Even if a tiny house is not your idea of a perfect family home or a viable solution for a permanent residence, you have to admit there's undeniable appeal to a custom build. If we're talking about a custom unit from a builder like this one, the appeal might just be downright irresistible.
Don't take our word for it, though. In today's landscape, when demand and, subsequently, the production of tiny houses or other types of mobile homes has increased exponentially, the customer is spoiled for choice, both in terms of options and research for that perfect forever – or short-term – home.
Tiny living is not a new thing, even though its insane popularity and exposure are recent. Tiny living goes back to the old Roma wagons, the Vardo, and the housetrucks of yore and first started making waves in the housing sector in the early 2000s. Back then, the focus on sustainability was the main selling point: because tiny houses have a compact living footprint, they come with reduced carbon footprints and, as such, encourage a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
Today, tiny living is about more than doing right by Mother Nature, though that still remains the main attraction for some adopters. The current housing and financial crisis, as well as a certain flexibility in our professional lives (the entire work-from-home phenomenon) turned tiny living into a must-have for the rest.
Photo: Acorn Tiny Homes
The possibility of capitalizing on this errant, seemingly picture-perfect lifestyle is the proverbial cherry on the tiny house-shaped cake.
Even among the countless builders of tiny homes, both professional and DIY-ers, Acorn Tiny Homes stands out. Founded by D’Arcy McNaughton in Ontario, Canada, the company aims to offer "tiny homes as unique as the people who live in them." That's not just marketing, either. McNaughton came up with the idea for the business after he built a tiny for himself and his family, and the popularity it enjoyed showed him there was demand for units like this.
Acorn Tiny Homes has come a very long way from Domek, which is what that first build was called. In between, they've done everything from oversize fully custom units to smaller, production-series models, but the approach hasn't changed: every unit that bears the Acorn Tiny Homes logo is immediately and unmistakably identifiable as an Acorn Tiny Homes build.
Photo: Acorn Tiny Homes
The same goes for The Phoenix, the most recent build named after the legendary bird that rises from its own ashes to live again. The Phoenix is based on a triple-axle trailer and is also a fully custom build, commissioned by an owner who planned to park it on private land.
Whatever oversize tiny homes bring extra in terms of available space and home-like features, they lose in mobility. These tinies usually qualify as park models, which means they require special permits for moving and aren't designed to do so that often. But they can still move if need be, which makes them infinitely more mobile than a brick-and-mortar home.
The Phoenix brings other advantages to the table, in that it's self-sufficient. Photos of the unit show seven solar cells on the roof of the home, but their capacity and whatever autonomy they allow the home isn't specified. Neither is there a mention of other off-grid features, like a composting toilet or water tanks. Hopefully, the builder will fill in the blanks.
Photo: Acorn Tiny Homes
This unit comes with contrasting board and batten and metal siding exterior, and interiors that verge on a more masculine understanding of the term "elegant." Gray wooden walls and floors contrast darker ceilings, also made of wood, with black cabinets with red accents.
As noted above, most Acorn Tiny Homes builds share the same DNA, and you can tell that The Phoenix is part of the family through the attention to detail and the way in which space is utilized and maximized to create a home-like vibe. Materials available online of this project show it unfurnished, but you can already tell this will be a gorgeous home once it's all done up.
More than that, it can be a family home. The Phoenix offers sleeping for four people, two in the main bedroom on the ground floor and two in the loft over the bathroom. It also packs a generously sized kitchen with space for every appliance that makes modern life easier (double sink, large fridge, four-burner stove, and hood extractor, and maybe even a dishwasher) and storage options galore.
Photo: Acorn Tiny Homes
The bathroom is a spa-like one, featuring a full soaking tub, additional storage, a toilet, and a sink with vanity. Whereas most tiny houses will do with just the smallest, teensiest-tiniest closet space for a bathroom, this one goes all out to put in a soaking tub for maximum relaxation. The wider range of options in tiny houses means customers can prioritize to their own liking the things they can or won't do without.
The Phoenix is now on the market for a new parking spot, possibly as a rental. We'll update the story when and if we hear back from the builder on pricing and total living area, but as always, looking costs nothing.
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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