Above: The new addition of an Ikea mini dresser ($45), and a built-in day bed platform (with recycled Ikea roadside desk panels as lids to its hollow interior), give "The Cub" (a mere 40 square feet) a lot more storage.... I'll show you the little food prep area soon too.... which doubles as steps to the bunk.
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FIVE TIPS for MAKING A MICRO SPACE FEEL LARGER.....
1. Make sure you're getting ample light, but while not sacrificing too much privacy. In this cabin we have a pair of openable windows, a fixed window, and the huge wall of light (covered in Tuftex polycarbonate roofing (the stuff bullet proof glass is made from!) that actually swings open to become a porch awning. This wall isn't transparent, but still lets in a huge amount of diffused light, making this space seem less claustrophobic than its 40 square feet. Yes, 40 square feet.
2. Keep the interior colors light. The flooring is a prime example. Not only does this light-colored flooring give the room an airy feel, but it plays into the natural light entering the room, reflecting it to a small degree, and doesn't create the heavier, gloomier, vibe that a darker floor would.
3. Look to "Double Duty" Items. The "Day Bed" platform, for example, is a platform to rest on, and watch tv from, perhaps (especially once cushions are later added), but it also is a shell harboring a very good deal of storage space. Out of sight, out of mind.
4. "Loft It"- often vertical space isn't used as it could be, so if you can, look to loft, or bunk, set ups to position a sleep or storage area up beyond one's normal line of sight. As a result, you still SEEM to have the same exact living space below, and your visual space isn't encroached upon, but you've now gained additional living space.
5. Hang a few small, attention grabbing, art pieces. People are a little less apt to walk into a tiny space and immediately exclaim "Dang, this is small!" if their gaze is drawn to a particularly colorful, or unusual, piece of art of other focal point. At this point, they've unconsciously become more accustomed to what would otherwise be considered a shockingly small space. Be careful not to hang pieces that are too large though, or the opposite effect comes into play.
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FIVE TIPS for MAKING A MICRO SPACE FEEL LARGER.....
1. Make sure you're getting ample light, but while not sacrificing too much privacy. In this cabin we have a pair of openable windows, a fixed window, and the huge wall of light (covered in Tuftex polycarbonate roofing (the stuff bullet proof glass is made from!) that actually swings open to become a porch awning. This wall isn't transparent, but still lets in a huge amount of diffused light, making this space seem less claustrophobic than its 40 square feet. Yes, 40 square feet.
2. Keep the interior colors light. The flooring is a prime example. Not only does this light-colored flooring give the room an airy feel, but it plays into the natural light entering the room, reflecting it to a small degree, and doesn't create the heavier, gloomier, vibe that a darker floor would.
3. Look to "Double Duty" Items. The "Day Bed" platform, for example, is a platform to rest on, and watch tv from, perhaps (especially once cushions are later added), but it also is a shell harboring a very good deal of storage space. Out of sight, out of mind.
4. "Loft It"- often vertical space isn't used as it could be, so if you can, look to loft, or bunk, set ups to position a sleep or storage area up beyond one's normal line of sight. As a result, you still SEEM to have the same exact living space below, and your visual space isn't encroached upon, but you've now gained additional living space.
5. Hang a few small, attention grabbing, art pieces. People are a little less apt to walk into a tiny space and immediately exclaim "Dang, this is small!" if their gaze is drawn to a particularly colorful, or unusual, piece of art of other focal point. At this point, they've unconsciously become more accustomed to what would otherwise be considered a shockingly small space. Be careful not to hang pieces that are too large though, or the opposite effect comes into play.
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MORE BACKSTORY: Well, I haven't shot a video on this little cabin yet, as, well, it's not completely done. I'm getting there though.... while also finishing TWO other cabins that we collectively built at my Relaxshacks.com Tiny House/Cabin Design and Building Workshop last weekend. We ARE having another workshop, most likely in April- in North Carolina. This one will be off-grid, and loads of fun! Three days again- and HANDS-ON Building!
This cabin, "The Cub", is something I'm going to finish for my in-the-works book, tentatively titled "Micro Structures" (The name of a book I started years back, but never finished). This one will showcase so many cool cabins, AND will have several full-out plan sets this time- and some from a few HUGE names in the field.....
-Derek "Deek" Diedricksen
MY BOOK....
