Tiny houses are awesome examples of how you can pack the most functionality within a very compact space, while still retaining a clean aesthetic. But even with this kind of multi-functionality, most tinies offer very little in terms of storage – a bummer, if you’re considering full-time living.
Put it differently, tiny houses are neat little mobile homes with many of the creature comforts of a proper home, but when it comes to the storage space you need in a permanent residence, they come up short. You can live comfortably inside a tiny for a while, but you have to make serious compromises if you wish to go year-round in one.
At least, that’s the misconception regarding tiny houses, one that Nugget aims to shatter. Nugget is a turnkey, fully-custom tiny house from New Zealand-based builder Build Tiny, and it lives up to the name, in that it packs lots of value inside a very compact footprint. It’s the very exemplification of how you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover or, in this particular case, the long-term applicability of a tiny by its small exterior.
Nugget was completed in March 2021, based on a design by Build Tiny and the owner. Personalization is key to downsizing, whether it’s done by means of DIY (do it yourself) work or by a professional builder if the budget allows it, because it enables optimization of space. In this instance, Nugget went big on storage, which is something that you won’t see in the majority of tinies, and which effectively marks it as a viable and very comfortable option for long-term living.
Photo: Build Tiny
Nugget is the little nugget of gold that its name hints at.
Most tinies will offer extra storage options by means of storage-integrating stairs that lead up to the loft, but Nugget, despite its 19.2 square-meter (206.6 square-foot) footprint, doubles that by doubling the number of staircases. The layout is a basic double-loft one, but instead of a removable ladder leading up to the smaller loft, the Nugget uses a secondary staircase – which means countless drawers and cupboards where you can store all your stuff.
Plus, there’s storage throughout the kitchen, in the bathroom (though comparatively little), in the living room area, and in both lofts. There’s even a tool shed accessible from the outside, though we don’t get to see it in the official video presentation, which you will find at the bottom of the page.
Photo: Build Tiny
Sitting on a double-axle trailer from Bay Engineering Solutions (BES), a standard feature for Build Tiny homes, the Nugget is 8 meters long, 2.4 meters wide, and 4 meters high (26.2 x 7.8 x 13.1 feet), so it’s towable without a special permit in most territories. It can sleep three people comfortably, or four in a pinch, if two of them are kids, in the master bedroom and in the smaller loft that serves as lounge slash home office, but occasionally moonlights as a guest room.
The ground floor holds the living room, which is basically an L-shaped couch looking out to the double glass doors, and the dining area that’s a breakfast bar by the bi-folding windows. The kitchen is surprisingly spacious for a tiny, with everything from a large pantry and a residential fridge to a washer and dryer integrated into the furniture and two different, sizable areas for meal prep.
The bathroom is found behind a pocket door and is very compact, with a composting toilet, a small sink with vanity, and a standing shower. This is the one area in the house where you can tell everything’s been cut down to size – downsized, better said. You get the basics, and that’s that.
The main sleeping area features a walkway that allows standing height, but also a wardrobe with extra cabinets. The loft employs the same gimmick to add some height, dropping down into the space below: the window desk comes with a small space where you can hang your legs when working, which is actually a shelf in the living room below. As long as you don’t place any breakables on that shelf, you’ll be just fine.
Photo: Build Tiny
Built with a steel frame, vinyl cladding, and double-glazed aluminum windows, Nugget is finished with lightweight poplar core plywood on the inside, kept natural to create the impression of a much airier, larger space. This is a home not designed to wow with its elegant interiors but with its practicality.
Nugget was delivered with RV-style hookup to the mains for water and electricity, but like all units from this particular builder, it comes pre-wired for solar, should the owners opt to go at least partially off-grid in the future. The price of the build is not mentioned because it’s a custom unit, but standard Nugget starts at NZD 214,000 (US$131,800), while other Build Tiny models start at NZD 150,000, which is approximately US$93,500 at the current exchange rate. You didn’t expect this kind of creativity and versatility to come cheap, did you?
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. Full profile
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