The environmentally conscious love the low energy use and small footprint a tiny house offers. Other buyers are attracted to the lower price and the elimination of a mortgage payment. Still others seek out the tiny house in order to downsize, simplify their lives, and have more time and money leftover for other priorities. A tiny house can even be added to your current property as a guest house, a second-income rental, or put in the backyard for your very own man cave or she-shed.
Whatever your reason for joining the tiny home movement, you’ll find a variety of sizes, styles, and price ranges even in this little niche of the housing industry. You can go full-sail tiny with as few as 120 square feet, all the way up to a high end of 600 square feet or more. While the average cost of a tiny house runs between $30,000 to $60,000, you can purchase this little piece of paradise for as low as $8,000 or go with a luxury model all the way up to $150,000.
Here are some tiny home do-it-yourself kits that we like in a big way. Some assembly required.
A living shell
This Star Energy Tiny Home Kit gives you a 667-square-foot insulated living shell that works well for a single lot or in a backyard. It can accommodate a full kitchen and pantry, bathroom, one bedroom with a walk-in closet, a laundry room, and a living room. It’s green built, energy efficient, and comes with structural insulated panel (SIP) construction. The kit contains all your materials including wall panels, roof panels, metal roof sheets, lumber, nails, adhesive and screws, windows, doors, door knobs, interior framing partitions, plus the all-important floor plans and assembly instructions. Everything but the plumbing and electric. You can also choose to upgrade to a 2-bedroom version. This tiny home can withstand small seismic events and winds up to 160 mph. But hopefully you won’t have to.
Many possibilities
The Allwood Estelle solid wood cabin kit consists of two main sections separated by an interior wall. The main room offers 106 square feet of space, and the smaller room designed with storage in mind gives you 56 square feet more. You can choose an optional door to connect the two rooms and use the smaller area as a sleeping space or turn it into a bathroom. It’s made with Dual T&G Windblock pattern wall planks for a classic cabin look, and cheery french-style windows on the double front door entry and side wall. Comes with assembly instructions.
A personal retreat
This garden house kit is made from high quality Nordic wood and styled with an easy retro vibe that strays from the traditional cabin look. Its indoor/outdoor setup gives it all kinds of versatility. The 172 square feet of space is divided into two 86 square foot connecting structures, with a design and feel similar to a main room connected to a covered patio. This makes the Solvalla well suited for backyard recreational use as a pool house, outdoor lounge living area, or just a one-room retreat with a convenient covered breezeway. Large floor to ceiling windows give lots of light and a bright, airy feel.
Modern appeal
This 227-square-foot studio in a contemporary rectangular design sports a modern look that works in areas where a typical cabin-style structure doesn’t fit – or fit in. Several tall windows on the front wall and entry allows for lots of natural light. The large interior room offers 149 square feet giving you plenty of options to decide how to use the space. The main room is separated by a wall with a connecting door to a smaller 44 square foot space, often used for a sleeping area or an attached bathroom. There’s an optional window upgrade for the smaller room should you want to bring the daylight in.
Zac Jones is a contributing writer to Florida Travel & Life, an online brand that inspires active, affluent travelers, providing them with insider information on discovering the best of Florida. Informative and engaging, the website showcases travel destinations, arts and cultural venues, vibrant dining scenes, recreational activities, the great outdoors and the revitalized real-estate market. Zac is a former broadcast journalist, TV actor, voiceover artist, and executive producer. As a baseball aficionado, he enjoys rooting for Florida’s Tampa Bay Rays.
