Furniture giant Ikea has joined forces with Vox Creative to produce a one-off tiny house on wheels. Appropriately named the Ikea Tiny Home Project, the 187-sq-ft (17-sq-m) model is filled with Ikea products and can run off-the-grid thanks to roof-based solar panels.
The Ikea Tiny Home Project was created in a bid to celebrate the tiny house movement and inspire others to live more sustainably, and is a custom version of Escape's Vista Boho XL, which is itself a slightly larger Vista Boho. Notwithstanding the "XL" abbreviation, it's still on the smaller side for a North American tiny house and reaches a modest total length of 25 ft (7.6 m). It's based on a double-axle trailer and is finished in Shou Sugi Ban-treated cedar, which is the Japanese method of charring wood to preserve it.
The interior of the tiny house is arranged on one level. Visitors enter into the kitchen area, which includes an Ikea kitchen unit made from recycled wood and plastic bottles – indeed pretty much all the furniture shown is from Ikea, as you'd expect – as well as a sink, a small fridge, a microwave, and a portable electric cooktop. The living room is situated nearby and contains a sofa with integrated storage and a folding table that serves as both a dining table and an office desk.
The bedroom area is adjacent and hosts a double bed that lifts up to reveal yet more storage underneath. The bedroom also contains other storage space in the shape of a wardrobe, shelving, and hooks. Glazing is generous throughout and the interior is finished in sustainably-sourced white pine.
A small door leads from the kitchen to the bathroom, which looks compact even by tiny house standards, but does squeeze in a shower, sink, and a composting toilet.
The home is kept at a comfortable temperature by a mini-split air-conditioning unit. It runs off-the-grid with a roof-based solar panel setup, though can also be connected to the grid with a standard RV-style hookup if preferred. The lighting is energy-efficient LED lighting, and water-saving low-flow plumbing is installed.
The Ikea Tiny Home Project model shown isn't for sale but if you'd like to recreate it, Escape's Vista Boho XL starts at US$47,550 and you can also check out a virtual tour that Ikea made in collaboration with Vox Creative which shows all of the Ikea furniture used in the build.
Source: Escape
