Tiny Houses

Solar-powered tiny house sleeps a family of five

Solar-powered tiny house sleeps a family of five
La Ventana is clad in white metal and Shou Sugi Ban-treated wood
La Ventana is clad in white metal and Shou Sugi Ban-treated wood
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La Ventana measures 32 ft (9.7 m) long
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La Ventana measures 32 ft (9.7 m) long
La Ventana is clad in white metal and Shou Sugi Ban-treated wood
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La Ventana is clad in white metal and Shou Sugi Ban-treated wood
La Ventana's snug second sleeping loft is reached by ladder
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La Ventana's snug second sleeping loft is reached by ladder
La Ventana's sink includes a removable cutting board
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La Ventana's sink includes a removable cutting board 
La Ventana's primary loft sleeps two children
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La Ventana's primary loft sleeps two children
La Ventana's drop-down dining table
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La Ventana's drop-down dining table 
La Ventana's kitchen includes full-size appliances
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La Ventana's kitchen includes full-size appliances
View towards La Ventana's kitchen area from the master bedroom
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View towards La Ventana's kitchen area from the master bedroom
La Ventana is clad in white metal and Shou Sugi Ban-treated wood accenting
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La Ventana is clad in white metal and Shou Sugi Ban-treated wood accenting
La Ventana measures 32 ft (9.7 m) long
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La Ventana measures 32 ft (9.7 m) long
La Ventana's secondary loft bedroom
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La Ventana's secondary loft bedroom
La Ventana's kitchen includes butcher block countertops
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La Ventana's kitchen includes butcher block countertops
La Ventana comprises a total floorspace of 320 sq ft (29.7 sq m), not including lofts
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La Ventana comprises a total floorspace of 320 sq ft (29.7 sq m), not including lofts
View towards La Ventana's master bedroom
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View towards La Ventana's master bedroom
La Ventana is based on a triple-axle trailer
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La Ventana is based on a triple-axle trailer
La Ventana's floor is bamboo
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La Ventana's floor is bamboo 
La Ventana's bathroom includes a full-size bath
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La Ventana's bathroom includes a full-size bath
La Ventana's bathroom includes a sink
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La Ventana's bathroom includes a sink
View towards La Ventana's master bedroom
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View towards La Ventana's master bedroom
View gallery - 19 images

Utah-based Alpine Tiny Homes recently completed a new tiny house named La Ventana. Measuring 32 ft (9.7 m) long, the towable dwelling includes three bedrooms and serves as home to a family of five. It also runs off-the-grid with a solar power setup.

La Ventana was named on account of its oversized glazing (Ventana is Spanish for window) and is based on a triple-axle trailer measuring 10 ft (3 m) wide, which exceeds the standard towing width for a trailer in the US, so we'd guess it's not intended for regular travel.

The home is clad in white metal, with Shou Sugi Ban (the Japanese method of charring wood to preserve it) wooden accenting. The exterior also sports an outdoor shower.

Inside, there's 320 sq ft (29.7 sq m) of floorspace available, not including the lofts. Visitors enter into the kitchen, which features a full-size fridge and range cooker, as well as a microwave, and storage space. A fold-down dining table is installed for family meals.

La Ventana's drop-down dining table
La Ventana's drop-down dining table 

Next to the kitchen is the ground floor master bedroom used by the parents, which looks quite spacious and has plenty of headroom to stand up – a relatively rare luxury in a tiny house.

However, the home will eventually be rented out and this space will be turned into a living room, as there's no space for one anywhere else. This makes sense as doing without a living room seems like a deal-breaker for many people – perhaps a sofa bed could be installed to maintain the current sleeping capacity, though.

Over on the other side of the ground floor is the bathroom, which boasts a full-size bathtub, toilet, sink, and washer/dryer.

The larger of the two lofts is situated over the master bedroom and reached by a storage-integrated staircase. It serves as bedroom to two kids. The second loft is above the bathroom and looks rather snug. It sleeps one child and is accessed by ladder.

La Ventana gets its electricity from a Humless 1.5kW solar power generator. The home was recently sold for US$80,000.

Source: Alpine Tiny Homes

View gallery - 19 images
3 comments
3 comments
MerlinGuy
A family of five living in 320 square feet. I think the tiny house craze is bordering on child abuse. Why are journalist propagating such insanity? At what point in time do they say, "No we won't report on this anymore. It's just encouraging people to adopt bad behavior."
elnet1
@MerlinGuy, land prices are getting to where anyone making below 100k or two incomes are unable to buy or even afford to rent a home. Look at the surging homeless population and there are some good families and people that just were priced out of the market where they live or work.
I was sent to Japan to train for a job, and thought they were going to put us up in a regular hotel. Instead, due to the duration, they were these little efficiency apartments, smaller than this design. I am 6' 200 lbs, and was apprehensive at first. The kitchen doubled as the entry way, a cubbyhole to put your shoes behind the door and with a washer (only) and a cooktop/fan, a couple of cabinets and a slim refrigerator. There was a toilet/tub/sink, which had a slight heater/fan with timer that doubled as a clothes dryer in that you hung your clothes and turned on the timer and a couple of hours later they were dry. Over the entry/kitchen was a sleeping platform (30" high) or so accessable by ladder, and the living room/tv room boasted a couch with flat screen, which could double as a second room.
I wasn't enthused at first, having come from a 2000 sq ft home, with large backyard, but upon looking at it, it was quite efficient. I could see living in one if I had to work in a city where homes go for 1 million and up. It worked out real nice.
Search youtube for "leo palace" or watch this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwW-ZFLCsiI
S Michael
When there are 5 or 6 millionaires all with big homes with walls. We the little people will be living in these ugly and abusive homes.