Tiny home plans often don’t look like the creations of architects. The seemingly easy modern ways of converting any boxy structure into a living space have produced a whole array of look-alike houses that would make many famous architects of the past frown.
Are you a DIY builder looking for aesthetic small house architecture solutions? While it may not be featured in prestigious design competitions, it’s still worth the expertise of professional architects and designers. Check out these small home and granny pod plans, carefully crafted by a talented team from the EU.
1. Tiny Round Home with a Loft – Eleanor
- Ground floor: 280 ft² + Loft: 86 ft²
- Cost to build (estimated): $20,300
- Home plan’s electronic version: $290.00
This adorable round home can be the best thing for DIY lovers who have an urge to design every last piece of furniture in their dwelling. Tiny circular houses can be tricky to furnish with standard pieces. On the other hand, this 280 ft² house is so small that you’ll need only a few things to make.
On the ground floor, you will find the living room adjacent to the kitchen area, and the bathroom occupying roughly a quarter of the whole ground level.
Alongside the curved wall, the stairs lead to the sleeping loft. It’s not clear what the maximum bed size you can fit upstairs. The awkward bed access can be eliminated if you decide to extend the 2nd-level floor over the curved central part or build a custom bed frame for the round loft.
With plenty of windows, high ceilings, and round interior walls, this circular house can be fun not only to live in but to build as well!
2. Tiny Home Plans – Zoe
- Ground floor: 265 ft²
- Cost to build (estimated): $18,700
- Home plan’s electronic version regular price: $129
The exterior of this tiny home resembles a few things at once:
- medieval towers of French castles like the famous city of Carcassonne, for example;
- conical whimsical houses in Southern Italy called “Trulli”;
- royal tents.
If tiny house plans like this one will not inspire you to get up from the couch and start building right away, then at least you may include a few travel destinations to Italy and France to see how it was done a few hundred years ago.
The truly unique feature of this tiny home is its round living room. The cone-shaped high ceiling and panoramic windows create a perfect space for many kinds of activities.
Oh, no! There is no space for a king-size bed! Well, if you visit the above-mentioned Carcassonne castle and see that even medieval nobles used to sleep on pretty modest beds. One-story cabins like this one may serve as granny pods if you are looking for one.
Get tiny house Zoe floor plans here
3. Small House Plan with a Loft – Jasmine
- Ground floor: 936 ft² + Loft: 328 ft²
- Cost to build (estimated): $49,800
- Home plans regular price: $390.00
Small homes like Jasmine are always appealing to the public due to their simple, classic looks – they remind a bit of small modern farmhouse plans. Sporting almost a thousand square feet, it is designed for a small family. One exterior design feature – the external staircase helps to eliminate some lost space inside the house.
This budget-friendly plan has only one bathroom downstairs, but it helps you to save on plumbing and maintenance costs. While having an open staircase may be problematic in some climates, the covered porch is an iconic feature that many homeowners request. Just imagine watching sunsets in your rocking chair on this spacious porch!
Relocating the main bathroom upstairs would also make sense since it’s inconvenient if you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Another not-so-pleasant scenario during winter would be taking a shower before going to bed and then climbing the outside staircase.
Having a small 1/2 bath downstairs and the full one on the 2nd floor would be a logical way to solve these problems. Anyway, this plan is workable and can be improved if you like the general design idea.
4. Tiny Atrium House with a Loft – Joan
- Ground floor: 354 ft² + Loft: 124 ft²
- Cost to build: $29,800
- Home plan’s electronic version: $390.00
Out of unusual small home plans, this one holds a very special place. The Atrium House got its name from the open space over the kitchen where the spiral staircase is located. It’s very compact and has very little to complain about.
For sure, many of you may decide to cover the deck and put a mosquito screen, creating a perfect extended living/dining area. The proposed tree in the middle is a bit questionable – it may grow into something big that you’ll not be able to manage in a few years.
The main entrance to the ground level is through a small foyer (hall) that is standard for many EU homes. It helps with balancing those temperature differences, reducing the noise, and also functions as a mudroom with storage for boots and coats. The open-concept living room with a fireplace connects with a small kitchen and a porch. Also, you have access to the bathroom on the ground level.
As you climb the tricky spiral staircase, you’ll discover two tiny bedrooms upstairs. Overall, this tiny house has an interesting design concept and a captivating interior.
5. Guest Cottage Plans Bella
- Ground floor: 355 ft² + Loft: 110 ft²
- Cost to build: $25,800
- Home plans regular price: $190.00
Bella is simply a duplex cabin – two tiny units jammed together while sharing a bathroom. One of the possible scenarios would be the accommodation of two generations of the same family – parents with one or two teens or two groups of friends.
The cabin is clearly designed for a short stay because sharing a bathroom for more than two or three days is not the best proposition for the majority of city residents. On the other hand, the camping crowd would be totally fine with this setup.
How often do we forget that having a toilet and running water inside our homes is already a luxury in comparison with many parts of the world…
6. Small Backyard Shed Plan – Kylie
- Ground floor: 312 ft² + porch: 118 ft²
- Cost to build: $5,400
- Home plans regular price: $129.00
Out of all backyard sheds, this one is our favorite! Yes, the semi-circled roof and pergola would be challenging to build but the final result is well worth the trouble!
The shed can be used as your art studio, she shed, yoga place, or a garden shed to store your garden tools and equipment. The pergola is a nice touch to provide light shed for the outdoor part of the dwelling.
The outside design is pretty popular among gardeners and DIYers. The inside usage is slightly limited by the rounded ceiling, so make sure to increase the height if you are taller than average.
7. Two-Bedroom Small Cabin with a Loft – Genesis
- Ground floor: 431 ft² + Loft: 145 ft²
- Cost to build (estimated): $30,400
- Home plans regular price: $290.00
Genesis has a definitive whimsical look popular among those fond of all things rustic. The gabled roof creates a charming image of a fairy-tale house. The plan is logical and thus has almost no wasted space.
The only suggestion would be converting its small front porch into a foyer/mudroom. Other than that, the cabin has a well-desgned layout.
8. Tiny Beach Cabin Plans with a Loft – Teresa
- Ground floor: 233 ft² + Loft: 124 ft²
- Cost to build: $23,800
- Home plans electronic version: $190.00
This small beach cabin definitely has a character! If you have a waterfront lot, here is your chance to make a statement!
The cabin provides all the necessities like a kitchenette, toilet, shower, etc. for a comfortable beach living. With 20′-3″ x 11′-6″ footprint and a charming exterior, this beach cabin has character.
9. Unique Eco-Friendly Small House Plans – Lola
- Ground floor: 986 ft² + porch: 483 ft²
- Cost to build: $69,000
- Home plans electronic version: $390.00
For Earthship home enthusiasts, this Eco-Friendly design and layout should look familiar. Just put a moisture barrier with a dirt layer up to the roof from the Northside and you’ll get a typical Earthship home that accumulates heat during the day and cools down during the night.
For a simplier project, the dirt layer can be substituted by a thick Northern wall made out of rocks, concrete blocks, bricks, or whatever is cheaper in your area.
Without that “heat and cold accumulating mass” your house will be benefiting from the suggested “North to South” orientation. As a result, it will be too hot during the day and too cold at night. Just keep this in mind if you’re planning to go for this eco-friendly design.
10. Modern Tiny Home Plans – Lydia
- Ground floor: 105 ft² + porch: 45 ft²
- Cost to build: $7,400
- Home plans regular price: $190.00
This small cabin is actually a bedroom with a porch! Perfect for using as a shed in your garden. Adding a window or skylight may help if you’ll decide to use it as an art studio.
11. Small Modern Cabin or Granny Pod Plans – Rylee
- Ground floor: 430 ft² + porch: 119 ft²
- Cost to build (ESTIMATED): $29,300
- Home plans regular price: $190.00
Just a bit larger than 400 sq. ft. this small home plan features all the basic necessities. The only suggestion would be to move the kitchen counters to the outer wall to use the light from the windows and make those windows larger. This cabin is a perfect example of a simple granny flat design that people are looking for.
A small stove or a mini-split AC/Heater would be another thing to consider. Otherwise, this cabin would be hard to live in during the cold and hot seasons. So, if you’re in need of basic granny pods plans, take a closer look at this plan.
12. Hunting Log Cabin Plans – Martha
- Ground floor: 295 ft² + porch: 50 ft²
- Cost to build: $19,300
- Home plans regular price: $190.00
Log cabins like Martha is a pretty solid investment for the regions with harsh winters. Just the smell of the wooden logs is worth considering going with this plan.
This super simple and functional layout is very similar to the previous floor plan but well within a tiny house square footage guidelines.
13. Basic Tiny Cabin Plans – Karen
- Ground floor: 264 ft² + Loft: 65 ft²
- Cost to build: $22,700
- Home plans regular price: $139.00
The small cabin Karen is easy to build. A tiny sleeping loft makes the main room more functional during meals and activities.
The stove will keep the house cozy in the colder season. A minimlist DIYer will definetely appreciate a simple design and clear floor plans.
So, with an affordable price for an electronic version of plans, you can download your set and start building. Soon, you’ll be able enjoy your tiny rustic cabin and a cozy porch.
14. Timber Tiny Home Plans with a Loft – Isabella
- Ground floor: 290 ft² + Loft: 237 ft²
- Cost to build: $32,200
- Home plans regular price: $190.00
With its truly tiny ground floor plan, Isabella provides plenty of room upstairs. The sleeping 2nd floor is pretty spacious.
A steep ladder to the 2nd floor could be a challenge for some folks but the cross-section shows that there is room for making it less challenging.
The steep gable roof proves that Isabella is suitable for the snowy areas.
15. Beach Cabin – Nicole
- Ground floor: 445 ft² + Loft: 271 ft²
- Cost to build: $29,200
- Home plans electronic version: $290.00
Do you have a piece of land on one of the Caribbean islands? Here is a very nice vacation house with two bedrooms in the loft.
If you like the stylish facade you are not alone – this is a showpiece of your good taste! With its undeniable rustic charm, this tiny cabin is pretty on the outside and cozy inside.
Even if your piece of land is far from the actual beach this house is pretty cool to build in subtropical and tropical zones. Don’t do it in Alaska!
16. Lake Cabin Floor Plans – Charlotte
- Ground floor: 625 ft² + Loft: 306 ft²
- Cost to build (estimated): $45,800
- Home plans regular price: $390.00
We all love farmhouses, barns, rustic cabins… This lake cabin has an ultimate rustic charm that draws in so many DIYers.
The open-plan kitchen has a counter overlooking the sitting area. On the upper floor, there are three spacious bedrooms – one main bedroom and two secondary ones.
Take a look at other interesting tiny and small house plans on these pages:
- Adorable tiny house plans
- Prefab Hobbit homes
- Rustic small house plans
- Tiny Log Cabins
- Tiny House trailers for small budget
- Small modern farmhouse plans
“How to Build a Tiny House” Step-by-step guide
This excellent guide will help the beginner to get a grasp of the main tasks related to the process of building your own small house or cabin.
