My initial interest in tiny houses started with my desire to own a simple cabin in the mountains. Kirsten Dirksen from faircompanies.com recently released a new video on an updated concept of the modern day cabin. Indoor cabins!
Architect Terri Chiao knew she couldn’t afford the rent on a 750-square-foot Brooklyn loft without a roommate, but she didn’t want to divide it up with walls. Instead, she built a cabin and a treehouse inside the space to be used as private living quarters, leaving the remainder of the space free for dinners, parties, and art salons.
The 88-square-foot cabin — complete with under-the-floor storage space and a driftwood rod as a closet — was Chiao’s first home. Now three years later, she shares the 100-square-foot treehouse– lofted 6 feet off the ground to house her office below– with her partner and fellow artist Adam Frezza.
The two indoor shelters were built over the summer of 2009 with the help of friends and neighbors and just $2,000 (mostly spent on wood, tools, and hardware). Frezza and Chiao, who work together on art projects, now use the “cabin in a loft” to host “traveling artists.”
Both spaces have windows that let in sunlight and fresh air and are divided by an area with potted plants that the couple liken to a garden or urban lawn. “As a result, living in the space can feel like living outdoors, in a small community of two houses.”
I am thinking about building a cabin with an interior based on this.
what a great, creative, whimsical idea for creating privacy in a loft! I love this!
I think this is a great idea. I love having an open living/shared area. And the “cabins” really do feel so private, much more so than curtains. What a great way to accommodate a space to a group (either friends, or a family). Actually, it reminds me a lot of this family cottage*, w/ the open shared space, lots of natural light, and private cubes: http://www.archdaily.com/126855/hamra-dinelljohansson/
*found via ApartmentTherapy.com (to be fair)
It’s cute and kinda romantic.
Conversely, the roof of the cabin blocks the fire sprinkler above it. Large surfaces of wood which fire likes to spread quickly over. No hand railing on the stairs up to the tree house.
We use sheet rock over wall studs to give walls a fire rating.
I suppose you could argue that both are just really big pieces of furniture.
Love it, suggests a lot of possibilities. You could build a big open greenhouse type structure and set up little cabins inside that for a “country” version.
Oops, hit submit before I was finished. You could also use a similar concept to get around minimum size restrictions by building a large “open concept” house of your own with small cabins inside that.
I’m sorry. This is just stupid. An INDOOR CABIN? It’s called a closet.
Send your money to me, and sit in your closet.
Sorry, just not my cup of joe.
Hmmm, from Seinfeld, Kramers “levels,” you dont need furniture or rooms, just different levels where you can have a bed or TV or books! You can go under or over…
Kinda like kennel training your roommate…Just let them out to pee! Harry Potters room under the stairs..
Oh yeah, the huge dresser! I forgot about that, one drawer per person..This does redefine ‘housing,’ but not in a true sense..That’s all I’m saying. It addresses none of the real issues..
Oh no, I hope queen dilly whatever is not looking.
Strange posts this week, must be the holidays.
I don’t get the fascination with this indoor cabin concept either. At least I don’t think it is related with the tiny house philosophy.
Its a great/fun place- good people too. I stayed there about two months back and also shot a video tour of this which I had been editing, and will have out at some point- a slightly different take. Good work from Kirsten though. Happy holidays all!
We have built tiny houses & backyard cottages for quite a while in Oregon. We now build “Garage Cabins” on castor wheels that can be an instant 4th bedroom, home office, man cave, yoga studio, home school class, etc. they can be delivered & set up in about 3 hours. Best of all you can remove & sell them when you move or need your garage back.
Joe O
Info@zoecottages.com
Neat!
I wish people would stop complaining about everything that doesn’t fit their idea of tiny living. I agree that if it doesn’t have cooking and bathing, its a room, not a house. But lots of the posts here are simply exploring ways of utilizing space outside the bigger house norm. There’s nothing wrong with that.
This loft is much smaller than the average house, yet it would work well for two couples or a family to live in, while sill having lots of open space. I found it inspiring.
Great Total Concept ! Take careful note of all angles and sizes of units. The whole thing is a beautifully integrated ‘whole’. Very beautiful. Think ‘Luis Barragan’ if he was in his 20’s today. He would do something like this. YES… should have used metal studs and sheetrock.YES… a creative handrail. YES… more substantial windows and privacy features. BUT it’s a really great design. It gets the essential stuff really right ! This is the work of a VERY talented designer. This design could easily be upscaled with a very expensive deluxe finishes type end result…or kept modest. The design is VERY solid. Keep going. Stay creative…
What an amazing way to rework a contemporary concept to establish privacy in a difficult space. Big rooms instead of tiny houses. Love the loftS the one above the office and the one above the storage space. Nice!
I don’t get it. I find it kind of stupid, actually.
My sister did something similar for her oldest daughter. She wanted more privacy in a shared bedroom. So my sister built her a “bed in a box”. It’s got a light and a door. My neice can read, or do homework on her laptop without disturbing anyone.
It seems the scene is getting cattier and more negative these days…… Its just too bad…..
Wow, sending loving kindness to the people posting negative stuff…geez….get up on the wrong side of the bed or what? I think this was amazing, what genius! What great ideas. Inspiring for sure. Thanks. : )
Oh, I meant to say I love the plant idea too, so it feels outdoorsy. : ) Namaste