5 yrs+ Experience in Tiny Living | 2K Followers on Facebook & Instagram | 165.000 monthly views on Pinterest
Want to build your own tiny house and looking for the best floor plans to help you get started?
You came to the right spot.
A good floor plan makes all the difference, so choosing the best one before you start building is really important.
In this article, we’ve laid out our top 8 picks for the best tiny house floor plans based on a wide range of ranking factors, so that you can make the most informed decision when choosing your tiny house floor plan.
For those who want a quick overview, below is our comparison table:
[toc]
When it comes to detailed floor plans to guide you in your DIY tiny house build from start to finish, Tiny Home Builders are the best.
Their Tiny Living Line is their most popular series of tiny homes and for good reason.
It uses a classic peaked roof design with ample first level space and a comfortable 7’ sleeping loft.
Their tiny house layout includes full placement of fixtures, bathrooms, and kitchen appliances as well as advice on where to place plumbing and other equipment.
One of our favorite parts of the Tiny Living line is how adaptable it is. They offer plans for 12’, 16’, 20’, 24’, and 32’. This gives you everything from a truly tiny space for one to a comfortable living area for a small family.
The main living area has cathedral ceilings to give a greater sense of openness. The front door is located opposite the trailer hitch and bracketed by two adorable little windows.
If you’re looking for detailed floor plans to guide you through the building process, you can’t beat these plans.
If you’re new to building, although these are totally doable, we highly recommend looking at our #2 and #3 options.
If you have experience and are handy, these plans take the cake.
This video gives a detailed walkthrough of how beautiful it looks when finished:
The Simple Living tiny home plans from Tiny Home Builders is designed to be the easiest and most affordable tiny house design possible. It’s a great option for solo tiny dwellers or couples who really love minimalism.
Tiny Home Builders creates plans geared towards the DIYer. Their plans are straightforward, easy to understand and go in a step-by-step progression.
It has a gable style roof and sits on a trailer footprint of 8’x20’. To help maximize space within, Tiny Home Builders designed the Simple Living home with both a 7’ sleeping loft and a smaller storage loft.
This gives you around 250 sq ft, including lofts, to work with.
The plans include a comprehensive materials list that helps you estimate the cost of building a home in your area. You’ll also find electrical diagrams and recommended plumbing placement.
This gives you ample space for a comfortable bed and room for all your outdoor gear and other necessities.
The kitchen, living area, and bathroom are all laid out on the finished plans and include suggestions for plumbing and wiring.
Of all the plans on our list, this is the most affordable to build from start to finish, and should end up costing you around $10k.
Considering the average cost of a home in the U.S. is $200k, this is crazy cheap.
If you are new to building and would love a simple design that is affordable to put together, these are the plans for you.
The Element is a roomy tiny house with an 8’x24’ footprint. It has a shed style roof and overall modern styling and is comparable to some of Tiny Home Builders’ more rustic styled homes.
Like the “Simple Living” plans above, the Element plans are designed to be simple, easy, and affordable to put together. It avoids expensive fittings and tries to use the best, yet least expensive, material option wherever possible.
It offers a 7’ sleeping loft along with 8 large windows. This gives it ample living space well lit by natural sunlight.
Another great feature of shed-style roofs is how easy they are to build. Compared to gabled or barn style roofs, it’s very easy to install a shed roof.
It also preserves the most headspace in the loft compared to these other roof types.
All in all, if you’re looking for a spacious design that is as simple as it gets to put together, these are the plans for you.
The Vermont Cottage – also by Jamaica Cottage Shop – makes a fantastic foundation tiny house (16’x24′) for a wooded country location.
The Vermont Cottage has a classic wood cabin feel to it and includes a spacious sleeping or storage loft. It uses an open floor plan design that can easily be adapted to your preferred living space.
One thing we really liked about the Vermont Cottage was the built-in covered porch. It gives you a comfortable outdoor space to sit, relax and enjoy yourself in.
Like the Gibraltar tiny home below at our 5th option, the Vermont Cottage doesn’t include any plumbing or electrical plans.
One thing to keep in mind, is that while their plans are amazing, their product page is very confusing.
This is because they sell the plans, as well as the ready-built home (that costs over $8k) that the plans are meant to create, all on the same page.
So when you go to the product page, make sure to go through the abundance of great information on what the finished house will will look like, along with videos and detailed info.
And then, if you are interested in purchasing the plans, simply click “Get The Plans” at the top of the page and choose the 16’x24′ plans.
Check out the video below to see just how amazing these plans are:
The Gibraltar Tiny House comes to us from Jamaica Cottage Shop. They’ve been creating delightful tiny homes, cabins, and office spaces since 1995 and really know their stuff.
The Gibraltar is a foundation built tiny home available in 14’x30′, and is a single level tiny home without a loft space.
One thing to keep in mind is that the plans only cover the basic structure. As written, there isn’t any plumbing or electrical diagrams included.
This does leave you a lot of room for customization and modification though, so it may be a blessing in disguise.
Like the Vermont Cottage plans above, this landing page is also confusing.
As a result, after exploring the videos and detailed information (which I highly recommend to learn more about the plans), click “Get The Plans” and choose “14’x30′.”
Humble Homes is owned by architects who have personally lived in tiny homes. They offer over a dozen different designs that have been built all over the world.
At 230 square feet, the Turtle Tiny House is a fabulous single-story model that works great for a couple or a single person. This house is suitable for a THOW or a home built on a foundation.
It’s designed to maximize the feeling of openness while providing as much natural lighting as possible. The central living space includes two large storage cabinets, but still leaves plenty of room for a pair of recliners and a stylish end table.
At the other end of the Turtle, is a dedicated office area that doubles as a hidden bedroom. A classic murphy bed folds up into the wall when not in use and gives you either a master or spare bedroom when paired with the sleeping loft.
Above the bathroom area is a plumbing and utility storage area great for keeping things like tools and spare parts.
One of the best features of this design is how inclusive it is. It’s built to be fully livable on a single level or with the integrated sleeping/storage loft.
This makes the Turtle a great option for retirees and Snowbirds looking to downsize after the kids have left the nest.
Pad Tiny Homes is owned and operated by tiny house gurus, Dee Williams and Billy Ulmer. Dee began her tiny house journey in 2004 and has been educating the public ever since.
The Cider Box tiny house is an alluring home that evokes the rustic appeal of traditional design with a unique roofline.
It uses a double-shed roof that gives you excellent headroom while maximizing natural light access.
The Cider box includes two sleeping lofts. This offers ample space for a master loft and a comfortable space for kids or additional storage.
The PDF plans offers both a 20’ and 24’ house, each with slightly different loft sizing. This gives you up to 293 square feet of usable living space. They’re optimized for building on trailers with two 7,000 lb axles.
Their plans are available in either PDF or Sketchup designs. This lets you make your own custom modifications quickly and easily.
One of our favorite bonuses provided by Pad Tiny Homes is the materials lists. This gives you a detailed breakdown of all necessary components and helps you estimate local building costs.
They’re available as a PDF or with an included Sketchup file to make your own custom modifications. They include information about every stage of the building process with detailed, step-by-step plans.
One thing we really loved about the Tiny Project, was the option to add on a Photo Book. It includes high quality pictures of real people building out the Tiny Project Home.
Plans are great, but actually seeing someone at every stage can be a big help.
The design itself is something else. It has a layered shed roof effect with a row of windows along the peak side.
We really love the folding porch along the side of the tiny house and the end placement of the main door. It does a great job using porch space to expand the usable size of your living area.
This home is great for retirees because of the detailed nature of the plans and the more traditional feel of the finished product. If you’re used to living in a traditional stick built home, making the jump to a tiny house isn’t the easiest thing to do.
Before you begin comparing different floor plans and styles there are a few basic precautions you should take.
You should only use tiny house plans from a trusted source. There are tons of plans online but not all of them have actually been used and tested.
Don’t be afraid to email the creator of a set of plans to ask a few questions before you buy.
Most will be delighted to talk about their creations.
Those that push back on this probably aren’t someone you want designing your house.
This doesn’t always apply to THOWs, but if you’re planning to build a foundation tiny home you need to consider it.
Not all tiny house plans will meet your local zoning regulations.
Spend a few hours figuring out what basic requirements they have and make sure your plans meet them.
The last thing you want is to finish building your little piece of paradise only to have code enforcement cite you for noncompliance.
There’s no better way to see how a set of plans actually works than seeing them built.
Find out if anyone has used the plans you’re considering. A lot of tiny dwellers love to post pictures or chat about their build.
See if they had any problems with the plans and generally see how the finished product looks.
Not all tiny house plans are created equal. Basic plans will pretty much just give you building diagrams for a weather tight structure and leave it up to you to plan the interior layout and figure out plumbing and electrical placement.
For a set of plans to be truly complete they should include:
With just basic construction diagrams, an experienced contractor can definitely build you a tiny house. If you’re planning to DIY it, you absolutely need plans that go more in depth into the basics of the design and include bombproof step-by-step instructions.
When you’re comparing tiny house plans, price is always going to come up. While there’s no real standard price for plans, there is a range that could be considered normal.
Depending on what type of tiny home you’re considering and how complete the plans are, the price will vary.
For basic tiny plans that include a weather tight space without plumbing or electrical diagrams, $40 to $50 is where the market starts.
From there, plans rapidly rise in price up to a high of about $300-$400.
You might be under the impression that to have a nice home, you’ve got to spend a fortune. What if you found out that you could own a home for less than $50,000? It’s true. Not only is it possible, but it’s also being done all the time.
Living in a tiny house does not have to be a sacrifice. In fact, by utilizing found items, recycling, and upcycling things, you can save a fortune in the building, finishing, and furnishing of your tiny home. I’ve seen pallets used to create wood floors, finish walls and build cabinets, for example. These were found for free.
Shopping for things at resale stores can lower your costs immensely and many times land you items that are still like new. Kitchen sinks, shower pans, extra tile that someone didn’t need, and used furniture are all things that can be found if you’re willing to look.
Some tiny house builders specialize in using recycled materials, and their houses are astounding. Some tiny homes are luxurious and cost a tenth of site-built new homes. The irony is that many people find that they can live in a far nicer home by choosing to go with a tiny house. Don’t forget that you’ll also use far less in heating and cooling over the years.
Tiny homes provide freedom.
Financial freedom, the freedom to travel, and the freedom to live life your way, without all the pressures that come from a huge mortgage payment and being stuck in one location.
So when you’re getting ready to build your own tiny homes, make sure to spend some extra time finding the right floor plan that matches the vision of your dream tiny home and the lifestyle you want to live.
Further Reading:
Given the pace of life today, one of the most sought after solutions is the tiny home. There are people who have embraced the minimalist lifestyle, but do not fully know how to pivot to that kind of norm or do not have the resources and knowledge to achieve it. A tiny...
Minimalism has gained traction in recent years as an admirable avocation or trendy design style. This is particularly useful for people who have the aspiration to live in tiny houses. Adopting a “less is more” attitude brings more order in small space while also...
So. Is it really worth it to put your money into solar panels for campervans? Are solar panels even needed to live off grid? Let’s help you decide whether or not solar panels are suitable for your travel lifestyle and budget. Understanding Solar Panels Before...
