Small House Bliss

Small house designs with big impact

Category Archives: 3 bedroom


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Cabaña Bascuñan, a small house with a playful design by Matías Silva Aldunate

Cabaña Bascuñan, a small house by Matías Silva Aldunate

From a distance, this small house appears pretty straightforward. Cabaña Bascuñan has a simple shed-like shape with a roof that extends out to shelter the porch. But get closer and you realize that things aren’t quite as they seem. The gable end windows appear symmetrical at first glance until you notice that they don’t align with the peak of the roof. The roof has the usual overhang on one side but on the other side it folds down to form the wall. One window is recessed slightly; another protrudes from the wall. These and other unexpected elements enrich the experience of visiting the house.

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Two small houses by Architekturbüro Scheder

Zwei Kleine Häuser by Architekturbüro Scheder

This pair of identical small houses is located on the outskirts of Kaiserslautern, a historic city in western Germany. They stand out from their neighbors with minimalist black-stained wood exteriors embellished only by the crisp white window frames. The tall and narrow houses are placed at right angles to each other on the sloped lot, giving both views over the neighboring rooftops to a church and a historic castle. To take full advantage of those views, the architects at Architekturbüro Scheder opted for a reverse floor plan, placing the living areas on the highest of the three floors.

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A modern farmhouse by FAB Architecture

A small modern farmhouse by FAB Architecture

To kick things off in 2013 we have this small modern farmhouse in Austin, Texas. With three bedrooms in a fairly compact floor plan of 1,531 ft2 (142 m2), this is a small house suitable for a family. It is located in Austin’s Agave neighborhood, a subdivision development of moderately-priced modern houses.

Austin firm FAB Architecture designed the house with the simple lines and utilitarian detailing of an agrarian homestead. The house is long and narrow, essentially a one room wide layout with a saddlebag bumpout to one side for the stairwell. The narrow plan is an advantage in Austin’s climate. Having windows on at least two sides of the major rooms allows for effective natural cross-ventilation. The straightforward plan and simple roof form should also be economical to build.

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Montblanc House, a small family home by Studio Velocity

Montblanc House by Studio Velocity

© Kentaro Kurihara

The owners of this small family home in Japan wanted a house that would accommodate their family of four as well as their small beauty salon business. A key challenge was to get some open space on the small site while maintaining privacy from the neighboring houses close by on three sides. Architects Studio Velocity responded by designing a saltbox-style home whose asymettrical roof encloses both indoor and outdoor spaces. Several large openings are carved into the steeply-pitched roof to form protected terraces that provide access to light, air and views.

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Small cabin on Vardehaugen by Fantastic Norway

small cabin on Vardehaugen by Fantastic Norway

This small cabin is nestled at the top of Vardehaugen, a large rock outcrop overlooking a fjord in central Norway. The cabin has an angular jagged form that nicely complements its rugged setting. Its location 35 m above sea level gives it panoramic views of the surrounding landscape but also exposes it to the harsh coastal weather.

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A container house in hiding by Leger-Wanaselja Architecture

shipping container house by Leger-Wanaselja Architecture

At first glance, most people would not notice anything unusual about this small contemporary house in California. With the ends clad in lap siding, you have to look closely to see that it is constructed from recycled shipping containers. A roof with wide overhangs, a feature not often seen on container houses, further helps to disguise its origins. Leger-Wanaselja Architecture designed the house based on three 40-foot containers. Two are stacked on the left, and a third was cut in half and stacked on the right. The two stacks are joined by a double-height atrium-like space with walls of glass on the front and back.

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Cozy ski chalet in the French Alps

Winter is quickly approaching in the northern hemisphere and for some people that means the arrival of ski season. Gîte la Bartavelle is a small mountain chalet at a ski resort in the French Alps. Like the traditional alpine chalet, or Swiss chalet, this new version is constructed of wood and has the characteristic gabled roof which slopes to the sides, substantial overhangs supported by heavy brackets, and small windows protected by operable shutters.

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“Life in Spiral” by Hideaki Takayanagi

This small house in Tokyo sits on a tiny lot in a neighborhood of apartment buildings. Because of the small lot size, the only way to get sufficient living area was to build up, four stories tall. From the outside, the most distinguishing characteristic of the boxy house are the two glass facades which reveal a staircase winding around the perimeter of the home. On the inside, that staircase defines the character of the space. A tightly-wound staircase that zig-zagged back and forth over itself would have been more space-efficient. Instead, architect Hideaki Takayanagi opted for a stair that rises in a wide arc, sacrificing some space in favor of architectural interest.

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