There is no greater freedom than the one that comes with being on the road, but if you don’t like the idea of leaving the comfort of your home behind, you can take it with you. If an RV is not your cup of tea, you could opt a tiny home.
The tiny house movement has been around for quite some time, and its popularity continues to grow steadily. Tiny houses offer independence, the possibility to live off the grid with just the bare necessities but still in plenty of comfort, and the freedom to relocate whenever you want or need to. Tiny houses are homes on wheels, so if you have a car that can tow an RV, you could consider switching to one.
Liberte Tiny Houses from the Netherlands makes custom tiny houses, and its most recent design is quite outstanding. Called the Makatita Tiny Home after its new owner, Willeke Makatita, it’s inspired by Mother Nature for an owner who loves nothing more than to spend time in the great outdoors. The Makatita is made to resemble a leaf, combining the aesthetic of a wooden cabin with industrial design for the finishing touches, while erasing all boundaries with the outside world.
Though sparsely decorated with built-in furniture, which allows for maximum use of space, it’s warm and welcoming. More importantly, it can blend in with nature, while offering shelter and freedom.
The most outstanding feature is the angular, wooden exterior, made even more visually impacting by the open deck area and the expansive glass panels on one side. This is the front of the house, which pretty much erases all barriers with the outdoors, according to designers Gijsbert Schutten and Gijs Coumou: when you’re in the living room area, looking out, you could easily forget you’re inside a tiny house on wheels.
“Those big windows give an unobstructed view of the outside world. You almost forget you’re inside,” Schutten explains to Dwell. Of the angular design, he says: “The shape of the house was inspired by the lines that appear when you carefully fold a leaf. The window shutters give the effect of the way light scatters through the forest.”
Inside, the 182-square-foot living space is lined with pine wood (the same as used on the outside, ThermoWood radiata pine), while the gray vinyl flooring resembles concrete. The angled roofline creates ample space for similarly-angled bookshelves and storage spaces on the ground floor, and a sleeping area above. The ground floor includes a seating area with heating element / stove and firewood storage underneath and a single chair made from a salvaged tree stump. The new owner likes to sit either on the open deck or on the floor, so there was no need to add cluster to an already small living space.
There is, of course, an area designed for meals or work, including a sink and a folding table and chairs, as well as a bathroom with shower, furnished in the same gray vinyl as the floor. Upstairs is the sleeping area with a double twin mattress, accessible by a wall ladder also made of wood (of course).
According to the designers, the owner wanted a home that would reflect her biggest passions, walking, camping and bushcraft. In return, she got a tiny house on wheels that stands out for its simplicity and daring design, excellent use of space and materials that are made to blend in with the great outdoors. It might not be the most luxurious trailer in the world, but at the same time, it’s elegant and practical.
If anything, the Makatita Tiny Home is proof that you don’t have to go big in order to have something nice. Simplicity and what you could call a “return to nature” also pay off – in the right designer hands.
That said, there is no word on how much that Makatita cost. Average prices for tiny homes range from $30,000 to $40,000, but they can cost as much as $180,000 if you go overboard with the design. Anything under $100,000 is still cheaper than a decent RV, so there’s that to factor in when making a decision as well.
Liberte Tiny Houses from the Netherlands makes custom tiny houses, and its most recent design is quite outstanding. Called the Makatita Tiny Home after its new owner, Willeke Makatita, it’s inspired by Mother Nature for an owner who loves nothing more than to spend time in the great outdoors. The Makatita is made to resemble a leaf, combining the aesthetic of a wooden cabin with industrial design for the finishing touches, while erasing all boundaries with the outside world.
Though sparsely decorated with built-in furniture, which allows for maximum use of space, it’s warm and welcoming. More importantly, it can blend in with nature, while offering shelter and freedom.
“Those big windows give an unobstructed view of the outside world. You almost forget you’re inside,” Schutten explains to Dwell. Of the angular design, he says: “The shape of the house was inspired by the lines that appear when you carefully fold a leaf. The window shutters give the effect of the way light scatters through the forest.”
Inside, the 182-square-foot living space is lined with pine wood (the same as used on the outside, ThermoWood radiata pine), while the gray vinyl flooring resembles concrete. The angled roofline creates ample space for similarly-angled bookshelves and storage spaces on the ground floor, and a sleeping area above. The ground floor includes a seating area with heating element / stove and firewood storage underneath and a single chair made from a salvaged tree stump. The new owner likes to sit either on the open deck or on the floor, so there was no need to add cluster to an already small living space.
There is, of course, an area designed for meals or work, including a sink and a folding table and chairs, as well as a bathroom with shower, furnished in the same gray vinyl as the floor. Upstairs is the sleeping area with a double twin mattress, accessible by a wall ladder also made of wood (of course).
If anything, the Makatita Tiny Home is proof that you don’t have to go big in order to have something nice. Simplicity and what you could call a “return to nature” also pay off – in the right designer hands.
That said, there is no word on how much that Makatita cost. Average prices for tiny homes range from $30,000 to $40,000, but they can cost as much as $180,000 if you go overboard with the design. Anything under $100,000 is still cheaper than a decent RV, so there’s that to factor in when making a decision as well.