What if you could get into the whole tiny living phenomenon but not ditch the comfort or even the luxury features you’re accustomed to from your home? Such a feat is possible and doesn’t necessarily have to involve a specialist builder, as long as you have the money and the skill to do it yourself.
DIY (do it yourself) builds are mostly about cutting costs and adding a more personal touch to the project, regardless of its nature. With this tiny house, the focus was exclusively on the latter: the owner, who is also the designer and the builder of the home, wanted to create the perfect weekend home that could also work for his organic agriculture interests, and that would become, in time, a permanent residence.
Whereas most tiny house dwellers turn to DIY to stick to a limited budget, Cem’s was apparently sky-high. His tiny, which is sat on a 9-meter (29.5-foot) double-axle trailer but is built more to park model sizing, is not only very big but incredibly fancy. Push the captions button in the video available at the bottom of the page and, with some tolerance to the paid content included in the tour, see just how focused the tiny is on integrating technology.
If the styling and the design fail to impress, this is one thing that stands out: the way it uses technology to allow for a lifestyle more connected to nature. It sounds like a paradox, but the way Cem explains it, technology makes life better for everyone, including Mother Nature. For instance, Cem uses a Sanihydro water treatment system for the wastewater, so part of it is reused in the garden.
Photo: Daire
The surveillance system shames a regular home’s plain-ol’ Ring doorcam, with 2 interior cameras and 4 exterior ones, 2 of which are trained on the vegetables, so he knows when and if they need watering. Motion sensors are located all around the premises and they’re rigged to a few sprinklers, so if there’s a trespasser on the property, whether inside the home or out in the garden, they get visual, audio, and water warnings. To put it differently, they get a soaking as discouragement.
The layout is of a 2-loft tiny, but with standing height in both lofts because Cem made sure the ceiling was 1.95 meters (6.3 feet) high across both levels. The house is actually built around the kitchen, a large area with a center island and breakfast bar, residential-sized appliances, and a dehydrating rack for fruit and vegetables that hangs from the 3.5-meter (11.4-foot) high ceiling.
To the right is a sitting area with enough room for 6 people and a sofa that can convert into a bed or be rolled away easily to vacate the space. The parents’ bedroom is over this lounge, and large enough to resemble what you’d find in a standard home; there’s even a 3-door wardrobe in there, as well as a reading nook by the wall, with excellent views outside thanks to wraparound glazing.
Photo: Daire
The other loft is the kids’ bedroom and includes a custom bunk bed under the huge skylight, a desk for two, and plenty of room to move about and play. Both lofts are accessible by means of storage-integrating stairs, so there’s plenty of that, for when Cem decides he and the fam should move there for the long run.
The bathroom is at the foot of the stairs of the kids’ bedroom, hidden behind a full-length mirror that’s actually a pocket door. Replicating the feel of a proper home, it features ceramic tiling and a heated stone floor – after all, this tiny won’t be going anywhere anytime soon, so weight wasn’t that pressing an issue.
As beautiful as the interior is, the outdoor spaces are even more so. The thing about tiny living is that it encourages people to spend more time outside under the open sky; this particular unit is a luxury home, but that still holds true. There’s a deck that sits on the same trailer chassis as the house, so it’s big enough to hold two separate dining areas. The smaller one doubles as an entertainment space, with a large TV popping out of one of the flower pots (and staying dry and safe when the weather turns), and a custom propane firepit.
Photo: Daire
Beyond the deck is Cem’s garden, where you can find anything from eggplant to kale. It’s not the kind of garden you could get lost in walking, since the tiny sits on a piece of land that’s just 500 square meters, but it’s well organized and, from what he’s saying, quite fruitful.
Even if you’re not into downsizing or tiny living, and you’re simply here to window shop, Cem’s tiny in Urla, Turkey, is a true treat for the eyes. Don’t take our word for it, though.
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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