Compact luxury dwelling for all climates: A guide to Fritz Tiny Homes

While the tiny home movement has been around for a few years, dozens of new tiny home builders appear every year, with the attention of fueling the market demand for more sustainable, affordable housing.

Enter Kevin and Heather Fritz from Spruce Grove Alberta – they’re the dynamic duo behind Fritz Tiny Homes, a compact high-end dwelling solution to tiny living. Together, they make super tiny living dreams come true while maximizing every inch of space for maximum comfort and any climate. 

These tiny house builders offer two types of builds: Custom and a “spec model” with a fixed floor plan (that can be customized to the client). All their tiny homes are made with metal siding for a maintenance-free exterior. However, they also come with a higher price range. 

Learn the philosophy behind Fritz Tiny Homes living that’s all about pushing the boundaries on how big tiny space living can actually be!

The Macdonald custom build for a retired couple hungry for new adventures

The Macdonald custom tiny house on wheels is a full off-grid home that prides itself in a design created entirely around its clients’ lifestyle. It’s a 32-foot home with a gooseneck that allows for easing towing than the more traditional bumper pull, and features a beautiful living room, full kitchen, luxury bathroom with a soaker tub, full-standing master bedroom that also serves as a home office, custom furniture, and a built-in sound and projector system. 

There are no fenders or wheel wells in this model. Instead, the home’s underfoot holds 100-gallon fresh and gray water tanks that help address some of its challenges like having infloor heating.  

The house has two entrances: One from the back and the second from the front that’s wide enough to serve as a deck and enjoy your morning coffee (or tea). 

The Macdonald custom tiny home on wheels from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A retired advantageous couple plan to travel North America in this tiny home!

The Macdonald custom super tiny home

The Macdonald custom build is truly an inspiration for what retirement and minimalism can look like in a super tiny home.

A living room with a twist – or two

The living room is the first area you enter from the front of the Macdonald. It’s a cozy space with a front “closet”, a blind that comes down and turns into a TV projector, a soundbar that’s cleverly mounted underneath the window stool, and a comfy couch. 

The couch is the best part – while it may look like an ordinary couch at first glance, it actually lifts and becomes a Bunkie that sleeps up to two. It’s formally called the Gemini.

The Macdonald living room

TV projector in living room

The Gemini Bunkie bed

A tiny kitchen with big functionality and optimum cabinetry

The custom kitchen looks small compared to other tiny homes’ kitchens, but that’s it. In reality, it’s a neatly designed area where everything is deliberately tucked in for maximum use of space. We all know how much room kitchen appliances and gadgets can take, but the Fritz family also knows how to creatively and functionally place them in a tiny home. 

Maximizing usable space in the kitchen

For example, the microwave is installed out of the way in a custom storage unit that serves as a divide between the kitchen and bathroom. In another example, the kitchen table is actually a set of two. The second table is tucked in underneath the first, unnoticeable to the naked eye, and can be easily pulled out and used as a coffee table in the living room. 

A closeup of the Macdonald full-functioning kitchen

In addition, there’s lots of prep space around the Furrion cooktop with a hood vent, and even a pantry hidden away brilliantly between the refrigerator and wall for storing spices, oils, and everything else. The custom pantry also features adjustable shelves.

The countertops are a clean wood finish, and while not as durable as quartz or granite, it gives the kitchen the feeling of a high-end home. However, the downside is that it’s best to avoid prepping food on this type of surface as cuts and scrapes can lead to permanent damage. 

Custom storing shelves in the kitchen

A spa-like bathroom with a soaker tub

The bathroom measures about 40-square feet and features a soaker bathtub with a rain shower surrounded by concrete walls. An anti-fog LED backlit mirror overlooks the sink and vanity, close to a heating towel rack. There’s also a full washer and dryer combo. The toilet is urine diverting, designed specifically for small spaces like tiny homes. 

The Macdonald bathroom can easily be mistaken for a washroom in a condo or house! 

Full-service washroom, featuring a heating towel rack and anti-fog mirror

Sink and vanity, with a built-in tap

Soaker bathtub and rain shower

The bathroom is also where one of the two ventilation systems in the Macdonald home is located. The second one can be found in the front hall. Both are used to constantly circulate air throughout the home. 

The Narnia master bedroom

The Macdonald’s master bedroom is bound to stand out purely because it’s situated on top of the gooseneck part of this tiny home, allowing for a larger space. The best part of this room is that it also serves as a home office. One of the closets has a built-in “desk” with built-in drawers, all of which can be pulled out on a needs basis to get that paperwork done.

It also features cool tiny house bed ideas: For example, the headboard is backlit with built-in reading lights on both sides, which can be turned on and off with switches on either side. It’s also equipped with two built-in bedside tables, saving space and money. 

High-quality backlit headboard with reading lights 

It’s not everyday you see two closets side-by-side in a tiny home bedroom. This home has a “his” and “hers” closet, the latter of which is dubbed “The Narnia.” Expanding all the way out into the kitchen area, the Narnia acts as a seasonal storage space for extra towels, winter gear, and all other less needed stuff. It’s not easy to access, but it’s perfect for things you only need on occasion or during a specific time of the year. 

In addition, the numerous built-in drawers beneath the main closets create an endless amount of storage space for accessories and everything else. 

“Hers” closet with “The Narnia” 

It’s worth mentioning that the stairs leading up to the master bedroom have a pull-out drawer on each step, one of which acts as the couple’s kitty litter! 

Stairs leading up to master bedroom, with pull-out drawers

“The gearage” – a spin on the traditional home garage 

The Macdonald tiny home’s residents are avid cyclists, which means they need a space to store their gear and bikes. To meet this need, the Fritz’s created a “gearage” utility room that has two built-in e-bike racks for storing and holding bicycles in place. This space is also the utility room, home to batteries for solar, Growatt inverter, UV and particulate water filtration system, and IBC Combi boiler, which supplies on-demand hot water. 

In particular, the boiler performs the crucial function of acting as the hydronic infloor heating, or the heater for tiny home, keeping it warm during cooler days. 

The Macdonald is also equipped with a full autonomous solar and mini split-air conditioning system for tiny house insulation. 

Be prepared that the cost of a Fritz tiny home ranges between $185,000 to $275,000 (CAD), plus an additional $20,000 (CAD) if you’re looking for an off-grid tiny home package. The design period typically lasts between two and four weeks, with three to four months on top of this for the actual build time. 

The company delivers across the USA and internationally. Homes are built for Canadian winters, strong enough to withstand -40 degrees and colder. Therefore, one of Fritz’s key selling features is that each of their tiny homes are ready for any climate. 

What we thought overall

Overall, we were highly impressed with Fritz Tiny Homes’ custom Macdonald build. Its overall home design, craftsmanship, and functionality made it almost feel like a real house. While this product is pricier than many other units on the market, it makes up for it with unique storage solutions, a fantastic customizable loft bedroom, and modern interior design. 

Whether the Macdonald  should be your first tiny home is an important question. As of now, it costs as much as a small home in the Midwestern United States or a condominium in a semi-populated city. Knowing this, our take is that the younger generation of the tiny house community is unlikely to rush purchasing this product. 

However, this tiny home may be perfect for a sophisticated family who is likely retired and hoping to explore the world as far as the road can take them. 

To get started with Fritz Tiny Homes, or for any questions, fritztinyhomes.com or reach out to us at Super Tiny Homes at [email protected].

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