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Open-Plan, Teeny Tiny Home Packs a Serious Punch With Modular Furniture and Clever Design

This one is for the skilled-of-hand, lover-of-challenges DIY-er looking to get in on the tiny house action, if they haven’t already. It’s an open-plan, rustic-looking but still very modern tiny house that is incredibly small yet still able to offer all the creature comforts of a much larger home.
Rustic but modern tiny house packs a lot of features inside a very compact floorspace 37 photos
Photo: Anna White / anna-white.com (Composite)
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Tiny houses are small by definition, though you’d have trouble believing that if you looked at any of the premium models: with more square footage than a city apartment, deluxe finishes and incredible features, they seem the farthest thing from the concept of downsizing. But that’s a different discussion, one made even less timely by this nugget, a gorgeous, very small yet very well-specced tiny.

You could call this an oldie (but goldie) and you wouldn’t be off the mark: this one is a 2017 build by woodworking specialist slash DIY celebrity, and a pioneer in DIY furniture Anna White. Anna is from Alaska, where there’s always a shortage of cheap, easy-assembly furniture, so back in 2009, she decided to build her own – and teach others how to do it as well.

As the years went by, she progressed to tiny houses, and this is one of her most popular builds. A single look at the photos in the gallery might not tell you why (unless you look really closely), but the video tour available at the bottom of the page will. This tiny is small, sitting on a 24-foot (7.3-meter) double-axle trailer, but it packs absolutely everything you’d need to live in it permanently. Including a guest bedroom, a full kitchen, and even a washer and drier combo.

Rustic but modern tiny house packs a lot of features inside a very compact floorspace
Photo: Anna White / anna-white.com
This one was done on commission, so it’s not road-legal in Alaska without a special permit due to its height of 13 feet (3.9 meters), and that’s because the owner had no plans of traveling with it. The exact dimensions of the house are 24 feet by 8.5 feet by 13 feet (7.3 by 2.5 by 3.9 meters), which means it’s on the smaller side of tinies.

You can tell that the moment you enter inside. In the walkway, you have the kitchen and the bathroom to the right, on a raised platform, and the living room to the left, with a big open space in the middle of the trailer. At first sight, you could mistakenly assume that this tiny is lacking in terms of creature comforts, but this is where Anna’s skills come into play.

The tiny is packed with modular furniture, all of which was done by hand, from scratch, by Anna herself. This means that all spaces have multiple functionalities, which allows the home to be whatever you need it, whenever you need it.

Rustic but modern tiny house packs a lot of features inside a very compact floorspace
Photo: Anna White / anna-white.com
For instance, the shoe bench in the walkway doubles as a step to the kitchen, but is also the third section of the guest bed, which you get by adding it to the L-shaped couch in the living. The two tiny coffee tables also work as cushioned seats, or lap desks, if you use only the lid. The doors on the custom cabinet in the living room are also tables and desks, and can be used in three ways, depending on how many people you’re having over.

The main sleeping area is suspended near the ceiling, at one end of the trailer. Anna opted for an elevator bed, which she made using a garage door mechanism, to avoid using a staircase that would have taken up too much space. Since the bed runs on rails, you can adjust how low it can travel, so you can still use it when you have guests over, creating a bunk bed-type of sleeping area.

The same kind of versatility is apparent in the kitchen and the bathroom, with plenty of surprises hidden from sight. For example, a high cupboard over the coat hook is actually a sliding pantry, and the dividing wall between bathroom and kitchen is also used for storage. A hanging wardrobe sits inside the bathroom, sliding from one end or to the other depending on whether you use the shower or not. When you shower, you slide the closet over the composting toilet, and when you’re done, you roll it back into position in the shower, with the curtain offering protection from moisture.

Rustic but modern tiny house packs a lot of features inside a very compact floorspace
Photo: Anna White / anna-white.com
Anna was able to integrate space for a washer and dryer combo as well, which is a rarity even for larger tiny houses, even today. She did that by putting one section of the kitchen counter on caster wheels, so when you roll it into the bathroom, you gain access to the corner section of the other counter section – which would have been otherwise underused because of its corner position.

This tiny comes with triple-glazed, oversized windows that bathe it in natural light, with all the tanks and the plumbing hidden under the raised floor to ensure they withstand the harsh Alaskan temperatures. Anna doesn’t get into the specifics like the size of the water tanks, but that’s because she’s offering the plans to other DIY-ers looking to build their own tinies.

The same goes for pricing, which will depend on the builder’s choice of materials and appliances. In this particular case, the cost was considerably reduced by building everything by hand, including all the furniture and storage options, the elevator mechanism of the bed, and even the cushions for the sofa.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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