Throughout 2019, we've reported on a range of tiny houses. Some are simple homes on wheels, while others boast novel ideas like sliding roofs and elevator beds. Whichever the model though, each one offers an interesting approach to downsizing. Here's our pick of the very best we've seen.
Heidi-Ho
The Heidi-Ho, by Arizona's Scott Cronk, is a cabin on wheels that's in turn based on a pontoon boat. It can be placed on a trailer and towed on the road or travel along the water using its 115 bhp (85 kW) Suzuki engine.
The interior measures 18 x 6.5 ft (5.4 x 2 m) and is split into a kitchen area and a combined living/dining area that can be used as a bedroom thanks to its folding benches. There's also a small toilet inside the Heidi-Ho, but the shower is outside.
Stéphanie
The Stéphanie, by French firm Optinid, is topped by a sliding roof on rails that allows its owners to open up the bedroom to the sky.
Aside from that headline-grabbing feature, the Stéphanie is a fairly basic compact tiny house. Its 20.4 sq m (220 sq ft) interior hosts a living room with a sofa bed for guests, while nearby lies a small kitchenette and a bathroom.
Canada Goose
The Canada Goose, by Canada's Mint Tiny House Company, is a massive 43-ft (13-m)-long tiny house that has a total floorspace of 400 sq ft (37 sq m), making it one of the largest models we've seen this year.
As you'd expect, its interior is spacious. Its ground floor has a kitchen, a living room, and a large bathroom, while there's also a generously-proportioned master bedroom in the gooseneck (raised) part of the trailer. There are two lofts in the Canada Goose, one is used as a bedroom and the other is used for storage.
The Acorn
As the tiny house scene has grown over the years, the average size of the homes has grown with it. However, for those who still like their tiny houses to be, well, tiny, The Acorn, by Backcountry Tiny Homes, should fit the bill.
Measuring just 16 ft (4.8 m) long with its exterior deck, The Acorn has an interior floorspace of 90 sq ft (8.3 sq m). Most of this is taken up by a combined living room, bedroom, and dining area, which includes a sofa bed and folding table. A kitchen and bathroom are adjacent to this space. The Acorn can also run on or off-the-grid for those wanting the freedom to travel.
Noyer
Being based in chilly Canada, it makes sense that Minimaliste builds its homes to withstand extremes in temperature, whether hot or cold. The Noyer is both well-insulated and nearly airtight, meaning that it requires little heating or cooling to maintain a steady temperature, which is the main principle behind the stringent Passive House green building standard.
Its interior consists of a compact kitchen, a spacious raised living room with storage underneath, and a small home office area. The bathroom is nearby and the loft bedroom is reached by a storage-integrated staircase.
Unnamed $15,000 tiny house
Some of the most innovative and interesting tiny houses we cover are those that built by hobbyists, as highlighted by Tyler Bennett. The Canadian engineering graduate built his own tiny house for just $15,000 over several months with the help of family and friends.
The standout feature with this model is its queen-sized elevator-style bed that can be set to different heights, allowing one space to pull double duty as both living room and bedroom. Elsewhere is a kitchen, a large home office, and a bathroom.
Koda Light Float
As its name suggests, the Koda Light Float is essentially a lightweight version of the popular concrete Koda tiny house, with the addition of a floating pontoon base.
Now made from wood instead of concrete, the Estonian-built tiny home measures 25.8 sq m (277 sq ft) and looks relatively spacious and light-filled, with an open plan ground floor containing a living room, kitchen, and bathroom. The single bedroom is upstairs. For those who aren't interested in life on the water, there's also a non-floating version and a much larger extended model too.
First Light Tiny House
The First Light Tiny House is a collaboration between busy New Zealand company Build Tiny and architecture firm First Light. It offers a lot of flexibility, being able to run or off-the-grid, and can be detached from its trailer for permanent installation.
The 7.2-m (23 ft)-long home's interior looks light-filled thanks to its generous glazing and has a living room with a sofa on wheels, a well-proportioned kitchen, and a bathroom with composting toilet on the ground floor. Storage-integrated stairs lead to the sole bedroom.
Barrington Tops Cabin
Australia's Fresh Prince keeps things nice and simple with the Barrington Tops Cabin, which runs off-the-grid and sleeps two.
The interior measures just 14 sq m (150 sq ft) and is all laid-out on one floor. Rather than trying to cram too much in, the firm sensibly installed a combined living and dining space with a bed, dining table, and kitchenette with camping-style stove. Elsewhere is the bathroom, which has a composting toilet.
Koto X Abodu
UK-based design studio Koto collaborated with US home builders Abodu to create a prefabricated non-towable tiny house that can be installed in just two weeks.
Dubbed Koto X Abodu, the 495-sq-ft (46-sq-m) home is envisioned as a single-bedroom residence and can be opened up to the outside with large folding glass doors. Inside, it has an open living and dining space, bathroom with full-sized shower, and a spacious master bedroom. As is the case with most other prefabricated homes, there's lots of options available with this one and it can be outfitted as required.
Be sure to have a look through the gallery for more pics and info on each tiny house listed here.