Tiny homes gained popularity a couple of years ago, and since then they’ve cemented their place in the world of architecture. What started off as a cute little trend is now turning into a serious option for home spaces. They are a space-saving and eco-friendly living solution that reduces the load on Mother Earth. They’re simple and minimal alternatives to the imposing and materialistic homes that seem to have taken over. However, since tiny homes are essentially the miniature version of modern homes, the traditional products and furniture that we use for usual apartments & homes, don’t work well for them. Tiny homes need well-designed, compact, and functional designs that have been created and curated, especially for them. These designs need to provide maximum functionality while occupying minimum space. And, we’ve curated the top 10 innovative designs that we believe will make your tiny home super comfortable and cozy. These designs are here to simplify + elevate micro-living setups. Dive in!
1. That Stool
Small stools can come in handy anywhere. And, especially for tiny homes. They’re comfortable furniture to sit on, while occupying minimum space, without forcing you to sit on the ground. And they come even handier when they’re super easy to assemble and store since whipping them out and keeping them away becomes super efficient when living in a tiny home.
Developed by Alondra Elizalde, That Stool is a flatpack DIY small stool designed with easy assembly to provide a practical means of having a stool anywhere, at any time. It is comprised of only a few parts: a seat rest, five legs, a couple of star-shaped spindles, and some connecting nuts and bolts, and comes in a flat-packed corrugated cardboard box.
2. Small Living Kitchens
Tiny homes and small apartments have become increasingly popular today, as people are beginning to prefer more modest and compact accommodations. Of course, the other fact is that smaller apartments are more widely available and more economical too. You can’t expect to fit full-sized complex kitchens in our modern-day cramped apartments and tiny homes, and this is where we need well-designed kitchen islands that occupy minimum space while providing maximum functionality. And the bathroom brand Falper has dipped its toes into kitchen design with the Small Living Kitchens concept.
With the Small Living Kitchens, Falper wanted to transform the experience of kitchens in small homes. It includes islands that are designed to make tiny kitchens feel spacious and luxurious. It brings the sophisticated layouts of larger kitchens to small homes in a more compact and streamlined form.
3. Flora
Every home – whether big or small needs a touch of green. And if you want to add a hint of green to your tiny home, then Flora may just be the right product for you. Flora is a WFH wall accessory that combines an organizational cork pinboard with hanging planters molded from jesmonite.
Although designed especially for your workdesk or home office, Flora is the kind of versatile product that could comfortably fit into any space in your tiny home. You could add it to your kitchen, which would make it easier to water, or in your living room so your guests can enjoy your little planters as well! Flora features specks of color for a modern take on terrazzo, a form of composite material originating in 16th-century Italy.
4. Gradient Space
Designed by Metre Architect, this sculptural landscape serves as a bed, seating, and storage, and is called Gradient Space. The furniture/sculpture looks like it is cascading down the wall like a waterfall! The multifunctional design features multiple ‘gradients’ that can be used in various ways.
The lowest level of the sculpture is equipped with an upholstered seating area, an integrated side table, and an extra surface for a guest to sit on. The client can lounge about and work in the seating area, or binge-watch some Netflix on the television screen mounted on the opposite wall. Design interventions like the Gradient Space can completely transform tiny homes. They don’t necessarily have to feel small, with innovative and smart additions like these. Gradient Space is a major lifesaver for modern tiny homeowners!
5. Minepot
A tiny home usually has a tiny but hopefully, well-designed kitchen, which needs small but functional kitchen appliances. And an innovative appliance that would be the perfect addition to your kitchen is Minepot.
Designed by Yifeeling, the design inspiration for this concept is to use hazy and mellow colors, and in the renders it ends up as mint green but there also seems to be a light yellow version as well. The part where the food is cooked looks to be opaque or semi-transparent which should give you a good view of what’s being cooked inside. The idea is for this cooking or heating appliance to be part of your cooking and eating ritual especially as you’re preparing and eating just for yourself.
6. D-Tach
D-Tach is a versatile stool that transforms into a small workspace designed to accommodate today’s mobile work culture. With each day, our world seems to become more and more mobile. Mobile offices, working from home, and freelance careers are increasing in popularity as we move away from corporate offices.
With work culture making such a big shift towards mobile lifestyles, our home offices and furniture should reflect that. It makes for the perfect makeshift office for tiny homes! You can set it up when it’s time to work, and then keep it away when office hours are over, ensuring that space isn’t being wasted on furniture that is only utilized for a limited amount of time. It is a modular stool design that functions as a traditional office chair, only to disassemble into parts that provide a small working space on the go.
7. Wall-it
The rise in tiny homes has also spurred some creative thinking in new storage solutions with minimal footprints. However, in this case, traditional products like containers and cabinets just don’t cut it. Fortunately, a few new designs have started appearing lately, including one that lets you use the wall for something more functional and less decorative but still aesthetic.
Brunetti’s Wall-it concept is a storage solution that can also be a decorative wall piece. Rather than limiting what you can hang on your wall to the manufacturer’s specifications, Wall-it lets owners decide where and how to hold different kinds of objects. This modular capability is thanks to the power of strong magnets that not only let you decide which containers to attach but also which boards to use.
8. The NOOK Built-in Water Purifier
The NOOK Built-in Water Purifier was designed by South Korean Hyunbin Yan and is the kind of nifty water purifier that can be installed in the corner. It will not interfere with the rest of your sink or kitchen counter because of its slim and sleek build. It does not take up much space in a small sink, so it can be the perfect choice for tiny homes or apartments. It features an attachable drip tray, and a magnet at the bottom of the body that can be customized to the user’s preference.
Although it has the looks of a sleek coffee machine, it is simply a water purifier. You can even set the amount of water and temperature by touching the controller.
9. The-O Exercise Bike
Meet “The-O” exercise bike designed to be minimalistic, sans all the fancy features you’ll never end up using in your daily fitness routine. The fitness accessory is designed keeping in mind the quirks of owning one. First up is the space requirement and the non-flexibility of usage. Then there is the complexity of use which mars the whole purpose of a simple fitness regime.
The-O has none of them, and it doubles as a functional piece of furniture when your fitness is kept on hold for some days or even weeks. Use it as a seat for your casual work regime or turn it into a bar chair for parties – the options are endless. You can even turn it into a base for keeping indoor plants.
10. Solar
A tiny home may not always be the best option for your pet! But if you do live in one, and also happen to own a cat, then the Solar might just be the right product for you. Shaped like the sun, Solar is a small, but sturdy floating cat bed that’s built from pinewood. In a similar fashion to their other pieces of cat furniture, MyZoo lined Solar with a slotted resting platform for safe jumping.
Ideal for small spaces, Solar provides a resting spot and jumping platform for your cat and saves space in the meantime.