cedar with white accenting, and its three porthole-style windows lend it a distinctive look that helps it stand out from Baluchon's considerable back catalog of similarly-sized tiny houses.
Inside, the home is finished in spruce wood. Visitors enter into the kitchen area, which includes cabinets, a microwave, two-burner propane-powered stove, fridge, and sink.
A nearby door provides access to a small bathroom with a shower and toilet. However, there's no sink in there, so people will have to use the kitchen sink after nature has called. This obviously isn't ideal, and it's a shame the firm couldn't shoehorn in one of the tiny sinks that Minimaliste installed in the Eucalyptus.
Elsewhere on the Valhalla's first floor lies a small room separated from the main living space by curtains. Given its proportions, you could be forgiven for mistaking it for storage space, but it currently serves as a child's bedroom. Indeed, Baluchon says it can comfortably host two child-sized beds, or one double bed.
Next to this is a desk. The owners must climb atop it and then onto some floating stairs to access the main bedroom, which is a typical loft-style bedroom with a double bed.
A few storage-integrated steps lead up to the raised living room, which has a sofa, table, and some shelving. Baluchon rates the Valhalla's maximum capacity as six, presumably including a sofa bed – though this does seem like a bit too much of a squeeze to us, except perhaps for guests staying over for short visits.
The Valhalla gets power from a standard RV-style hookup, and its insulation consists of sheep's wool for the floor, cotton, linen and hemp in the walls, and wood fiber in the ceiling. We've no word on its cost, but those interested can get in touch with the firm.
Source: Baluchon (in French)
The only compelling reason to be interested in one is if you are already homeless. As indeed, much of America's middle class found themselves as the 1percent sent all their jobs to the third world.