This 248-Square-Foot Tiny House Is Basically All Windows (with Seriously Dreamy Views)

Name: Monique Villiger and partner Aswan Shankara
Location: Croydon VIC Australia
Type of home: Tiny house on wheels
Size: 23sm
Years lived in: 8 weeks, owned

Tell us a little (or a lot) about your home and the people who live there: We are very proud to say that we designed and built our tiny home ourselves. Over the course of eight months and in my parents’ backyard, we worked (my partner full time and myself part time) to build our dream house.

Originally the project was fueled by a desire to create and experiment with alternative home designs but as the build went on we delved deeper and discover the truth of why the world is fascinated by tiny houses. And it’s for one simple reason: the freedom to choose.

When building a tiny house you have the freedom (and more of a budget) to really be adventurous with the design and prioritize what is important to you. It’s also about the freedom to move the house when you need to because it’s on wheels. And it’s freeing to pay a fraction of the rent we normally would and be able to work less because of that. It has also given us the freedom and luxury to live in a beautifully handcrafted, bespoke house that we would not have otherwise been able to afford.

The space itself is light filled and open thanks to large windows and a minimalist aesthetic. The wooden ply walls give the house a warm cosy feeling and cabin-like vibe. The lounge area is triple functioning as lounge, booth seating, and guest bed. The main bed is standard queen sized and up in the loft under a large skylight perfect for star gazing at night. The kitchen is large and fully functioning with a stove, oven, and dishwasher. The exterior is clad in black vertical boards that have been charred using an ancient Japanese hardening technique known as Shou Sugi Ban.

Describe your home’s style in 5 words or less: Modern, sustainable, handcrafted, cabin-like, minimal.

What is your favorite room and why? The tiny house is technically one room but my favorite space would have to be the lounge area. We put a lot of thought into the design of this space as we knew it would be our spot to relax, unwind, and spend time in each other’s company. The L-shaped lounge is more like a window seat/booth and the large window makes it feel like you’re practically sitting in the garden with a view to the distant hills.

What’s the last thing you bought (or found!) for your home? The last thing I bought for the tiny house was a beautiful riverstone carved soap holder from Cargo Lane to match our riverstone bathroom sink and to complement our Moroccan render in the shower.

Any advice for creating a home you love? My advice for those designing a home and particularly when designing a small space is to carefully consider your values and make sure they are aligned with the design of your home. For example, we love to cook and we greatly value nourishing, home-cooked meals over bought meals. Therefore having a large functioning kitchen was integral to our design.

Similarly we love nature and the outdoors and didn’t want our home to feel separated from the outside so the large windows and natural light help with that. Because small spaces can get easily overcrowded, we opted for a minimal aesthetic and chose closing cupboards over open shelving to keeps things calm and simple.

This submission’s responses were edited for length and clarity.