The Baluchon Nano Puts the “Tiny” in “Tiny Home,” Is Gorgeous

Since the early 2000s, when the tiny home movement really started picking up speed, we’ve seen countless variations on the tiny, mobile house. Some are very compact and make this their hottest selling point, while others are more spacious than many apartments you find in crowded city centers. They’re also almost as expensive, but that’s another story.

The bottom line is that, if you really do decide living small is your thing, you can find anything to suit your budget and your exact needs and desires, as long as you’re willing to put in the extra time for research. If your dream mobile home is the most compact, smallest yet still relatively comfortable tiny, Baluchon has you covered.

Baluchon is a builder from France – we discussed its gorgeous Ala Köl in a previous cover story. That one, too, stands out for its diminutive size, as compared to similar tiny homes, but the Nano literally puts the “tiny” in “tiny home.” It is the smallest mobile home to come out of Baluchon and perhaps one of the smallest on the market.

It’s gorgeous nonetheless.

As we noted in the Ala Köl cover story, being chic is something that comes naturally to the French, and not just in terms of styling or fashion. This also applies to tiny homes, which breathe a mixture of rustic with Mediterranean, minimalism, and cozy comforts, even in the tiniest of spaces. This is how the Nano is like, too: at just 3.3 meters (10.8 feet) long, this tiny home away from home sits on a single-axle trailer and can be towed without a special permit. Baluchon mentions a seven-hour training course certification that’s required to tow it.

The first Nano was built in 2019 for a family that wanted a weekend getaway in Rhône-Alpes, southeast France. Baluchon has built several others since, with variations only in terms of exterior and interior finishes and color options; the layout and the main materials have remained unchanged.

The Nano is clad in cedar with aluminum and has a spruce frame. It’s fitted with a Proclimat rain shield and has insulation of cotton, linen, and hemp, while the interior is oak and spruce, with spruce parquet and aluminum railings and the occasional leather touch.

You enter right into the living room, which is also an office, kitchen, and bedroom, as one should expect with a tiny home this… tiny. On the left side is a porthole that adds an extra touch of elegance and, right underneath it, a table with seating for two. It works both as an office and dining table.

On each wall is a small kitchenette and the sofa/bed, respectively. The kitchenette has two hotplates, a small Klarstein refrigerator, a sink with an electric water heater, and even a small countertop. The sofa extends to a two-person bed and comes with thick mattress for a comfortable sleep.

On the right is the bathroom, hidden behind a sliding door. It has a dry closet and a separate shower, and, though incredibly small, it even has some storage space above the toilet. Like with the Ala Köl, Baluchon forgoes the sink in the bathroom to save some space.

Above the sofa, which can “easily” sleep two adults, is another sleeping area, accessible via a wall-mounted iron ladder: a cot for a child, secured with what looks like a fisherman’s net. It’s cramped and cozy, but it comes with a comparatively generous nook for even more storage.

The Nano uses LED lights and Legrand switchgear, and Lunos double-flow CMV and air extractor for ventilation.

“If the size of this house does not necessarily make it a main habitat, it is nonetheless a very comfortable mobile solution for leisure,” Baluchon says of the Nano. And that’s true: it’s too small to be a convenient alternative for longer outings, but it’s just perfect for shorter trips or as an auxiliary module.

The Nano costs €39,500 ($48,176 at today’s exchange rate), including VAT, and ships ready to move in. This is probably where all your built-up enthusiasm fizzles away: like most tiny homes, the Nano is a major investment.