Japanese retailer Muji has entered the small living scene with a tiny new hut. Featuring an attractive minimalist design, the Muji Hut is about as basic as it gets, but could suit those looking for a simple cabin in the woods, a home office, or guest accommodation.
The Muji Hut has a total floorspace of 9.1 sq m (97 sq ft) inside, but there's also a small porch area that adds another 3 sq m (32 sq ft) of space. The exterior is Shou Sugi Ban-treated cedar.
We've written about Shou Sugi Ban quite a lot lately, which is a centuries-old Japanese technique of charring wood to preserve it. It used to be rather exotic in the small living movement but is now proving quite popular and a few recent examples of tiny houses that make use of Shou Sugi Ban include Escape's One, Alpine Tiny Homes' Tiny Giant, and the Greenmoxie.
The interior is clad in unfinished Japanese cypress plywood and insulation is polystyrene foam, which seems to be installed in the ceiling only. The windows are also only single pane, so the Muji Hut doesn't look suited to harsh climates at all. The hut also requires reinforced concrete foundations and there's no power or plumbing installed.
The interior is very simple and comprises just one room, ready for owners to add as much or little as they need. It could be furnished with a bed and wood-burning stove (as pictured) and handy types would likely be able to install a small kitchenette, portable toilet, and solar panels without issue. It's probably never going to match up to more fully featured options, like the Vista Sport. However, it's not really meant to.
"Who hasn't dreamed of living somewhere they really want to be?" says the promotional material. "The tools to make that dream a reality are now available. It's not as dramatic as owning a house or a vacation home, but it's not as basic as going on a trip."
The Muji Hut will be available from Q3 this year, for ¥3,000,000 (roughly US$27,000), including construction. For now, shipping is restricted to Japan only.
Source: Muji
