I want to fall onto that bed. This is great!

Wow now thats small, I think my closet is about the same size... I Dont think I could live in such a small space.

Wow! wow! wow! Very impressive!

unbelievable! that shallow shelf of glasses is scaring me, though. how do they stay in place?

Incredible! Nicely done.

it is extremely small, but i think you could still add some touches of art or color or rugs to soften all of that wood. but kudos for living in such an efficient space, and the sleeping loft looks cozy!

Love your sleeping loft, and wow that's compact space done very well, plus room even for all those books and glasses. Well done.

I have to say I was impressed/relieved to see an actual toilet instead of the usual (at least in other photographed Tumbleweed houses) metal trash can in the "bathroom". You've done an excellent job with the space you have; it actually looks livable.

I've been dreaming about buying one of Jay's houses forever!
I especially love the window in the sleeping loft. Teeny tiny can be elegant! And if the contest is about creative use of limited space, this must be the winner, hands-down. I agree with the above poster on the need for a little art, rugs, colour etc., though.

I love the loft bed. I agree with the others that you could soften all the raw timber, but you get a thumbs up from me for making 89 sq ft livable. I love the exterior shot of the house, too.

You had me with the sleeping loft with the beautiful window. Totally, totally cool. My husband and I have been talking about selling all of our stuff and getting the hell out of Dodge - don't know if we'll reallly do it, we're just at the talking stage- but your place is a real inspiration. So serene. Great job.

That sleeping loft looks so cosy and comfy. Must be lovely to be able to move house whenever you are bored of your surroundings!

I also think your sleeping loft is dreamy and cozy and applaud your efficient use of the space (no clutter!). I don't mind the lack of bright 'high points' or zaps of color or art. It might be too much for this space, and the wood is beautiful anyway. I sort of think adding more adornment would make it too fussy and detract from the nature of the structure.

wow! im amazing you can live there!! why'd you choose to live in such a small space?

it is clutter free, but you haven't really designed or decorated anything--you just filled up a predesigned house. add some art/paint/personality/curtains?

@TheLiberator: Well, in case it counts he not only filled up the house, he's also the one who designed it... :D

was this house on Oprah?

This is AMAZING! I have so many questions... 1.) Can you sit up in your sleeping loft without hitting your head? 2.) Is there a custom mattress up there? 3.) I see you have cooking supplies, what's the kitchen set up? 4.) Is this your primary home?

This place is amazing.

Wow, wow, wow. I had to look twice to see if this was a typo - 89 sq. feet! Makes my 640 sq. feet place seem palatial!

Maybe a stupid question, but how is the sleeping loft accessed? I'm assuming stairs of some sort, but where are they?

@CherylH

Look on the floor plan, you'll see a rectangle next to the bathroom door, that's the ladder. The bedroom space is above the living room.

that is such an amazing little house. the sleeping loft alone is wonderful.

Jay, I've always loved your houses, but I haven't read anywhere about whether you have extra storage space anywhere? Does everything you own truly fit in your teeny-tiny house?

That is a great place! How do you hook up the water and heating when you "park" it somewhere? Butane tanks and ...?

aaaahhhhhhhhhh......that is soooooooooooooooooo crazy.....

good job.!!!!!

Oh, man. This may be one of the smallest coolest things I have ever seen!

@ stepanka

Oh, thank you for pointing that out! I completely missed seeing that at first.

Jay, you live on an enviable economy of scale...and elegance. I love this.

Very impressive..The simple living is attractive and this is the winner.

very cool!.....reminds me of the cabin episode of Arrested Development.....hehe.....

Wish I would have had a couple of these to give the kids when they turned 18. What a great guilt free way that would have been to get them out of the house.

Assuming this runs on a generator, is there any heat or AC?

Incredible design. These should be for sale all over the place.

@baileyb
These are for sale all over the place, built or just the plans.

I heard a guy on TV say "if you're not living on the edge, you're taking up way too much space." NOBODY can say that about this house! I first visited your web site last year. I was impressed. I'd love to live in a smaller place, but your small space is TOO small for me and my five cats and books!

It's very cute and one of my former students wants to buy one of these but I'm gonna have to say No. It would be fine for a day or two but after that I would probably want to move to an "extended stay" motel so I wouldn't feel so cramped.

Wow, I really love this and I like how the books and tees add the pops of color. So, do you bring ladies home or do you go to them? What? The first photo is the bed and it was the first thing I thought of.

Brilliant! That single window was exactly the right architectural detail. If you don't have much space to work with, you've got to get maximum impact from minimum input. Someone else could have overworked the space but this is definitely a case of less is more. Good job!

Wow that is tiny! Just one question, where do you shower?

Huh? I am reading comments such as incredibly done, awesome set-up, impressive. Hello....People... There is a mattress, a chair, a tea kettle and a towel as a curtain. No artwork in sight, not a single piece of imagination went into creating this. Are we all just a bit more enamored that this is actually in the competition? This is smallest coolest, not just who can live in the smallest place.

I agree with recon1 above: these Tumbleweed houses are amazing and kudos to those who can call them home; but this entry doesn't show much--any--personalization or character or adaptation. Inhabiting such a small space is much different than working with that space to be viable in a design competition.

I adore Tumbleweed Tiny Houses, but I'm not seeing any design inspiration used here at all. If you had done something fantabulous with the interior of the tiny house, I'd be impressed. I do give you kudos for living in such a tiny space, though.

definitely a winner...

I've always been intrigued by the tiny tumbleweed homes. It's amazing what you've fit into 89 sq ft. I don't blame you for favoring the sleeping loft...that would be my favorite, too. It looks so nest-like and cozy!

OMG. It's like living in a wine box. But a darling little wine box. Bravo!

you win!!! why bother with march madness... final 4...
where else do you live... hmmmm

Comment to some of the above posters:

Most of the things in this small space is build in, and that does sort of imply there isn't much design in the space by the dweller.

EXCEPT in this case, where the guy living in it got to design the entire space, inch by inch, plank by wooden plank.

For the person who thinks this place does not have character ... try doing all the research about your own space, from designing to building to furnishing. Just because the furnishings mostly isn't soft furnishings doesn't mean there isn't any.

Then, try to downscale to the point where you can fit everything you need for daily living into a space this small. Spartan and simple living, might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'd certainly say it shows character.

so cute!

And you can change the view anytime you want!

It's like a grownup's tree house -- I love it!!!

Does it live hooked up to that trailer? Anyway, I like this a lot.

I encourage the contributors who stated that, “not a single piece of imagination went into creating this,” because, in essence, there is, “no artwork in sight,” or any, “personalization or character” to take another look. The whole thing is a highly-personalized work of art. Geometry, archetypal form and utility like this do not come easily. If decorating an otherwise artless space with brick-a-brack trappings were what constituted good design, then this house would, indeed, fail to impress. That it still does impress without succumbing to the fallacy that more stuff is somehow prerequisite to self-expression or prestige is a testament to something greater. Design’s most essential elements cannot be found in any furniture catalogue or gallery.

In the words of Antoine de St. Exupery, “You know you have perfection of design not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away.”

that's just insanely awesome! great job. looks cozy and open.

Marty,

I would like to add to the comment about this home being ingenious in design from a musician's viewpoint. Its easy to fill space with notes. It takes much more skill to communicate music, to achieve (in this case home) the desired effect with fewer notes.

Jay's sense of proportion allows for kinesthetically designed physical space, placement and effectiveness. The location of walls, shelves and openings in the tiny home provides the illusion of unseen space beyond. The home makes great use of natural light. Its energy efficiency is amazingly high. There is also the concept of versatility inherent in this design. It is simultaneously; a shelter, a workspace, a refuge and home.

Uniquely, while supporting solitude, this home also encourages participation in the wider society because of its size. (This has been anecdotally noted by European observers of similar designs.)

This home is not constructed for a mother, father and sixteen children. We are considering efficient small homes presumably for a fewer number of people. The Tumbleweed home does address needs for a single person, perhaps a couple, without consuming more resources than the planet would fairly provide per person. It has been among the smartest designs in small homes I have seen and is worthy of study.

C.D.L.

It just couldn't be more ADORABLE!!!

i love it, that lofts looks so cozy and i love the idea of waking up in beautiful surroundings.

Yes, if you're worried the owner didn't do any design work, check out other pictures of tumbleweed homes. :) I haven't seen this configuration before. The only common thread is the sleeping loft, and there's very few options to change that.

Love the kitchen! Though I also fear for the wall of glass. Is it held in somehow, or just taken down during road trips?

Holy cow. That's impressive.

Thank you Forestweaver, Marty S. and Igher for clarifying to any of the "naysayers" :)

This is a glorified advertisement.

At first I thought, "Neat, someone is actually living in one of these and making it work." Then I visited the Tumbleweed site to find the exact same house featured in a virtual tour, as well as a list of all the press it has already gotten. All on the home page.

It seems more than a little disingenuous for a company to enter a what is basically a model home into AT's contest. AT readers would be in an uproar if a McMansion developer were to enter their "home" in a contest (obviously not Small Cool). How is this any different?

Just my $.02.

I've had that photo of your sleeping loft on my computer for a while and every time I see it I become mesmerized again. Great house, beautifully simple, and I loved the dimpled metal panel in the bathroom - nice industrial touch against the wood. You have my vote.

PS Why do so many commentators seem to equate personality and creativity with lots of knickknacks and paintings? The shape and materials of this house ARE imaginative design. And the maker's contribution to the broader public discussion about living in smaller spaces has been invaluable. This living space absolutely qualifies for this competition in my view, much more than some posh, relatively generic 800 sq ft apt. And I love this aesthetic: warm, soothing, simple. (Preferably not attached to a vehicle, though.)

I love Tumbleweed houses!

http://thebluepearlgirl.blogspot.com

Hi Mitbos.

If you look more closely at the Tumbleweed website or read Jay's book, you will see that Tumbleweed is the company Jay started after building the house pictured here.

This is not a model home or a glorified add. It is the house Jay designed, built and lives in. A couple of the differences between it an a McMansion are that it produces a tiny fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions and consumes far fewer non-renewable resources than the bigger stuff.

Thanks for voicing the concern.

That sleeping loft is like an altar, better than a murphy bed!

I love the tumbleweed homes. I rather want one myself. Of course, mine would be painted/decorated in a totally different way - but this is the original designer, so I don't see how saying "this is just a standard Tumbleweed house" makes any sense. Of course it is. He is the original designer.

I hope some year I'm entered in one of these contests with a home in the Tumbleweed style - but then people will say "you painted all that lovely natural wood, totally abandoning the original image!"

One day.. This has my name written all over it.

I love love love this. Yes, I really did need to exasperate that point.

Looking at the Georgetown Hot or Not, I wish I could see a Tumbleweed in the same kind of Obnoxious/Awesome candy palette.

Kudos to those who have commented that design is more than art on the wall or decorative rugs on the floor. It is about the essense of design that has gone into the total package and representative of the owner himself.
Beauty (and appropriate decor) is in the eye of the home dweller.

You have a thumbs up from me! As my place is bigger than yours by about 11 square feet (brag, brag) I can totally appreciate the design considerations that went into creating this truly tiny space.

What an absolutely inviting, warm, clean little space. I absolutely would not have thought from these initial photos that it was a little trailer on the back of a truck! The loft bed reminds me of my brothers' lofts when they were growing up (except nicer ha ha).

There is obviously something extremely flawed with this contest that didn't send you to the winners circle. I protest such flawed results. Your work is extraordinary. Then again, I suppose the LAST thing you need is prize of furniture from R&B. But it must be said, as the small brains of Wayne's world proclaimed "We are not worthy!" Not here anyway!!

Jay's Tiny Tumbleweed Homes are amazing. He definitely gets my thumb's up!

I really do have to agree this is indeed a work of art! Whether I be living in it for a LONG time is a different story but it still does not take away its ingenuity and worthy footprints! It so encourages people to explore the surroundings & maybe travel a little bit more. It is a great home for certain lifestyles. But regardless, this is simply amazing! and is definitely the coolest and the smallest.....

I'd love to see the inside of your cabinets and closets. Maybe you can send them to AT after the contest is over. I love that you still have all of your books. I hate when people suggest small space dwellers get rid of all their books.

Bathroom:

Use a shower curtain.
Waterproof just the lower half of the walls.
Store towels and a cosmetic basket on open shelving over the toilet.
Add towel hook.

These tiny homes are difficult to zone, finance, insure and sell.

Lofts may be impractical with age or injury.

Less expensive, space-saving ideas:

Omit the loft - to create a peaked interior ceiling.
Decrease the height of the building.
Place the entry door in the kitchen - either opposite the bathroom door or at the back of the building.

Remove the upper kitchen shelving.
Try a larger window over the kitchen counter.

Try a standard-sized, single-bowl kitchen sink.
Store a portable stovetop vertically under the kitchen sink.
Store a set of stackable pans/dishes, weekly dry goods and utensil basket in the lower cupboard.

Remove the excess interior walls, closets and shelving.

Try a daybed or futon couch in the living room.
Store a weekly wardrobe in pull-out baskets under the bed.

Replace books, tv, stereo, alarm clock with a handheld computer.
Rather than a desk, try a clipboard.

Try an arched window in the peaked wall of the living room.
Try larger windows and skylights.

Try a flush-to-the-wall propane heater.
Rather than a porch, try an awning.