Tiny House Design

Studio Shed is a relative new tiny space builder. These prefab little sheds can be setup in a day and used as a backyard shed, or with some interior finish work, a nice backyard home office. Prices start at $4,900 for their 8′ by 8′ model (check their website for current prices) and you can even configure your custom shed online and view pricing instantly.

Studio Shed is located in Boulder, Colorado but they ship their sheds across the US. They use sustainable FSC certified dimensional lumber, recycled aluminum windows, and low-VOC paint. Several colors are available and sizes range from 8′ by 8′ to 12′ by 20′.

While you might be able to build a simple shed like this for less money they offer a lot of value in the speedy installation and high quality finish. I can see do-it-yourselfers choosing to take the custom built route to save a few bucks but this looks like an incredible option for those looking for a more turn-key option.

I first spotted this on Jetson Green. Photo credit to Studio Shed.

Julia and I have decided last weekend to seriously consider building a tiny office for me in our backyard. I work from home full-time and use a bedroom in the house as my office. The only trouble is that when the dogs are barking, or Katie is playing loudly, it gets a little difficult to be on a conference call. The space I have out back is limited but there is one spot for an 8×8 tiny house. So I started drawing up some ideas for 8x8x8 structures. This is the first design which I drew last Sunday.

It’s desgned to require little cutting of the plywood sheathing and includes some unusual windows. I think the final office will have larger windows and larger overhang but it was fun exploring the cube shape. The roof in this drawing is designed to make it look flat from ground level but it is in fact slightly pitched to the back over the door. You can download the Google SketchUp file to get a better look if you have Google SketchUp on your computer.

Julia ran across this garden cottage company last night while on craigslist. I also just noticed that Christina had posted an article about these little cottages on Tiny House Blog back in December. EcoScape Outdoors manufactures their cottage components before transporting them to the building site. Installation only takes 3 to 4 days. They can build stationary or portable cottages. The prices below are for the stationary cottages.

These are not complete tiny houses with a kitchen and bathroom but they do seem like a very good start and could probably be retrofitted by the owner. The cost seems reasonable too and right now they are offering a $1,000 discount (check their website for details). Continue Reading »