A sweet little Southern-style cottage
We came across this tiny jewel of a cottage on Airbnb. The “Tale Inn” is located in Fairhope, a town on the Gulf Coast south of Mobile, Alabama. Its pleasing proportions, welcoming porch… Continue reading
Category Archive: backyard cottages
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A Seattle backyard cottage for empty-nesters | microhouse
With their children out of the nest, one Seattle couple was looking to downsize from the large home where they had raised their family. However they did not wish to leave the Tangletown… Continue reading
Cost-saving strategies in a small California beach house
It’s no secret that housing costs eat up a significant chunk of most people’s budgets. Many people are drawn to the small house movement in the hopes that it will enable their dreams… Continue reading
Buttercup laneway house in Vancouver
This Craftsman-style laneway house sits in a Vancouver, Canada, backyard. The Buttercup Guest House is one of the hundreds of laneway houses built in Vancouver since its laneway housing program was adopted 2009.… Continue reading
The Cypress Laneway House | Smallworks
A young couple added this compact laneway house to their property in Vancouver, BC, intending to use it as a “mortgage helper” by renting it out. Because their lot is located on a… Continue reading
Tiny house for sale in Vancouver — must be moved
$20000 / 250ft2 – Tiny house / cabin / studio (Vancouver) 12′ x 24′ footprint tiny house FOR SALE! Yes, the entire house! So reads an ad on Craigslist for Vancouver, British Columbia.… Continue reading
MEDCottage, a tiny house designed for the elderly
What to do with an aging parent or grandparent who can no longer live independently? That question will be asked more frequently as the population ages. For some families, having granny move into… Continue reading
Compact guest cottage in Portland | Dyer Studio
Living in a one-bedroom bungalow, Stephanie and Sam Dyer didn’t have much room for overnight guests and couldn’t offer them any privacy. With both sets of parents making regular extended visits, they decided… Continue reading
A grandmother’s modern backyard cottage | microhouse
Wanting to be closer to her family, Sylvia recently moved from North Dakota to this modern “granny flat” in her daughter’s Seattle backyard. When her daughter’s family purchased their house, they had made… Continue reading
The Birdhouse
Since our last three featured homes were all tiny houses that cater to single-level living, we decided it was time for something different. Today’s home is also tiny, but this one is a… Continue reading
Susan’s tiny backyard cottage with a loft and stairs | New Avenue Homes
Susan had a cottage built behind her small California bungalow to provide more space for when her daughter’s family visits. The tiny dwelling was designed and built by New Avenue Homes, and is… Continue reading
Garden Pavilion | Gary Shoemaker and Ninebark Design Build
This copper, glass and cedar structure sits in a Seattle backyard. The owners were outgrowing their small house but didn’t want to leave the neighborhood. A relative, the principal of New York studio… Continue reading
Hillsborough River dock house
A ramshackle exterior conceals a modern residence in this truly unique character home. The small house is built at the end of a pier in the Hillsborough River within sight of downtown Tampa,… Continue reading
A storybook cob cottage
Cob is an age-old method of building that can be used to create very unique organically-shaped structures. This particular example, called the Cob Cottage, is situated on Mayne Island, a quiet and laid-back… Continue reading
Artwood Cottage
Artwood Cottage is a cozy vacation hideaway in the woods on Pender Island, part of the Gulf Islands chain along the southern coast of British Columbia. The small cottage was restored by its… Continue reading
Katrina Cottage | GMF+ Associates
“Katrina Cottages” were tiny and small house designs from a number of architects intended to allow households to quickly rebuild following the devastating 2005 hurricane that destroyed tens of thousands of houses along… Continue reading
The Piedmont Cottage, a tiny backyard cottage in Portland
The Piedmont Cottage sits in an older neighborhood of North Portland, Oregon. It is a small backyard cottage currently being used as a vacation rental unit. This cottage likely started out life as… Continue reading
The Wee House Company
The Wee House Company is a recent Scottish startup offering energy-efficient small houses designed to appeal to first-time homebuyers, downsizing empty-nesters and anyone wanting to add a rental cottage or “granny flat” to… Continue reading
A bright and spacious little backyard cottage | ART Design Build
The owner of a house in Maryland asked ART Design Build to replace an old one-car garage with a small accessory dwelling unit. She also requested that her new backyard cottage be made… Continue reading
The Tardis, a tiny tower house | Edwards Moore Architects
This mini tower is located in a central Melbourne, Australia, neighborhood. The “Tardis” as it is now called was originally an octagonal gazebo-type structure built on top of a brick backyard shed. Wanting… Continue reading
A stone outbuilding transformed into a small house | Bruno Erpicum
This stone outbuilding in Belgium became a small house with the addition of a steel and glass pavilion. The owners asked Atelier d’Architecture Bruno Erpicum & Partners to transform it into living space,… Continue reading
A handcrafted rustic guest cabin | Dotter & Solfjeld
This guest cabin is tucked among oak, buckeye and redwood trees in southern California. It replaced a small barn that previously stood there behind the owners’ house. The old barn was too far… Continue reading
A charming laneway cottage in Vancouver | Smallworks
Like a growing number of cities across North America, Vancouver allows homeowners to build an accessory dwelling unit behind the existing house provided there is a back alley. This laneway house, as they… Continue reading
A compact prefab “Refugio” from Chile
Refugio (“Refuge”) is a tiny prefab dwelling produced by FabriHome in Chile. It is typically used as a vacation cabin but it could be a permanent residence for a single person or a… Continue reading
