12 Amazing Amateur Houses: Inspirational Tiny Home Round-up

There’s something magical about amateur DIYers who subscribe to the tiny house movement, and decide to build their own tiny home. Whilst ready made, commercial tiny houses are nice to see, this article is dedicated to showcasing those amateur homes which have been lovingly handcrafted.

Nashville Woodland Tiny House

In 2015, Johnathan and Rebecca of Nashville set out to build a tiny home in their backyard, which they now rent out via Airbnb. They did this with an initial “cabin kit” from Summerwood (which was customized to suit their needs), and after 8 months of hard work they could finally say it was complete! This 216 square foot (20 square metre) tiny home has allowed Johnathan and Rebecca to supplement their income, along with giving them somewhere to stay when they’re in the area.

Click on a photo below to zoom in:

The build itself is on a pier and beam foundation, whereby concrete piers/piles are installed in the ground and then the necessary woodwork beams are laid on top of this – providing a solid base for the build to be based off:

In terms of the house itself, it has two floors and thus offers a good sized bedroom area on the second floor (offering a queen bed). The kitchen area offers lots of worktop space and cabinet storage space, along with a full sized fridge freezer and washing machine!

The living area has an Ikea Hemnes bed, which functions as a generous couch as well as a bed (which can be pulled out and made a double bed). So this Woodland dream offers bedroom space for at least 4 people, although you could probably squeeze a couple more in if you really wanted! The bathroom itself comes with a standard size bath/shower and toilet.

People’s thoughts on this home (from Airbnb) are definitely positive, too:

Fantastic! The entire space was very fashionable and comfortable. This house is definitely a unique experience, and we loved every moment of it! (Hannah, December 2018)

By far one of the best places I have ever stayed. The Tiny home actually felt very spacious, and the design was so fun to experience! (Clay, December 2018)

The tiny house was so wonderful!! The fan upstairs doubled great as a white noise machine and kept the house really cool. The claw foot tub was perfect, especially with the rollout windows which were amazing. It was just so lovely. (Chelsea, June 2018)

Jefferson Tiny Home On Wheels

Shannon Smith of Jefferson, Tennessee has built a simple but effective 248 square foot (23 square metre) tiny home on a Hurst Trailer:

This tiny house has 7 separate windows and lots of ceiling-based lights, so light shouldn’t be a problem. There’s a good amount of kitchen worktop and storage space, along with a full size fridge/freezer and gas stove. The living area is fairly small, but still offers space for a two-seater couch and small, foldable desk on the wall opposite. With an 8 foot width however, there’s no reason why the couch couldn’t be a convertible bed.

The main bed is a pull-down Queen sized bed, and the bathroom contains a 36×36 corner shower, toilet and a sink in vanity unit. A lot is packed into this tiny home on wheels.

Tiny Amenities in Oklahoma

Trevor from Luther, Oklahoma has built a well-thought-out tiny house on wheels which comes in at 232 square foot (21.6 square metres) and – like Jonathan and Rebecca previously – he leases it out on Airbnb.

Tiny Amenities is a two-story home, with a good sized kitchen and living area downstairs. The kitchen area offers everything you’d expect, whilst the living area includes two good size bench seats (which double as sleeping space for two people) which contain handy storage underneath. The bathroom itself includes a standard sized toilet and sink vanity unit, along with a 4 foot bathtub.

There are windows to the front and back of the house, including a 15-window front door. There’s also ceiling lighting as you’d expect, so general lighting conditions inside this tiny home should be fine.

The main bedroom is upstairs, and offers ample space for a queen sized bed and some room for clothes storage too. People who have stayed here are definitely positive about it:

This tiny is big on amenities, space, and privacy. It’s super clean, and organized. We were comfortable and content- even with dogs! (Jennifer, July 2018)

AMAZING place! If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to stay in a tiny home, this is your chance! Clean, quiet, and relaxing, this home is great for unwinding. The mattress is very comfortable and the space feels much bigger than one might be spect. Highly recommend. (Neal, June 2018)

This place incredible. The tiny house was so cute, and very beautiful. My family and I had an amazing time. (Nick, June 2018)

320 sq ft Tiny House in Albuquerque

Redditor sr2mono posted pictures of their tiny home build in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This two-story build has an ingenious design and lets in plenty of natural light with its 10+ windows and glass front door.

The exterior dimensions are 12×20 ft (3.7 x 6.1 m) and the second floor for the big bedroom offers a total of 320 sq ft (29.7 sq metres). Whilst space is naturally at a premium, the 300+ sq ft floor space means that the kitchen area feels spacious and offers a good amount of storage via the cabinets and shelving.

The bathroom itself offers a standard sized toilet and dedicated sink, whilst the rain shower is a good size 8×4 ft (2.5×1.22m). The bedroom area offers safety rails up the stairs and at the top, and offers plenty of space for two. It’s lit with 2 large windows and a longer, thinner window, along with a side lamp on the side table: the bedroom area has a convenient ceiling height of 5 ft (1.5 m).

This tiny house cost $60,000 to build and took 4 months. Sr2mono said that the Albuquerque zoning laws/regulations were difficult to adhere to, especially given that no part of the tiny house can be taller than any part of the main house.

Das Kleine Haus, A Tiny House On Wheels In Colorado

Das Kleine Haus is a two story tiny house which offers 290 sq ft (27 sq metres) of space including the two lofts, or 180 sq ft (16.7 sq metres) on the ground floor.

It cost $35,000 to build, with initial financing for the trailer and steel frame. The rest was funded paycheck to paycheck, and it’s now 100% owned by Raymond and his wife. The steel frame cost $5,000 from engineering company Volstrukt.

Pine was used as the trim for the interior and part of the exterior, on top of the insulated steel frame. Yakisugi/shou sugi ban was used to treat the wood and keep it preserved.

In terms of the house itself, there’s access to two loft areas via Tansu plywood stairs. One loft area is the bedroom, whilst the other is a handy storage space. The kitchen is fairly long, providing lots of storage space and has a large, handcrafted copper sink. The area also includes a beverage bar and beer tap! You won’t find one of those in a prefabricated/premade tiny home kit!

The bathroom contains a toilet and copper-piping based shower, along with a window for a good amount of natural light. The floor is also made of pennies – it’s worth checking out that picture above if you haven’t already seen it!

The main bedroom is in the larger of the two loft areas, and it provides for a good sized bed along with having two wall windows and two skylights (roof windows) for a great amount of natural light.

Das Kleine Haus is a really well thought out tiny home, which is based on a 26.5ft x 8.5ft trailer for easy transportation.

Little Red Hen Cabin, Texas

Little Red Hen Cabin is a lovely wooden cabin tiny house from Waco, Texas which is available on Airbnb and it’s an idyllic two story house – but unlike many others, the second story has an almost full size ceiling height instead of being a loft height:

The cabin uses 100 year old barn wood (on both the exterior and interior), giving this build a genuinely old fashioned feel – whilst still having all the modern amenities we have come to expect.

The front has a two-tier porch area with room for two rocking chairs, whilst the inside has a good size living room with three seats. The kitchen is small but perfectly functional, and there is also a handy breakfast bar instead of having to eat in the living room. The other side of the breakfast bar has full storage options with lots of shelves.

The bathroom has a good sized corner shower, along with a good size toilet and a small but really awesome sink. The almost standard size stairs lead up to a good size bedroom with a double bed, lots of light (from windows and ceiling lights) and high ceilings due to the second story being taller than normal.

Farmhouse Style Tiny House On Wheels, Connecticut

Kevin from Eastford, Connecticut built his farmhouse style tiny home back in 2017, offering 224 sq ft (20.8 sq metres): which comprises 160 sq ft (14.9 sq metre) on the ground floor, then an 8×8 ft bedroom area and 2×8 ft storage area both in the loft.

This tiny home is 8’5” wide by 13’5” tall, and 20 feet long (aka a 2.6m x 6m base and 4.1m height), and also has a foldable porch which is made from cedar and measures 3×8 foot (0.9×2.4 metres).

The kitchen has a good amount of worktop space and cabinet space, along with space for a small fridge/freezer. The bathroom area has nice metro/subway style tiles in the 32×32” (81x81cm) shower area which is not enclosed (aka is more of a walk-in wet area).

This farmhouse style tiny home is bathed in natural light thanks for over 10 windows and a front-door with 12 mini window panes as well. It also contains various ceiling and wall mounted lights as well. The bedroom area offers a large sized bed and also space for side tables for storage.

Tiny Home In California

Chris in Coarsegold, CA hired a contractor to build him a tiny home that ended up with a nice modern look, coming in at 220 sq ft (20.4 sq metres).

This single story tiny house has a good amount of living space, with a full-sized couch and coffee table along with a handy bookshelf on either side of the pull-down queen size bed. There’s a small dining room which has a diner booth feel to it, with two seats and a small table in the middle.

The kitchen space has a decent amount of storage and worktop space and plenty of light comes in from various skylights (roof windows) and wall and ceiling lighting too. The bathroom is accessible via a sliding door, and comes with a corner 32” (81cm) shower.

The interior design in general is really nice, with open-beams to the ceiling supporting the extended loft area which brings down natural light. Most of the interior is finished with knotty pine wood planks, giving a nice modern-yet-traditional feel to this tiny home.

Tiny Log Cabin in Missouri

This custom built tiny house is a log cabin style based off a $93,000 Tumbleweed tiny home. It was built in 2017 and offers 250 sq ft (23.2 sq metres) of space including loft storage/bedroom, or 150 sq ft (14 sq metres) on the ground floor.

This tiny house is on wheels (a 26 foot trailer designed for tiny homes) and it’s naturally finished with wood both inside and outside. A lot of windows are packed into this space, with 11 windows, 1 skylight (roof window) and a large double front door with two window panels, and you can see from the photos that this building has a good level of natural light streaming in to it.

The kitchen area is a good size, with good levels of worktop and cabinet space. It fits an apartment-sized radiator, and it has a pantry area and breakfast bar. The bathroom has a standard size toilet, a small sink vanity unit and a nice sized 38” (96.5cm) corner shower. There’s a few storage options in the bathroom which is a useful touch.

In terms of the loft, there’s a small 3 foot (0.9m) area purely for storage which is a convenient space. Then there’s the main 10 foot (3m) bedroom space which benefits from increased headroom due to the dormer roof part of this building. The bedroom is very well lit, with 5 windows (including the skylight) and two wall-mounted lights.

This is a well-thought-out custom tiny house which was built for a lot less than the $93,000 Tumbleweed home this is based off.

Two Story Tiny House On Wheels From Saint-Geniez-d’Olt, France

This wooden chalet THOW has been built on a boat trailer for easy transportation, and it manages to pack in 9 windows and a UPVC all-window door as well – letting in lots of light to this tiny house.

Created by Dupuy Mathias in Saint-Geniez-d’Olt, France, this home is externally clad in Canadian red cedar (No. 2 – no knots), has a timber frame for the structure and uses 120mm insulation throughout. It’s then finished with spruce for the interior walls and floors.

Storage has been well-thought out, with storage provided in the staircase itself. A large double bench downstairs has further built-in storage, and the large upstairs bedroom also has a good size half-height wardrobe.

The upstairs bedroom itself supports king size bedding (a 160x200cm duvet size) and there’s enough space downstairs for another 210cm convertible bed – meaning this tiny home could potentially sleep 4 people!

There’s plenty of lighting, with 2 outdoor lights, various internal lighting and also 2 LED spot downlights too. Lots of power outlets are also available.

As you can see, this is a fully self-contained tiny home which gives you everything you need.

Well Thought Out Tiny Home

This really well thought out tiny house is currently based on Renton, Washington but it’s on a PAD Tiny House Trailer and is for sale, so can be easily transported.

This 26 foot (7.9 metre) home has a 280 sq ft (26 sq metre) footprint, and is finished with cedar siding externally (with Olympic Maximum staining for all-weather protection) and a mix of white shiplap and birch wood throughout the interior.

Taking a look at the pictures above, you’ll hopefully see what makes this a really well thought out house: lots of storage space, but it still has various places to sit (and lie down) which is a difficult balancing act sometimes (i.e. too much storage space equals too little sitting/living space).

The kitchen area has plenty of worktop and storage space, along with space for a full size radiator and washer/dryer unit. Steps take you up to a cosy reading spot with a good-size couch, along with a few book shelves.

The bathroom doubles as a utility room, which houses the aforementioned washer/dryer unit under a oak worktop space. The white sink fits in well with the white shiplap wood trim, and the 36×36” (91x91cm) shower is made from fibreglass.

The Tansu style stairs look solid, since the storage space is hidden away with all-white doors which click-out to provide useful storage. The stairs lead up to a bedroom loft which offers lots of space for a queen size bed, or a smaller bed plus storage. Three windows and a wall-mounted light help ensure the bedroom area is well lit.

This tiny house is currently for sale at $75,000, so it’s on the expensive side (for a custom built tiny home, that is) but the finish throughout is high quality which helps explain the price tag.

Nice Log Cabin Style Tiny House

Ben and others built this log cabin style tiny home in Lancaster, South Carolina based on Tiny Home Builder’s Tiny Living plans. This is based off a 12 foot (3.7 metre) long plan to fit on a trailer, and it gives 160 sq ft (14.9 sq metres) of living space, which is 109 sq ft (10.1 sq metre) on the ground floor along with two loft areas (one for storage, the other for a bedroom). This is therefore a lot smaller than some other houses featured above, so it’s interesting to see how everything fits together:

Firstly, the 11 windows and windowed front door provides allows lots of natural light to flood in – which always helps a space to feel bigger. You’ll see that the kitchen is small but well thought out, providing space for a small fridge/freezer, pantry storage area, and marble-effect worktop space with a good size sink.

A conventional ladder is used as a space saver (compared to having a larger staircase), which gives access to both the loft storage and bedroom areas. The bedroom area itself has 3 windows and space for a large bed along with storage space (such as via bedside cabinets). The ceiling height here is fairly generous.

Downstairs, there’s space for a small one-seater couch and a wall-mounted TV towards the front door area. The bathroom itself is small but functional, with a standard sized toilet and shower unit as well.

For just 109 square foot of ground floor space, this is a very well thought out tiny house. There’s 3-4” of insulation provided as well, along with a BOSCH hot water heater and 110v Pioneer mini-split unit for heating/AC as needed. So overall, this building should stay warm in colder weather whilst being cooled sufficiently in warmer temperatures.