Out of many of the world’s tiny homes, the Tiny SMART House has one of the nicest sleeping lofts I’ve ever seen. It’s open and airy with two windows and enough space to even put a few pieces of furniture. The 200 square foot Tiny SMART Houses are built in Albany, Oregon with quality materials and are finished with special details including French doors, wood floors and a tongue and groove ceiling. The homes are mobile and can be delivered to your building site.
The SMART House can be custom designed with several different styles and floor plans like the Oregon Trail and the Montana Cabin and exteriors such as cedar plank or Hardie Plank Lap. You can choose between several different doors, windows, wall styles and extras such as solar panels and a rain catchment system. Company owners Tor Barstad and Nathan Light designed the homes with college students in mind but have been requested to build their homes as guest houses and vacation homes.
The SMART House starts at about $57,250Â for the base model and the upgrades for size, materials, design and bathrooms are extra.
Photos courtesy of Tiny SMART House, LLC
By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]
Wow, really nice! I love the sleepingloft.
This is by far the best tiny house design I’ve come across!
I am wondering if there are stairs, or a ladder to get to the sleeping loft.
The dormers and sleeping loft are wonderful, but I’m with Alex on the question….how exactly does one get up to the loft area?!
I think Anders is right …it’s the sleeping loft that sets this tiny house apart. Those dormers are adding a spacious aspect that would make even a claustrophobe happy. It’s also nice to see walls that aren’t entirely made of knotty pine ;-))
$20,000? Thats a terrific deal, assuming its similar to what is shown. Jay’s $45,000+ tumbleweeds will have to come down in price it looks like.
I agree, best I’ve seen so far and though still pricey better than TW’s.
ooooops! Just noticed that a bathroom would be extra…not that great a deal now…
Love this…
Brad you have to consider where Jay is living, in one of Americas most expensive land cost areas. Most construction in his area is running in the $250 sq.ft. including land for beer can housing so $245 per is not out of range if land were included. Besides he should get something for his Ideas. I know it seems like he is building for the 1%( People with more money than sense) but THAT is what will expand competition.
This is such an interesting post. Of course, a home isn’t a home without a bathroom. These photos don’t therefore accurately represent what life in this home would be like. And Jay doesn’t set your TW on land for ya, so his price is just high. It won’t be forever, and I want him to be wealthy for contributing so much.
Umm… there is a bathroom. See that wall at the back, next to the kitchen with the two white signs posted on it? That’s where it is. And I checked the website. Kitted out as you see it here they’re asking ~$30,000, not $20,000. That price is for an empty box.
Beautiful little homes!!! Wondering if they sell the plans for DIY’s? If so, for how much? Very interested! Thank you
If I were to pay to have a tiny house built for me, these guys would probably be who I went with, but I would opt to have French doors that open out, on this particular model, so that my use of the interior floor space isn’t limited. What Jay has over this company is that he doesn’t just sell newly-built abodes, he also sells the plans if you want to build it yourself. Then you’re more in control of your overall budget.
What’s failing to be addressed here is that you can get a double axle trailer for around $2,000 for $2600 more in building supplies you’ve got your house built. It’s not rocket science people. A little time spent reading and doing some investigation will allow you to easily design and build one of these for yourself. Also, as a mobile home it has height restrictions. While that loft is great you’re giving up head room on the bottom floor to accomodate for the standing room upstairs. For $20,000 this thing better be made of teak and have a bidet.
Have you built anything in the past 20 years? $2600 for material? I would love to see the house you could build for 4,600, please show an example.
Our soon-to-be-delivered tiny house is 384 sq feet and cost us $3200 to be built by an Amish craftsman, but we priced out the materials at Lowe’s and we would have spent about $2600. Finishing will cost a bit more, but we’ve already gathered most of the things we need and expect the total cost of the house (less our solar power system) to be about $10,000.
I am curious, what type of materials did you price out? I know many tiny home builders don’t use plywood, drywall, fiberglass insulation, or other typical (and less healthy) materials. That is one of the reasons they state their homes cost more. That’s why I am curious what type of materials you priced out.
Of course, material price is relative to where you live as well. If you live in an area with a higher cost of living, materials will be higher.
I hope to build a healthy home with no off-gases, and most of those materials aren’t even carried at the Lowe’s in my area. They are not common in my part of the midwest. I’ll need to order them and pay to have them shipped, which will add to my cost.
Congrats on your soon to be new home!
Molly: We priced out basic building materials for the shell: 2x4s, 2x6s, plywood, siding, windows, doors, etc.
Instead, our tiny house will be made of real wood the craftsman makes on site (he has his own sawmill). The 2x4s and 2x6s are actual measurements; there will be NO plywood in the house (nor will we put any in). The house will have rustic board-and-batten siding and a metal roof. He supplies everything but the doors; normally, he builds those, but we wanted insulated metal doors, so we provided those.
It’s also going to be on skids instead of wheels, which means that it will still portable and still exempt from codes, but it can be wider -in our case, it will be 12 feet wide by 32 feet long.
Rebecca: Wow! It sounds like you got a great deal with your builder, with the price but especially with the quality. I’ve often thought that using an individual craftsman would be the way to go, since I am unable to build my house myself. That sounds like a great size for a house too; small enough to be moved if need be, but big enough to live comfortably in.
There is a small Amish community a few hours from me. Growing up they were strict about not doing business with “outsiders” unless they needed to. I wonder if they still feel the same now. I think I will try to look into it. Thanks for the idea!
I have been following the Tiny House stuff a few years now. While I love the coziness of a loft, I am nearly 50 and think about a Tiny rolling into my 70’s. A ladder will not be for me and steps will take up so much space resulting in more money. And in 20 years the square foot price will be even more. I’ve not seen may posts that incorporate a Murphy bed. My ultimate plan will have one. I’ll have a smaller loft for the eventual grandkids. The open beams and the dormers are fantastic. Nice work!!!
You might check out Tiny Texas Houses. They have a couple of their house designs that incorporate Murphy beds!!!!
Like you, I’m not planning on the loft being used as a nightly sleeping area; more like long term storage. I want to go with a built in Murphy bed, too. I’m planning on no windows on one wall to accommodate this. Not only will it save me money and effort on the minus-one window, it will give me a sleeper downstairs. Another idea I have been entertaining is in the FENCL design: Instead of putting a chair or desk in on the interior side of the front bank of windows, I’m thinking of building in a daybed-banquette there; a box with a custom cushion, a flip top for inside box storage of pillows/blankets/whatever even if I have to put the front door around on the side in a recess. This would give me one single bed and a double bed in the Murphy wall. I also prefer gambrel roofs to a gable for loft space.
Like you, I’m looking into more of a retirement home. One solution is a fold out sofa type set up. Two wood panels (each are the length of and 1/2 the width of a double bed) are held together with a piano hinge. One side is attached to a storage box, the other flips open and has a place on the underside to screw in legs. The seat and back cushions open up to cover the frame. Another is something done in teardrop trailers, turning the dining table and bench seats into a bed. The table drops down onto a ridge near the top of the seats, making the surface flush, and the back and bottom cushions slide down to become a mattress. A third option is to maintain the loft space as is but use a pull down attic type staircase instead of a ladder. The major disadvantages to a Murphy bed is it eliminates windows and makes the space feel that much tighter. I believe the commercial ones are about a foot thick.
I’m glad to see more and more companies getting into the Tiny Home business and selling products that are reasonably priced. Both Tiny Smart House and SlabTown Customs can get you into a tiny home for $20,000 or less. (The quote we got from Slabtown was $14,000 for one of their Anne Marie units.)
It doesn’t cost $50 or $60k to build one of these houses, as this and many other posts on this blog prove.
I love the homes put out by Tumbleweed and several other manufacturers, but their prices are ridiculous and have probably done more to hurt the tiny home movement than help it. In my part of the country, I can go out and buy an older 1000 sq ft home and 5-10 acres for $50-60k in the country.
The shell of our tiny home is costing us $3200, with labor, but we could have gotten it even cheaper if built it ourselves.
Check out this website for a really nice tiny house with a great loft! This is the one that I would go with. It even has stairs that are easy to climb.I have taken his design and modified it a little to include two lofts. I hope to build soon.
http://picasaweb.google.com/104317431054100893074/8WideLoft?gsessionid=GOvoNcuCtpaijnecCcYCuA#
what is the cost of this home? Do you know where this builder is located? I like the fact that there are actually some stairs to get to the loft also seems roomy up there compared to others.
Is the height street legal? Also it seems double the weight of a “traditional” small house.
I work with this company, maybe I can answer some questions:
The two concerns I’ve seen here are loft access and price. Since the home pictured is our display model home, and we take it to home shows, we left the stairs out. With the volume of people (and kids) that view our model at these events, we don’t want to invite an accident. Of course, you preferred loft access would be provided.
The photos shown are of our display model, which was built to represent the upper end of the price range for a finished home. Its price includes the bathroom that is inside, but installing plumbing to a shell on a trailer does carry an extra charge. I hope this helps!
Ashley, thanks for the info. I really love these homes. I have a couple of questions, though. I went to the site and found no mention of insulation or wiring. I did not even see outlets or electrical appliances, not even lamps, in the photos. I would suggest adding details of these on the site, but in the meantime, what kind of insulation is offered for warmth? And what kind of extra costs are there for standard electrical wiring? Thanks so much.
Love the angles in the sleeping loft…makes it feel very roomy. (Loft access would ALWAYS be a problem for me, but it’s very beautiful.)
nice one..
love it..
nice house..
so compact yet organize..
wish there’s something like this in my country n maybe have my own..
Very nice.
I’m a little surprised by the pushback some of the craftsmen builders are getting here. Seems to me the quality is very undervalued and price has become the virtue exalted above all others. Probably why Wal-Mart and Ikea do so well.
Mo,
Price is not everything, but since most people do not have $50,000 (or more) to drop on a tiny house and you can’t get a mortgage for one, price becomes a big factor. Also, in our case, we don’t WANT a mortgage. We are trying to be debt free. Taking out a high-interest loan to pay for a tiny house on wheels makes no sense, regardless of your financial situation.
I appreciate the work of people like Jay Shafer. The Tumbleweed Houses are awesome. But, unless I win the lottery, I could never even think of buying one. I think many other people here feel the same way.
-Rebecca
I totally understand that price is a factor but there really isn’t any comparison between what Jay and others do vs. the budget building options. Apples and Oranges. Nothing wrong with either path. My point is there is value in quality craftsmanship and materials and that does come at a price and the level of completeness was not considered in the comparisons offered.
One thing I like about this design is the openness. A lot of layouts put two long skinny things opposite each other with a narrow walkway between. Lots of travel trailers go with that design, it’s one of the things I like least about them. Tiny houses give you the opportunity to design something different though with the ones on wheels you still need to consider weight distribution, which I assume is the main reason for the long skinny concept.
I drove down to Albany, Oregon today and spent some time looking at this tiny house. The French doors, high ceiling and skylight make sitting inside feel spacious and comfortable. The loft, my favorite part, was big enough for a couple of six foot tall people and didn’t feel closed in at all. It was also really nice to see walls that weren’t all wood. My only complaint was that there was only six feet of headroom under the loft. It appears to be well constructed and even though it was parked next to a highway it was pretty quiet inside. I could easily live in this house.
I live in an 8×30 space – trust me, 8 ft is a bit too narrow for comfort if you ever have company! The dormer windows, loft and high ceilings are a big plus. I would give up 10 feet of length to have high ceilings like this. Lots of light is so important in a tiny house 🙂
Let me make a suggestion that has worked well for me. I live east of Sacramento, Ca., and I have fairly recently finished remodeling my second 8×20 office trailer into a space for my wife to use as a retreat, yoga/meditation space. I hunted on Craigslist for several months and finally found one had very little water damage for $1500. I gutted the inside, reinsulated and sheetrocked it, ran new electricity and added 2 3×6 and 1 4×6 vinyl double pane sliding windows. I also replaced much of the T111 siding and insulated the bottom. I did most of the work myself and I have into it about $3000, not counting my time.
It can be done. I paid $100 each for the windows,
and was patient in finding good materials, either new or recycled, inexpensively. Starting with a good used office trailer it is possible to make a really nice 160 square foot space.
After completing this project this I built an addition on our manufactured home (which I also bought used and remodeled) and my wife decided she wants it instead, so our little 8×20 will soon be for sale. My suggestion is, patiently hunt for a good office trailer and then remodel it. You’ll come out way ahead.
This is my plan for “building” a tiny house. It buys you a properly sized trailer that is already framed and is often wired for electricity. Even on the expensive end I’m finding 8×20 office trailers for $3,500. I’m having a hard time finding an 8×20 flatbed trailer for that much. The project becomes a remodel with a roof over your head instead of a trailer up. One potential issues is the trailers are often deck over and wouldn’t leave you much room for a loft but you can always find a longer trailer if you need the room.
Building from an existing flat bed trailer offers some real advantages. It is truly hard to find an 8×20 in good shape for small money. Usually one that has been cared for will run over $5000, and even then you’ll often find hidden rot to deal with. Before I plunged into renovating office trailers, I seriously considered building on a used flat bed. Next time however I will use a double axle 8ft or 10ft wide by 24ft long flat bed and I would frame it with metal studs, not wood. The corners and doorways could be plywood to help with sheer movement. Also, I’d use hardiplank siding and metal roofing. Well cared for, these could last many years and never suffer rot.
If you are concerned about off gassing of new building materials, consider Tiny Texas Houses. Their houses are built of reclaimed, salvaged building materials for older home tear downs. Isn’t recycling building materials the truly green way to build? tinytexashouses.com
that’s not interested bcs it’s very hot house
Beautiful! I want to come and see your homes when I’m in your neighborhood.
Thanks for explaining that tiny SMART houses are mobile and can actually be delivered to us. My husband and I really like the idea of the tiny house lifestyle, but we’d like to buy a trailer for the home to make sure it’s easy to relocate. I’m glad I read your article because now I know tiny SMART houses would be a good option to use with a trailer!