Category Archive: Single-Level Living

A contemporary lakeside cottage | Petra Gipp Arkitektur

This small dwelling was designed by architect Petra Gipp for herself. It sits at the edge of a rocky bluff overlooking Lake Vättern, Sweden’s second largest lake. Visitors arriving at the cottage get… Continue reading

Treehouse Riga, a compact modular home | Appleton & Domingos

Treehouse Riga is a small modular dwelling with two bedrooms in a compact 44 m2 (474 ft2) floor plan. The tiny house was designed by architects Appleton & Domingos for modular home builder Jular. Treehouse… Continue reading

Maringotka, a contemporary caravan | Miramari Design

For those looking for something a little bit different, Maringotka is a contemporary version of the traditional wagon dwelling. Created by Prague studio Miramari Design, Maringotka can be used as a vacation home,… Continue reading

La Maison au Bord de l’Eau, a low-cost vacation home | Charlotte Perriand

Influential architect and designer Charlotte Perriand conceived La Maison au Bord de l’Eau in 1934 for an architectural competition to design a low-cost vacation home for the masses. Though she took second prize,… Continue reading

Fox Hollow, a new cottage built from antique materials | Murphy & Co. Design

An avid collector of antiques commissioned this small cottage to replace the rotting log cabin that stood at the entrance to her Minnesota property. She envisioned a garden cottage more in keeping with… Continue reading

ContainerLove, a small modern house | LHVH Architekten

“ContainerLove” is a new modern home in a rural area of western Germany, standing out among more traditional gabled farm houses and barns. It was designed by Cologne-based studio LHVH Architekten.

A small and simple house for a retired couple | Studio GAON

A couple transitioning into retirement asked Studio GAON to design their new home in a semi-rural area, specifically requesting a “small and simple house”. In carrying out their assignment, the architects looked to… Continue reading

Leachachan Barn | Rural Design

This traditional stone and slate barn stands on the south shore of Loch Duich in the Western Highlands of Scotland. It was originally built to shelter the farm’s working horses, and later used… Continue reading

An off-grid cob retreat on a private bluff

Stoltz Bluff Eco-Retreat sits on 40 acres of private forest land overlooking a river valley on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The small house was designed and hand-built by owners Tonya and Leon using… Continue reading

False Bay Writer’s Cabin | Olson Kundig Architects

A writer wanted a private retreat that would provide a secluded place to work, connected to nature but free of human interruptions and distractions. Olson Kundig Architects designed this modern cabin for the… Continue reading

An owner-built studio dwelling

Lily Copenagle and Jamie Kennel designed and built their own studio dwelling. The small modern house gives them 704 ft2 (65.4 m2) of living space, all on a single level. It features a green roof,… Continue reading

Sarah House, an affordable green container home

Sarah House Utah is a small non-profit organization intent on creating affordable and sustainable housing for people on low incomes. Jeffrey White was inspired to found Sarah House Utah after witnessing an artist… Continue reading

Beth’s tiny California cottage

Our friends at Apartment Therapy hold an annual Small Cool Home contest, inviting readers to submit photos and a written description of their own small homes. The 2010 winner of the “Teeny Tiny”… Continue reading

The Arado weeHouse, a modern prefab cabin | Alchemy Architects

A concert violinist wanted a beautiful and well-built retreat for herself and her young child. The cabin would be off-grid, sitting at the edge of a cornfield overlooking a treed ravine. However her… Continue reading

House C, a casual seaside retreat | Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

House C sits on a narrow coastal plain between the sea and the mountains of Chiba, Japan. The owners, a couple with a young child, wanted a weekend house that would give them… Continue reading

Casa Rio Bonito, a modern cabin in the Brazilian rainforest | Carla Juaçaba

Casa Rio Bonito, a modern cabin designed by architect Carla Juaçaba, combines steel and glass with rough cut stone and wood. The light and airy cabin spans the space between massive stone walls… Continue reading

A simple rustic retreat in the Czech countryside | Labor 13

A young family seeking a peaceful rural getaway selected a property in the northern Czech countryside. Once part of a farm, the property held the remains of a large barn which had decayed… Continue reading

Eucalyptus House | Cabana Arquitetos

This small house is located high in the Mantiqueira Mountains of southeastern Brazil. The clients, a young couple, asked Andre Eisenlohr of Cabana Arquitetos to design an environmentally-friendly home for their hillside site.… Continue reading

Solar Decathlon 2013: InSite

A team from Vermont’s Middlebury College designed and built this small house for Solar Decathlon 2013. InSite, as it is called, is intended to meet the needs of young Vermont families. The team… Continue reading

Solar Decathlon 2013: Borealis, a small house for shared living

Team Alberta Solar Decathlon took a unique approach to the Solar Decathlon 2013 competition. Their entry, called Borealis, is designed to be shared by unrelated housemates. The small house features two separate bedroom… Continue reading

Solar Decathlon 2013: Start.Home

Start.Home is the Solar Decathlon 2013 entry by team Stanford Solar Decathlon. It is one of the larger entries, with up to two bedrooms in a 988 ft2 (91.8 m2) floor plan. For… Continue reading

Solar Decathlon 2013: Harvest Home

Harvest Home is the Solar Decathlon 2013 entry by Team Capitol DC, made up of three schools from the Washington, D.C. area – Catholic University, George Washington University and American University. The house… Continue reading

Solar Decathlon 2013: SHADE

Solar Decathlon 2013 wrapped up last week and we’ll be taking a look at a few of the entries. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Solar Decathlon is a biannual event… Continue reading

A cottage in the redwoods by Cathy Schwabe

Yesterday we posted a link to a magazine article on our Facebook page, along with a photo of the house discussed in the article. People seemed to really like the house, so we’ve… Continue reading