Quirky, Colorful Mogote Tiny Proves That Simple Is Best

Downsizing is about cutting down your carbon footprint and your monthly expenses, about living without a 30-year mortgage hanging over your head, about being able to travel more, and about living intentionally, uncluttered by material possessions. It represents a healthier, less stressful, and more "present" life, of the kind that's not possible in the city or the suburbs.

Downsizing is Mogote, one of the most striking and cutest builds from the French company Baluchon. Though much virtual ink has been spilled on tiny houses and other types of alternative/mobile houses and the countless builders who present them to the world, few other tiny house builders enjoy the solid reputation of Baluchon.

All Baluchon units focus on sustainability and not just through a more compact footprint. They integrate responsibly sourced or natural materials, they favor a more rustic aesthetic with untreated wood sidings, and they employ multi-functionality to offer the basic creature comforts in a much smaller space.

Baluchon units are also very cute and, because of it, instantly recognizable.

Another highlight of Baluchon units is their distinctive styling, which sees natural shades of wood mixed with colorfully-painted metal panels, as is the case with the neutral and turquoise Mogote. This shade of turquoise is actually a favorite with Baluchon, together with brown red and a very warm shade of dark green.

It's also what gives Mogote its playful personality, as it extends inside through accent pieces like disparate items of furniture, a pillow or two, or a blanket. Mogote isn't a large tiny house like those popular in the U.S., New Zealand, or Australia, but it's perfectly capable of being a home for a small family. That said, it was created as a turnkey build for a single occupant and is now located in the Nantes vineyards in the West of France.

Sitting on a dual-axle 6-meter custom trailer, Mogote uses a single-loft layout to offer all the features of a home but scaled down to size. The ground floor holds the living room, a dining area, a nice kitchen, and a compact bathroom while sleeping and storage are upstairs. In total but on an occasional basis, Mogote could sleep four people, but it's ideal for two on a permanent basis.

The framework is spruce, with red cedar cladding and aluminum panels painted turquoise for the exterior. The interior is oak and spruce, with solid Landes pine for the floors and a range of appliances of the customer's choice. They include a Sauter two-burner cooktop, a small Klarstein refrigerator integrated into the kitchen block, and a De Dietrich electric water heater.

Insulation is all-natural, like in all the other Baluchon builds, with cotton, linen, and hemp for the floor and the walls. Baluchon doesn't mention a source for heating up the place, so we reckon that one was a later addition by the client.

Aside from the distinctive styling, what sets the Mogote apart from other builds is the minimalist yet highly functional interior. The living room is centered on an extendable sofa by a large picture window, so it doubles as the perfect reading or relaxation nook. In the case of overnight guests, it becomes a guest bedroom.

The kitchen is located on one side of the trailer, with the opposite one reserved for a dining table for three. At the end of the trailer is the bathroom, which, surprisingly enough, comes with a traditional door instead of the pocket, sliding variant. In here, you'll find a small shower and an even smaller sink sitting on a custom wardrobe and a composting toilet to further reduce reliance on the grid and waste of water.

The bedroom loft is accessible by means of a standard ladder, so here's to hoping you're not afraid of heights.

The landing platform doubles as a storage shelf, and a most elegant one, at it. It then extends into the bedroom area, where there's a queen-size mattress with another large window instead of a headboard. The surprise here is that the "entrance" into the bedroom is flanked by bookcases that could double as additional storage under different ownership, where the new owner wouldn't be as interested in reading paper books.

Like all the other Baluchon tinies we discussed, and as is standard practice with most custom or turnkey projects, Mogote doesn't come with a price tag. But the builder does say that a turnkey project will range between €85,000 and €100,000 ($92,500-$108,700 at the current exchange rate). A shell is obviously much cheaper, starting at €25,000 ($27,200), but you have to style and furnish it yourself.