Tiny living should come with compromises and spatial limitations and heavy downsizing because, otherwise, it wouldn't be TINY living in the first place. But here's a home that seems to defy that logic by living surprisingly large, much like a proper two-level home.
Call this a paradox, if you want. It's not really that, so a more accurate description would probably be "tiny house magic" that manifests through very smart design and a layout typical of a park model unit. Dawson is all these things and so much more: a tiny house that feels like an actual brick-and-mortar home, with residential features and a sleeping capacity of up to six people in standing-height rooms.
Dawson is the latest addition to the lineup of Australia-based builder Havenwood Tiny Homes, and it's a certified park model unit. This means that it comes with extra width and height that allow for the integration of all these residential-like features but that, at the same time, considerably limit its mobility.
A park tiny can only be moved with special permits and is not built to travel all the time like the smaller models are. You can't just pack up, hook it up to your truck, and be on your merry way if that's what you feel like doing. That said, a park tiny still has certain advantages over traditional homes, and it can still be moved under special circumstances. It is still a mobile home, whichever way you look at it.
Photo: Havenwood Tiny Homes
The Dawson sits on a triple-axle custom trailer and measures 7.2 meters (23.6 feet) in length, 3 meters (9.8 feet) in width, and 4.6 meters (15 feet) in height. This means that it's wide and tall enough to fit the entire family and an impressive list of features you'd be hard-pressed to find in standard tinies. These range from a high sleeping capacity to considerable headroom in the loft bedrooms and a proper kitchen.
Tiny houses started picking up speed in the early 2000s when they emerged as a viable housing solution to address concerns about climate change. Because they're smaller and don't involve the use of traditional building techniques, tiny houses have a reduced carbon footprint both in the construction phase and during their entire lifecycle. They're also mobile and come with reduced monthly costs, so they've come to be regarded as the perfect package for today's digital nomads, empty-nesters, and travelers.
The boom in demand has also brought about a wider range of options, so family-oriented models have popped up. Park models are ideal for family long-term residency because they offer more space, more features, and something close to resembling private spaces.
Photo: Havenwood Tiny Homes
A tiny like Dawson also brings fancier touches, turning downsizing into a more luxurious lifestyle choice than it was before. These include high-quality finishes, the entire gamut of appliances, and enough room inside the house to move around – whereas space is among the first compromises most tinies will make.
The standard layout for the Dawson, for example, features a large kitchen on the ground floor, with a kitchen island and a floating dining table in front, a lounge on one side, and the bathroom on the other. A single staircase with storage-integrating stairs leads up to the main loft, which then leads to the secondary loft by means of a suspended walkway with safety rails. The Dawson isn't a typical tiny house with dual lofts; it's closest to a home with two separate levels.
Surprisingly, both lofts in the Dawson have standing height and wardrobe space – again, very rare features to find in a tiny house. And they both have plenty of headroom throughout, not just on one side of the bed, thanks to a dropped floor.
Additionally, two more people can sleep on the couch in the ground-floor living room.
Photo: Havenwood Tiny Homes
In keeping with the idea that a park tiny house is the upgraded version of a standard mobile home, the Dawson comes with customization options ranging from the obvious, like colors and hardware for the furniture, to the more functional, like appliances, type of shower, and the layout of the bedrooms.
Every Dawson home is delivered with insulation, waterproof vinyl flooring, RV-style connections to the grid, a composting toilet, a gas hot water system, and some kitchen appliances like a two-burner propane stove, an electric oven, and a recirculating range hood. The standard spec starts at AUD142,800 (US$93,200 at the current exchange rate) and goes as high as your desire for customization.
Photo: Havenwood Tiny Homes
You know the saying, nothing in life is free. For instance, the unit showcased in the short video tour below, which features a dining area in the lounge and lacks wardrobes in the bedrooms, is priced at AUD179,000 (US$117,000). It's comparatively cheaper than many park model U.S.-made units, but it's still priced as a premium product.
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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