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Scotty the Tiny Packs a Lot of Integrated Storage, Is Made for Long-Term Living

Tiny houses are compact and cute, or very elegant and modern, with multi-functional spaces and interiors that seem to beg you to become a content creator, if only to show them off. The biggest misconception about tinies is that they don’t include enough storage to serve the purpose they were build for.
Scotty the Tiny is a custom mobile home with heaps of integrated storage 39 photos
Photo: Build Tiny (Composite)
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To put it differently, while tiny houses are very appealing to the eye, they hardly seem practical enough for actual living inside – or so say the critics of the tiny living movement. If you get into the whole downsizing thing just to make money off your social media content, then yes, tinies are a viable alternative. But if you’re a regular person looking to live on the road, good luck with trying to find space for all your stuff, even after you’ve downsized.

Again, that’s what the critics are saying. Scotty the Tiny doesn’t have ears, but if it did, it would have heard all these complaints by now, and pointed to itself as the best example to prove the haters wrong. Scotty was delivered as a turnkey, fully-custom build in the spring of 2021, and is a creation by New Zealand-based maker Build Tiny, an important player in this segment of the market, with experience to meet the strangest demands from downsizers.

This time, the number one request from the client was that the tiny integrate plenty of storage. In fact, to make sure they got the right amount of it, the client came up with their own plans – which is to be expected from an architect by profession. The finished house is a product of a collaboration between the Build Tiny in-house designer and the client, and sits on a double-axle trailer from partner Bay Engineering Solutions (BES).

Scotty the Tiny is a custom mobile home with heaps of integrated storage
Photo: Build Tiny
Build Tiny usually uses detachable trailers from BES, but there’s no mention if that’s the case with Scotty too. Scotty is 8 meters (26 feet) long, with standard roadworthy dimensions (2.4 meters wide by 4.2 meters high), and a weight of 3,625 kg, not including the removable items. It gets power from a typical RV-style hookup, but like all the other builds from this maker, could be rigged to be off-grid for extra cash.

Designed for two occupants who have been living in it full-time, Scotty can sleep twice as many people, thanks to its two-loft configuration. It doesn’t have the usual living room slash lounge on the ground floor like most tinies with this layout, but that’s only because it was sacrificed for storage. However, the smaller loft over the bathroom can easily be used for this purpose when there are no guests sleeping over – or even as an office, or a kid’s room.

Many tiny houses will try to impress with a more striking aesthetic or a stranger choice of colors and materials, but Scotty is all about blending in and getting the job done. The house has a steel frame with vinyl cladding, over a lightweight poplar core plywood interior, and while still easily identifiable as a Build Tiny house, it’s not the most visually arresting.

Scotty the Tiny is a custom mobile home with heaps of integrated storage
Photo: Build Tiny
Neither is the interior, though that’s not to say it’s not pleasing to the eye, or inelegant. The kitchen features a beautiful breakfast bar with a live-edge Macrocarpa counter, and plenty of space to move around – and even to integrate a small-load dishwasher, which is a rarity for a tiny this small. Again, plenty of storage is available throughout, with the pantry extending into the steps of the staircase leading up to the main loft, which, in this case, is the master bedroom.

The bathroom is also residential in style and finishes, including a large shower, a composting toilet, a sink with vanity, and and integrated washer and dryer. His and hers wardrobes frame the bathroom entrance, with plenty of drawers underneath. Larger and deeper drawers are available under the small couch in the living area, while the upstairs offers mostly shelving for lighter stuff.

The bed in the main loft is king-size, framed by windows, and with views out of a medium-sized skylight. Most tiny homes don’t have standing height up there, so creative gimmicks like this one are more than appreciated, as they create the impression of a larger space and help with improved airflow. The secondary loft, located over the bathroom and accessible via a removable wooden ladder, is also airy and well-lit, but distinctly smaller.

Scotty the Tiny is a custom mobile home with heaps of integrated storage
Photo: Build Tiny
Scotty the Tiny is not the “perfect” tiny house, because there is no such thing. But it is perfect for the couple that had it built – and just the thing to disprove critics saying that tiny houses are no good for long-term living because they lack proper storage space. Pricing for it was never made public, but a standard Build Tiny project starts at NZD 150,000 (US$93,000 at the current exchange rate) and ends wherever your budget does.

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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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