Houzz Tour: A Rare Tiny-Home Specimen in Sweden
With a reptilian skin and unusual architecture, this small home focuses on nature and simple living
Architect Torsten Ottesjö is making a statement with this house: If you design a space well, it doesn't need to be large — or angular, for that matter. Used as a weekend and summer home by a couple who live in an apartment in Gothenburg, Sweden, the house has a working kitchen, an outdoor shower and an outhouse nearby, in addition to an indoor, heated bathroom; Ottesjö also insulated the home for winter living.
"This house was not designed to be a small house for two people; it was designed to be a house for two people," says Ottesjö. In addition to asserting that homes don't need to be big, Ottesjö shifts the way we think about homes as boxes to fill with furniture to make them livable. "I wanted to create an ideal interior, a house that is integrated into its landscape and one that isn't full of right angles and unused space — space that most people just use for storing boxes," he says.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: West coast of Sweden
Size: 269 square feet
Photography by David Jackson Relan
"This house was not designed to be a small house for two people; it was designed to be a house for two people," says Ottesjö. In addition to asserting that homes don't need to be big, Ottesjö shifts the way we think about homes as boxes to fill with furniture to make them livable. "I wanted to create an ideal interior, a house that is integrated into its landscape and one that isn't full of right angles and unused space — space that most people just use for storing boxes," he says.
Houzz at a Glance
Location: West coast of Sweden
Size: 269 square feet
Photography by David Jackson Relan
The house is anything but conventional. Its exterior walls and roof are biodegradable but designed to withstand Scandinavian winters. Its shape doesn't allow for snow to stay on the roof for long. Wooden shingles mimic tree bark in their slight expansion upon contact with moisture, creating a tighter surface.
The home's skin appears reptilian, enabling it to blend with its natural surroundings. It "looks like it was something that sprouted from the ground it rests on," Ottesjö says.
The house was built onsite but can be lifted and transported by road in one piece. Its insulation is a mix of recycled newspaper and salt called Eko-Fiber.
The main entrance features overhead shelving units; storage crates and boxes double as seating.
An L-shaped dining bar has just enough room for two or three people. Guests often claim one of the bar chairs or plant themselves on the floor, where the concave wall doubles as a backrest.
A hallway connects the kitchen and the sleeping quarters.There is some storage space under a few floor panels in the hall and in the entry, as well as under the kitchen table, but the design does place certain limitations on collecting too much stuff.
The bedroom is concealed in a cocoon marked by sliding doors.
The bedroom is concealed in a cocoon marked by sliding doors.
"The feeling of being within the house is never cramped," Ottesjö says. "The space allows us to think beyond the square block-shaped architecture and provides a home that doesn't allow the accumulation of endless goods."