Alleyway Abode: 4-Foot-Narrow Live/Work Writer’s Studio. It looks somewhat like a squished spaceship, squeezed into a space that (at its skinniest) is a mere 2 feet and 4 inches wide.
And yes, it is both intended to be built and planned to be lived in full time. Stuffed inside a side street once packed with trash and graffiti, this Warsaw dwelling by Centrala is composed of plywood panels on a steel frame with foam insulation along the front, top and back of the building. Neither side needs (nor can afford the space for) much insulating, given that both sides touch existing adjacent buildings. Psychologist-Made Micro-Home Makes Do in 3x3x3 Meters. One big key to small-spacing living is vertical space – with nine feet in each horizontal direction, the only way to go is up.
At the same time, this particular design manages to look like it evolved somehow organically, with elements not simply occupying every spare spot. Everything manages to coexist and flow within the limited area provided, including custom chairs, tables, kitchen zone (with microwave and refrigerator), full-sized shower, composting toilet, washing machine and double bed. LED lights and recovered heat help keep fixture needs to a bare minimum, while a timber frame with red and plywood surfaces add texture and color to keep the interior interesting and engaging.
Urban Oasis: Rustic Modern Rooftop Garden & Deck Design. Weathered wood and concrete, rusted metal and rustling wild grass – nothing about this winding rooftop deck viewed from within suggests it could not be the back porch of a European country home.
Nothing, that is, until you catch glimpses of the marvelous Manhattan skyline in the background. Boulder-Like Home Office is a Working Retreat in the Garden. As more and more people opt to work from home, more and more people are discovering just how difficult it is to separate home life from work life.
The solution? A dedicated office space, preferably one detached from the main house. The Tetra Shed from Innovation Imperative is a particularly attractive example. The Tetra Shed was meant to challenge the idea that a home office has to be a room in the home that has simply been turned into an office. Why not turn the notion on its head by creating something altogether more interesting – a space where you will actually want to spend time? As a single unit, the Tetra Shed is just big enough for one or two people. Feng Shui to Go: Modular Lofted Mini-Apartment on Wheels. Spaces that seem small to even the most urban residents in the united states are sometimes spacious compared to those found in the crowded centers of major Japanese and Chinese cities.
This elegant cube is the ultimate in well-balanced living – a space-saving design that still offers multiple rooms and peace of mind. Liu Ming lives and works out of a loft in San Francisco, but most of his space is dedicated to hosting students – little is left for day-to-day living and working. The solution? Sunia Homes Are Modern, Affordable and An Interesting Demonstration of Changing Priorities. Sunia Homes/ Laure Joliet/Promo image Green building costs more than conventional building if you just take the same house and add stuff to it, what Philadelphia builder Nic Darling calls "polishing the turd.
". To build green affordably, you have to make choices, you have to pick your priorities. That is what's so interesting about the new model home from Sunia Homes, in Echo Park, Los Angeles. Alchemy - Home of the weeHouse - Built on Stilts: Tom Kundig's Sol Duc Cabin. © Olson Kundig Architects/ Benjamin Benschneider Three years ago I called Tom Kundig TreeHugger's first Best of Green Architect of the year, saying: There shouldn't be any such thing as "green architecture"--it should be built into every building and taken for granted.
Small Space Living + Giant Interior Design & Decor Ideas = 9 Hours: A Small Boutique Pod Hotel with Minimalist Luxury. All-in-One Modular Fold Out Living Room Furniture Set. This incredible all-in-one furniture set from Matroshka is still looking for funding – so if you want to have one you might need to become an investor.
Named after Russian nesting dolls, this remarkable furniture collection packs down to just 13 square feet but includes: bookshelves, a double bed, corner couch, dinner table, four stools, working space, drawers, a wardrobe and additional storage. Small-Space Living: Simple Loft Bedroom Design Idea. 96 Sq. Foot Finnish Micro-Cabin Built Small To Forego Permits. © Robin Falck The image of a secluded cabin in the woods recalls the simple, idealistic idyll of Henry David Thoreau's Walden, free of the impositions of society.
This beautiful micro-cabin, built beside a lake in Finland, was constructed to go under the radar of Finnish building regulations, which require one to get a permit for anything that is larger than 96 to 128 square feet, depending on the district. Anticipating a one-year stint in the military, owner Robin Falck decided to design a cabin that wouldn't require getting tangled in bureaucratic red tape. Built with a 50 square foot loft above for sleeping and storage, and a ground floor lounge/living area and kitchen and bathroom, the house is designed to maximize the allowed area, plus boosting the capacity for great acoustics and natural daylighting.
In addition to the tall window, there's an adjacent deck for a great view of the tranquil surroundings. Winter of 2009/2010 I spent designing and planning the house. Amazing Expanding House Pops Out of Single Trailer. © Mehdi Hidari Badie Back in the dawn of the shipping containers as housing era, nobody thought about using empty boxes and shipping air; because of the cost of the box and shipping, people were playing with folding designs.
Designer Mehdi Hidari Badie has taken the idea of the pop-up to extremes with what Yanko calls an "Amazing Modern Mobile Home. " Blu Homes should hire this guy or pick this unit up for their home shows; it is sort of an extreme version of their folding homes. Really extreme; there are a lot of panels to unfold, a lot of edges that will need gaskets and seals. Yanko writes: This cleverly compact mobile housing design by Mehdi Hidari Badie has got all the bases covered when it comes to making the most of limited space. It is all rather clever, over triple the size of the basic trailer, complete with exterior decks and solar panels on the roof.