Great Ideas for Small Houses

cob-homes-cottage-2

Cobworks, led by Patrick Hennebery and Tracy Calvert, offer workshops on how to build sustainable earth and cob houses by using unprocessed, natural and local materials such as sand, clay, straw and water.

More about Cob Cottage Homes: What on earth…

small-cottage-studio-deeds

Deeds Cottage is a small garden outbuilding, that serves as a lovely art studio/home office with an irregular pentagon shape to maximize interior space. It sits on a 3,100 sq. ft. lot, near the main house, a renovated 1906 Victorian, in a tree-lined street in Berkeley, California.

More about Deeds Cottage: a small studio, salvaged and recycled

container-home-cordell

The city of Houston, Texas, has one of the largest most busiest ports in the US, which means tons of shipping containers just waiting to be recycled and transformed into affordable modern homes. The Cordell House is one of those homes, incorporating three steel containers—two 40-foot-long modules and one 20-foot-long unit.

More about Cordell House: containers for living

small-studio-diamond

Located deep in a canyon in Santa Monica, California, this modern extension seems to be squeezed between the main house and a severely sloping hillside. The new addition serves as a small music studio. In order to blend its sharp geometric shape with the natural surroundings the architects utilized a unique building material system in the form of laser cut fiber cement panels, giving it a crystalline quality.

More about Diamond House: crystalline

small-house-nakahouse

Located in California’s famous Hollywood Hills, the Nakahouse is an abstract remodel of a 1960′s hillside house. The existing structure, with its series of terraced volumes, has been completely reconfigured to open up to hillside views and the natural beauty of its surroundings.

More about Nakahouse: No Beginning, No End

small-house-shaft

This small house features a certain aesthetics which is usually found in modern Japanese architecture. It is reflected in the minimalist, geometric look and feel of its exterior, which fits perfectly with its narrow lot settings (20′ x 100′). Although the house has a living area of only 1,400 sq. ft., the unique planning of its interior successfully creates bright and airy spaces.

More about Shaft House: a void of light

small-cabin-maquand

Sometimes things are just that, simple, uncomplicated, and there lies their strength and beauty. The Maquand Retreat is one of those things – a small modern cabin reflecting simplicity at its best.

More about Maquand Retreat: simplicity at its best

japanese-house-machi

When building a new home you should carefully consider your surroundings. For example, the architects of the Machi House in Fukuyama, Japan, decided to preserve a large tree to be featured as a beautiful natural focal point. The tree grows out of a small inner courtyard, along the center of the house towards the skylight, while giving the feeling of living high in the treetops.

More about Japanese Machi House: living high in the treetops

small-house-p

What was once a small post war house in Redondo Beach, LA, has been transformed into a modern live/work home, for a young professional, that feels larger than it actually is.

The original structure has been recycled as much as possible, keeping the foundations and most of the external framing intact, resulting in lower construction costs without exceeding local zoning regulations.

More about p_House: making a small house feel larger

small-house-noyack-creek

This small modern home sits on a narrow lot fronting the tidal estuary of Noyack Creek, NY. The texture and color of the siding reference a black box theater – a concept that fits perfectly to the new owners, a new York actor who wanted a retreat for relaxation and casual entertaining.

More about Noyack Creek House: The world is a stage

small-garage-convertion

For all of you who are looking to convert your garage into a small living space, feast your eyes on this beautiful creation!
Located outside Seattle, this 250 sq. ft. dream home belongs to a visual and performance artist, Michelle de la Vega. It sits behind the main house, which is currently rented out, and serves as her tiny home {not so far} away from home.

More about garage conversion: home {not far} away from home

tiny-cottage-victorian

Located in the beautiful Catskills, this tiny Victorian cottage belongs to Sandra Foster. With no bathroom nor kitchen, this small country retreat is oozing with shabby chic style and glamor, featuring romantic white interiors, gorgeous gingerbread trims, stacks of Limoges china with tiny rosebud patterns, chandeliers dripping crystal and billows of tissue-paper garlands – the perfect place for tea and biscuits.

More about a tiny Victorian cottage: tea and biscuits

small-shepherds-huts

These tiny vacation homes blend beautifully in the small village of Bodiam in East Sussex, UK. In bygone days, agricultural workers working away from the farm were often accommodated in these traditional quirky little huts. Now, they offer paying guests a cozy space to relax and enjoy the beauty of the English countryside.

More about Small Shepherd’s huts in East Sussex

japanese-house-complex

When I saw the Complex House I thought to myself: leave it to the Japanese to come up with such an unusual piece of architecture like this one. The unique exterior does not imply which side is the facade or the back, and as the name suggests, the design of this house is quite complex.

More about Complex House: Quite perplexing