Brilliant Design Makes This The Most Beautiful Trailer Home We’ve Seen

May 27, 2015

Don’t think you’d ever live in a trailer home? You might reconsider after laying eyes on this creative masterpiece. Located in Austin, Texas, this very unique home is actually made from two trailers allowing it to be moved easily. Though small, at just 400 square feet, it’s big on style thanks in part to the genius of interior designer Kim Lewis.

Clean lines, rich textures, and a balance of neutral white/black with splashes of color bring a ton of personality into the space. The salvaged flooring came from a 1960s home in Austin.

The breezeway includes a pair of dog houses nested under the bench, and make for a cozy place for their two rescues to catch some Z’s.

The slim kitchen features plenty of space to prep thanks in part to a movable island. Instead of a refrigerator, the owners use two small refrigerator drawers.

Slim barn doors made from perforated copper panels help save space and look amazing. The “You look good” tile pattern also adds a playful touch.

Behind the bed on the trailer’s gooseneck you’ll find a spacious closet that also includes a 2-in-1 washer/dryer.

The two owners of this home moved from Colorado to Austin to start their second urban winery business, and the home doubles as a tasting room. Thanks to the team at Tiny House Nation and the brilliance of Kim Lewis they were able to make their dream home a reality.

The curb appeal starts at the colorful steps and reaches every inch of the exterior. The spacious deck offers extra space for entertaining, and we love the hammock draped between the two planters. Based on the results we imagine they won’t have a problem impressing guests, wherever they decide to take their trailer home.

(Image credits: Lonny)

Home Owner Converts Her Garage Into A Beautiful Income-Generating ADU

Mar 25, 2015

Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are becoming more and more popular in cities that are trying to increase density in single family zones, without incentivising the demolition of historic architecture. As most of these strucutres are being build in backyards and limited to modest footprints, designers must get creative in terms of getting the most out of their small stature. This bright and spacious ADU shows just how much functionality one can get out of a small footprint, which also happened to be a conversion of an existing detached garage.

Susan Moray had large aspirations when she began her journey to create new space on her small lot in Portland, Oregon. She had 550 square feet to work with and was looking to build-out the garage into a guest house, even with potential to rent out to long-term or short term tenants.

Vaulted ceilings add space vertically, which makes the interiors feel larger and more bright.

Historic neighborhood standards kept Susan from going design-crazy on the exterior. The form of the existing garage provided a solid framework to build on, adding contemporary touches like fully glazed sliding doors, a patio, and garden features.

The kitchen occupies a nicely lit corner in the ADU, with functional open shelving and a funky orange refrigerator.

11 Incredible Shipping Container Homes Show Life In A Box Isn’t So Bad

Jun 6, 2015

Shipping container buildings are as popular as ever due to their inborn novelty and natural stickability (LEGO nostalgia, anyone?). More and more people are flocking to homes that make use of their unique aesthetic, and it’s pretty easy to see why. They exude an inherent industrial machismo that’s not easy to replicate using traditional construction methods. Here are 11 such projects that take container homes to new and interesting creative heights.

1 | Kalkin Container Home

Architect Adam Kalkin designed this home for himself utilizing a stacked wall of container shells as the focal component of the interior space. A hanger-like shell drapes over the containers and extends beyond them, creating towering ceilings and voluminous light. A few cheeky post-modern touches like the gabled window wall and adjacent brick chimney round out the design.

2 | The Painted Containers

Brazilian architect Marcio Kogan paints a beautiful, vibrant collage of recycled containers in this impressive expression of Latin American culture. Containers are stacked perpendicular to the primary axis of the residence creating a mural-like facade that dominates visually. It’s a tapestry that is as colorful as the people it protects and the place it inhabits.

3 | The Faux-Traditional Container Home

There’s no mistaking the container presence in this two-story home. French Architect Patrick Partouche does his best to bring around more traditional building vernaculars with the gabled canopy that perches atop the stepped back stacks of red containers. It the cans themselves, however, that truly spark interest in this project.

4 | The 40K Container Home

Designing a fully built-out container building that is cool, spacious, and affordable is not a feat to be taken lightly. Benjamin Garcia Saxe has done just that, transforming twin 40-foot containers into a luxurious contemporary house that defies economic logic. A popped up clerestory provides a sloped roof for maximum solar panel exposure, as well as an added aperture for natural light.

5 | The El Tiemblo Container Home

This sleek project emphasizes the horizontality that shipping containers inherently possess. A 40-foot container floats above the main living space, which is completely transparent and open to the landscape beyond. The project was designed by studio James & Mau Arquitectura and named for the Spanish city in which it resides.

6 | The Mojave Desert Container Home

Green roofs, open interiors and stark white container shells punctuate this ambitious project by Ecotech Design that aims to construct and environmentally bomb-proof shelter within a harsh arid climate. The project succeeds in both form and function, refusing to sacrifice a sleek design aesthetic for all of its eco-friendliness. This container home is a case study for what’s possible in eco-architecture.

7 | The Eco-Container

Speaking of eco-architecture! Cg Architectes designed this cross-shaped container home with the idea to use the containers as structural framework and experiment with contrasting exterior materials. The result is an eco-friendly and jaw-dropping conglomeration of pre-fabricated nirvana. The containers were shipped largely built-out, and carried the added-on materials, flat-packed, along with them.

8 | The Tiny Container Home

Following suit with the stacked, cross-shaped structure as the project above (albiet a tinier version) is this bite-sized container home from Jure Kotnik Arhitekt. The project is an exercise in small space functionality. In fact, there is no actual furniture in the home, only crime scene-esque outlines where the furniture should be. Imagination required.

9 | The Container Cabanas

Get out the sunscreen and the inflatable aligator! These container cabanas park you feet away from poolside sun-bathing and are accompanied by some serious R and R. The cabanas can be rented out for a ‘camping’ experience that gives new meaning (or no meaning) to the phrase ‘roughing it.’ These bad boys go for about $1,100 a week, so get them while the sun-soaked metal container siding is hot!

10 | The Deployed Container Home

At first glance this contemporary and translucent home doesn’t appear to be a container project. A closer look at the WingHouse reveals the container being used as the backbone for the rest of the home that was shipped entirely within the built-out shell. It appears as if the container sneezed and out came a house, and I mean that in the coolest way possible.

11 | The Outdoor Container Home

In many ways this is what containers structures are meant to be: down, dirty, rugged and beat. This project situates a pair of containers on a dusty plot of land and connects them with an improvised shade structure, providing a shared exterior space that becomes the focal point of each unit. It’s a beach bum’s dream shack.

Tour this incredible beach cottage with us

Jul 23, 2017

The small island of Camano Island in Washington is a popular tourist destination. And Whidbey Camano Islands has everything you want in a secluded getaway far from the city life. It’s accessible to Vancouver and Seattle, and makes a perfect escape – especially if you have a chance to stay somewhere like this tiny beach cottage.

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This Artist’s Home Exudes Modern Rustic Style

Mar 10, 2015

Demolition of an old house made room for this elegant new home/studio complex in the Barton Heights neighborhood of Austin. Not a lot of room, because there was already a swimming pool on the property, as well as oak and cypress trees that owner Laurie Frick didn’t want to knock down. But designer KRBD still found a way to give Laurie 1,600 square feet of residential space in addition to the 700-square-foot art studio she asked for by building around a gallery of steel bays.

Around the home, that steel is covered with tigerwood; the studio has a stucco exterior.

Once you get inside you’re met with a long hallway displaying rugs, books, and some of Laurie’s own art pieces. Such an outstanding collection really cries out for a place to show it off, making the hallway a very nice touch for this particular owner.

After you pass through, you’re in a large, open living room/dining room/kitchen area which gives way to the pool in the back. An enclosed glass walkway connects the house to the studio, which is naturally lit by a skylight and clerestory windows (Laurie needed the wall space for her paintings, so ground-level windows were out of the question).

A clerestory window also features in the master bedroom, which is located at the other end of the entry hall. The ensuite bathroom has one too, and there’s a skylight in the hallway guest bathroom. The home office to the front of the house has a more conventional picture window which looks out on a very pleasant street view.

Old Meets New In This Stunning Ancient Stone Home Remodel

Mar 20, 2015

Some of the most emotionally visceral architectural achievements are a result of a properly handled adaptive re-use. Blending the old with the new is a delicate exercise in restraint and creativity. So when one comes around that achieves such a sought-after level of success, we feel the obligation to share it with you.

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Wespi de Meuron Romeo Architects renovated this ancient stone building, which has long-since resided in a historic and picturesque Swiss village. The rustic, monolithic shell provided an apt base of inspiration for the architect to draw upon when designing the interiors and carving openings into its facades. Although there is much that is new, contemporary and modern to be found inside, you are never far removed from the history that exists in what remains of the stone ruins.

This project shows us the importance of our history, and to take the time to appreciate where we’ve come from as we move to where we are going.

photo credit: Hannes Henz

A Creative Solution For Homeless Housing, Or Just A Pipe Dream?

Mar 26, 2015

Homelessness remains a worldwide issue, and in nearly any city or town with a prevalent number of homeless, you’ll find a number of solutions in place. The most popular being a shelter. But what if there was another solution?

This concept from DesignDevelop might seem a little far-fetched at first, but the fact remains they are generating a discussion about the issue, regardless of whether or not their solution is viable. What is their solution you ask? The design firm created a 178 square foot triangular-shaped home with sides that double as a billboard.

Step inside the dwelling and you’re met with a decidedly luxurious looking design. We have to wonder what sort of maintenance would be required should something like this actually serve as a home for the homeless.

The “live-in” billboard is raised off the ground, and is accessible via a small staircase. The only visible hint of what’s sandwiched between the billboard is the rear of the structure, which has a few windows.

There’s a bathroom, shower, toilet, and a raised bed with storage underneath. You’ll also find a galley kitchen and a study area opposite the bed.

While the concept is pretty cool, we have to imagine that living next to a highway would itself violate most zoning laws. Regardless, we comment DesignDevelop for the thought behind their billboard home.

Photos courtesy DesignDevelop

Tiny Heirloom Dazzles Us With Another Brilliant Build

Jul 23, 2017

Check out this gorgeous new tiny house from all-star builder Tiny Heirloom!

Absolutely perfect from top to bottom, back to front, this was designed to serve as a recreation of the client’s own larger home. They pulled it off, including a full sized baker’s kitchen with foldout table, beautiful lighting on the stairs, a custom wine rack, and plenty of space in the living room. There’s also a loft and a very nice bathroom.

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Former Horse Stable Turned Into A Rustic Dream Home

Apr 8, 2015

A once rotting and abandoned shell of what was once a horse stable has been transformed into this stunning dream home. Designed by Abaton Architects, the home sits nestled between the rolling hills of Spain’s Extremadura region and uses natural, raw exterior materials such as stone and unfinished wood to blend itself with the surrounding landscape.

Cat walks circulate around the upper perimeter of the main living space and allow people to easily move about while preserving the sense of open space.

The open floor plan creates light and airy interior spaces subtly accented by a soft, muted material palette. The main focus seems to be centered on framing the spectacular views.

While the original horse stable proved too decayed to be used as a foundation, you can see how it played a role in the inspiration behind the overall design.

The architect made sure the countryside is always at arms reach by punching tall openings at every opportunity. The home literally spills out into the landscape and locks the grade in place with a series of terraced rock walls, culminating at the bottom with a swimming pool that overlooks the valley floor.

A perfect example of a very unique tiny home

Jun 14, 2017

An absolutely stunning, one-of-a-kind tiny home for sale in Denver! Clocking in at a cozy but comfortable 288sf, with a galley style kitchen – and perhaps most impressive, the wood log backdrop on the wall!

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