35 incredible tiny homes from around the world

Updated

2017-08-30T16:35:00Z

ecocapsule

Would you live in this tiny home?
Facebook/Ecocapsule

Tiny homes are all the rage. Real estate is getting expensive, and younger people are more worried about paying off student loans than saving up for a house. Tiny homes offer a way to live somewhere on the cheap, pare down your life to the essentials, and not necessarily skimp on some of the nicer things in life.

And if you don't want to buy one, they're great to rent for the weekend. Tiny homes are a popular category on Airbnb, and there's even a company worth millions of dollars dedicated to renting out tiny cottages.

On roofs, wheels, and in backyards, here are 35 of the most beautiful small homes in the world.

Melissa Stanger contributed to an earlier version of this story.

KODA Walking Concrete can be taken apart and easily rebuilt in a new location.

World Architecture Festival

Size:250 sq. ft

Location: Tallinn, Estonia

The KODA Walking Concrete made the World Architecture Festival's shortlist of the best "Small Projects" in 2016. It's completely mobile, and can be unassembled and reassembled if it needs to move to a new location. The company that developed it, Kodasema, designed the two-tiered home so that it can be assembled in as little as four hours.

The simple design allows it to function as whatever space is needed, be it a beach house, mountain hut, café, or office.

A young American filmmaker converted an old van into a mobile studio so he could travel the country.

Courtesy of Zach Both
Zach Both

Size: 2003 Chevrolet Express,L x 79″ W x 82″

Location:United States

Zach Both, a 23-year-old filmmaker, lives and works out of a converted van. It took Both six months to transform the vehicle into a fully functional home and studio, complete with a bed, kitchen, and desk.

The Japanese minimalist design firm Muji now sells houses.

Muji

Size: 98 sq. ft.

Location: Japan

The world-famous Japanese design firm Muji, known for its minimalist home goods and clothing, is now selling houses. Starting in August, Japanese residents will be able to order its $27,000, 98-square-foot house.

Like all of Muji's products, it's bare-bones, sourced from beautiful materials, and durable. They don't include electricity or plumbing, and are meant for owners who want a vacation or backyard home that would let them unplug.

The Waterwoody Houseboat is the perfect cross between boat and cabin.

Courtesy of Kerry Elwood

Size:L x  28′ w x 9′

Location:United States

Boat builder and designer Kerry Elwood crafted this tiny houseboat after sailing boats for 18 years. He wanted a more minimalist way of life, and to be more in sync with nature.

Elwood spent almost two years building the first "WaterWoody," and drove it across Detroit Lake in Oregon. The cozy cabin feature solar power, LED lighting, and a composting toilet.

The Mushroom dome cabin has gorgeous views of the surrounding redwood trees

Airbnb

Size: 100 sq. ft.

Location: Aptos, California

Located in a quiet grove in California, the Mushroom Dome Cabin has a skylight and wide windows that offers a view of California's surrounding redwood forest and the stars in the sky at night. The building is topped with a cute mushroom cap that almost makes it look like it's part of the forest.

The Ecocapsule is a self-sufficient, environmentally friendly, tiny mobile home that looks like an egg.

Would you live in this tiny home?
Facebook/Ecocapsule

Size: 120 sq. ft.

Location:Bratislava, Slovakia

This futuristic, tiny home was a collaboration between architects Tomas Zacek and Sona Pohlova.

The uniquely designed house is self sustaining, as it generates its own power, and obtains water from its surroundings. It was built for two people to live off the grid for up to a year.

Currently, the company is accepting pre-orders for the first 50 homes, each starting atroughly $90,000.

The Riverside comes fully equipped with a full kitchen, bathroom, living room, and two loft spaces.

Tiny House Talk

Size: 246 sq. ft.

Location:Nashville, Tennessee

This Scandinavian-inspired home was created by New Frontier Tiny Homes. While it may be small, the interior exudes luxury. Granite counter tops and custom cabinetry furnish the kitchen, while the exterior features a small front porch and metal roof.

You can move in for $79,000.

The Escher comes with luxury furnishings better than you could ever imagine.

New Frontier

Size: 200 sq. ft. (customizable)

Location: Nashville, Tennessee

Also made by New Frontier Tiny Homes, the Escher model is filled with high-end features and vibrant colors. You can customize it when you order, so the size can be tweaked depending on what you're looking for.

The mobile Minim House is multi functional and fully customizable.

Tiny House Town/Brian Levy

Size: 210 sq. ft.

Location:Washington, D.C.

The Minim House is a small space that is great for both living and entertaining. Because of its dual-purpose furnishings, the tiny home can adjust for various purposes, like dining or sleeping.

For example, under the couch (that also doubles as a second bed), there is storage space, a 40-gallon water tank, and water filter.

Models of this housewhich range from around $40,000 to $80,000 — are available for purchase on the company's website.

The Tiny Fern Forest Treehouse is one of the most-booked Airbnbs in Vermont

Courtesy Harrison Reynolds/Airbnb

Size: 100 sq. ft.

Location:Lincoln, Vermont

The house is more like a hand-built treehouse, hand-built by a couple in the woods of Vermont. It's charming and available for rent, so no wonder it's one of the most-booked Airbnbs ever.

This 84-square-foot home cost just $10,000 to build, and even less to maintain.

YouTube/radley87

Size: 84 sq. ft.

Location: Olympia, Washington

Dee Williams returned from an eye-opening trip to Guatemala and decided to downsize her home from 1,500 square feet to just 84 square feet. She moved out of her big house, built a small one from scratch, and parked it in her friend's backyard.

This home, which she calls "The Little House," cost about $10,000 to build, and even less to maintain. With a propane tank for heat and solar panels for electricity, Williams pays very little to live there.

The Pequod houses a family of four.

Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses

Size:  208 sq. ft.

Location:  Indiana

Named after the ship in "Moby Dick," The Pequod has a cool curvy design inspired by the waves. It packs a lot into its small interior space, with a washer/dryer, a 20-inch range cooktop, and a full-sized refrigerator and freezer. It was designed by Greg Parham, owner and architect of Rocky Mountain Tiny Houses in Durango, Colorado, for a family in Indiana.

The Lego Apartment is designed to store all amenities inside wood paneled shelves, creating an insane amount of space.

Youtube/Kirsten Dirksen

Size: 258 sq. feet

Location:Barcelona, Spain

Photographer Christian Schallert tapped the talents ofarchitectBarbara Appollini to redesign this tiny apartment into a space-saving pad. At first glance it looks like an empty cube, but once you open up the many wood-paneled shelves, the space turns into a fully-equipped home.

For example, Schallert's bed rolls out from underneath his balcony, and his bedside tables serve as stairs. The small home is so impeccably designed that it even stores a full refrigerator, dishwasher, and sink... all hidden in the wood paneling.

The rEvolve is solar-powered and rotates to face the sun.

Joanne H. Lee/Santa Clara University

Size: 238 sq. ft.

Location:San Francisco, California

The rEvolve was developed as part of a housing competition organized by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and made by ateam of students at Santa Clara University. It cost $86,000 to build, with $25,000 of that cost going toward a tracking ring that rotates the structure to face the sun.

It's surprisingly roomy, and features eight 330-watt solar panels on the roof for solar power.

There aren't plans to build more of them, but the rEvolve prototype was donated to Operation Freedom Paws, which pairs service dogs with disabled veterans who need them, and is used as temporary housing for veterans who visit the Bay Area.

At $150,000, the Vintage Glam is one of the most expensive tiny homes in the world.

Tiny Heirloom

Size: 200 sq. ft.

Location: Portland, Oregon

Despite its diminutive size, the Vintage Glam was built for luxury. It has a chandelier, hardwood floors, and a motorized bed that slides out of the steps.

The architects even managed to cram in marble counter tops, a dishwasher, and a washer and dryer unit. Tiny homes don't get any better than this.

This small home on an island in Washington was created by two artists.

Jessica and Carson Lynch/Airbnb

Size: 144 sq. ft.

Location:  Guemes Island, Washington

Guemes Island is a small community with just 650 full-time residents. On their 5.5-acre plot of land, Carson and Jessica Lynch — a print maker and wood shop owner — have a small getaway house that features a queen size bed, a small fridge and burner cook top, a TV, fire pit, and BBQ. You can rent it on Airbnb and enjoy the peace of the outdoors

The "Transforming A-Frame" costs just $1,200 to build.

Relaxshacks

Size: 110 sq. ft.

Location: Memphis, Tennessee

With its elegant structure and stark simplicity, the A-Frame is a cheap, easy home that you could build yourself if you really wanted to. The blueprints and instructions cost just $30. It was designed by Joe Everson, a tiny home entrepreneur in Tennessee.

The structure can also transform into a "closed" mode to protect from the elements. It reduces its size to 80 square feet.

The Elm looks like a tiny farmhouse.

Tumbleweed Houses

Size:  187-250 sq. ft.

Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Tumbleweed has been designing RV homes for nearly two decades. One of their latest designs, the Elm, is customizable and has all basic furnishings with a soft wood interior. The outside looks like a practical farmhouse, and it even comes with porch space.

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