Tiny Houses

Orme tiny house stands up to Ontario's winters

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The Orme features a Shou Sugi Ban-treated exterior, which is the Japanese method of charring wood to preserve it
Minimaliste
It was awkward to fit a TV into the Orme's living room because of the generous glazing, so Minimaliste installed a projector instead
Minimaliste
The Orme features a maple ply interior with black accenting and a cork floor
Minimaliste
The Orme's bedroom is located above the living room and is accessed by storage-integrated staircase
Minimaliste
The Orme's interior has a total floorspace of 255 sq ft (23.7 sq m)
Minimaliste
The Orme's living room is light-filled thanks to generous glazing
Minimaliste
The Orme's bathroom is compact but full-featured
Minimaliste
The Orme features a maple ply interior with black accenting and a cork floor
Minimaliste
The Orme measures 30 x 8.5 ft (9.1 x 2.5 m)
Minimaliste
The Orme features a Shou Sugi Ban-treated exterior, which is the Japanese method of charring wood to preserve it
Minimaliste
The Orme's bathroom includes a composting toilet, shower, and sink
Minimaliste
The Orme's bathroom includes a washer/dryer
Minimaliste
The Orme's shower
Minimaliste
The Orme's secondary loft is reached by removable ladder
Minimaliste
View from the Orme's secondary loft, which is used for storage
Minimaliste
The Orme's main bedroom includes some storage space
Minimaliste
Top-down view of the Orme's kitchen area
Minimaliste
View gallery - 16 images

Canadian firm Minimaliste ensures that all of its tiny houses are equipped to handle extremes in temperature, whether hot or cold. Its latest model, the Orme, is no exception and serves as a compact home on wheels for a couple in Ontario, Canada.

The Orme measures 30 x 8.5 ft (9.1 x 2.5 m) and is based on a triple-axle trailer, with a Shou Sugi Ban-treated cedar exterior, which is the Japanese method of charring wood to preserve it that lends it such a distinctive appearance. It was built using SIPs (structurally insulated panels), which are combined with a high level of airtightness to enable it to perform well in the heat and cold, much like a passive house.

The home's interior has a total floorspace of 255 sq ft (23.7 sq m) and looks a little different to previous Minimaliste homes as its decor was chosen by the owner. It features a maple ply interior with black accenting and a cork floor. Visitors enter into the living room, which has generous glazing – so much so that fitting a TV would have been awkward, so Minimaliste opted to install a pull-down projector instead.

The Orme's bedroom is located above the living room and is accessed by storage-integrated staircase
Minimaliste

Nearby is the kitchen. This includes a large countertop with a sink, folding table, an oven with three-burner propane-powered stove, a pull-out pantry, and a fridge. The adjacent storage-integrated staircase has a large closet and hosts a propane-powered heating system. There is an air-conditioning system in the home too, as well as a ceiling fan.

Elsewhere on the ground floor is the bathroom, which is accessed by sliding door. This looks quite small but squeezes in a washer/dryer, vanity sink, shower, and a composting toilet (the home is also configured so that a flushing toilet can be easily swapped in if preferred).

Top-down view of the Orme's kitchen area
Minimaliste

There are two loft areas in the Orme. The main bedroom is situated above the living room and accessed by the storage-integrated staircase. It has some cabinets and enough space for a queen-sized bed, and is a standard tiny house style bedroom loft with a low ceiling. An operable window is installed and meant to serve as an emergency escape route in case of fire.

The secondary loft is located above the bathroom. This is used as a storage space by its current owners but could serve as a bedroom too and is accessed by a removable ladder.

The Orme starts at CAD 118,500 (roughly US$89,000).

Source: Minimaliste

View gallery - 16 images
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4 comments
roddy6667
Hundreds of thousands of mobile homes do just fine in the winters in the northern US, Canada, and Alaska. This is just another mobile home.
DavidB
“just another mobile home”?

Well, a tiny house that can be moved on integrated wheels definitely fits the definition of a mobile home. That fact has no bearing on whether this one is or isn’t better insulated than other mobile homes. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I’ll take the builder’s and author’s word for it.

I think the house is quite beautiful, inside and out.
Username
Beautiful or not, well insulated or not, a "tiny house" is a trailer.
Bob Stuart
"Ontario" is a poor rating for winter - it's latitude overlaps both California's and Alaska's.