We’ve stumbled on quite a few reasons to think about tiny homes lately.
First, there was a study we shared recently that named Nashville one of the top cities in America to own a home if you’re looking to make extra rental income (and Detached Accessory Dwelling Units have been a big part of the discussion about that topic here in Middle Tennessee).
And then, a local story that we shared on our Facebook page this week (and that we found thoroughly inspiring): StyleBlueprint offered a look inside Infinity Village at Green Street Church of Christ, a micro-home village providing housing for homeless neighbors, kickstarted by Nashville Reverend Jeff Carr.
There’s also the Simply Home Community out in Portland — four tiny houses gathered together behind a larger main house that acts like a community center of sorts. Kind of the best parts of tiny-house living and tight-knit community living. (Beyond that, the houses are really cute — check it out.)
Between all that, the broad possibilities of the Tiny House movement are clear — they can be affordable structures that help combat homelessness, a way for folks with a tight budget to make the leap into homeownership, and a creative way to form a tight-knit community. Cozy structures can also bring extra space outside a main home — a studio, a workshop, a guest house for that extra rental income. It’s a wide spectrum from narrow square footage, for sure.
With the breadth of tiny homes in mind, we thought we’d share a few of our favorite companies and builders making small structures that can work for a variety of uses, from an extra Airbnb space to a cozy place to call home.
kitHAUS
kitHAUS builds pre-fab module buildings, delivered in kit form, and you can construct the space yourself or have their techs do it. Cool attributes: structural insulation makes the buildings really energy efficient; the aluminum frames stand strong against issues like rust and termites; it only takes days to get the building built; they look really cool. For reference: their smaller series k3 (117 square feet) starts at a little over $32K, and they get bigger and more detailed from there.
Kanga Rooms
Kanga’s structures come via kit, too, and depending on the Room System you choose, they don’t have to be all that tiny — their Luxe Studio, for instance, can go from 192 to 500 square feet. Plenty of elbow room on the far side of that span, by Tiny House standards. (They offer full-on pre-fab dwellings, too, as large as 16-by-56 feet.) Two of the coolest things about Kangas: their two design options, modern and cottage, give you a chance to match your aesthetic whether you like clean and angular or warm and cabin-y; and if you go tiny, they’re really affordable — the 8-by-10 modern Kwik Room kit starts at $5700.
Modern Shed
The name says it all (or at least most of it). If you love modern design, these pre-fabricated structures should hit your sweet spot. And although you could totally use one of these as a shed, the word’s a little misleading — your Modern Shed is totally customizable, from a tiny 8-by-10-foot space to a 16-by-40 not-so-tiny home. Like other pre-fab structures, these usually take days, not months, to get up and running.
Studio Shed
If you have lovely wooded land that you enjoy gazing at, Studio Shed offers some particularly fitting options, with tall windows and glass doors that let the light in. All of their pre-fab buildings have tons of modern style. Maybe one of the best things about Studio Shed: They offer a stylish home option for your pup, too.
Even if you’re not thinking about Tiny House living any time soon, these should offer some food for thought as a house hunter — if the almost-dream home you’ve found is missing that one key space (like an office or a guest room), and near the top of your budget, adding on doesn’t necessarily have to be out of reach.
What do you think of these? Any other companies making awesome small structures we should know about?