Tiny House Ideas and Inspiration
In our quest to design and build our own tiny house we have sifted through literally thousands of tiny house ideas. From the initial tiny house inspiration which just involved hours of Instagram scrolling to the more nitty-gritty of how people have done their trimmings, cladding or stairs.
We’re still making lots of our decisions about layout and materials but we wanted to share some of the places we’ve got some of our tiny house ideas in case your planning to build your own and want some tiny house inspiration or just because. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love looking at these gorgeous and cleverly designed homes?!
Below is a range of photos and websites we’ve used from the purely aesthetically pleasing with all the bells and whistles to ones that actually have practical tiny house ideas and have stuck to a similar budget or design to us.
Interested in why we chose to go tiny? All the details here.
Building Tiny Auckland
These guys have the most beautiful tiny house situated on the picturesque Waiheke Island off the coast of Auckland. They have lots of awesome features such as a baby room and outdoor bath. But I think what I like most is the aesthetic of white and wood which we’re hoping to use in our home too. Their feed (including super cute baby) is major tiny house inspiration!
Living Big in a Tiny House
A YouTube channel, Instagram account and now book this is my go-to for tiny house ideas. The Insta feed is filled with awe-inspiring pictures and if anything, in particular, catches your eye you can head to the Youtube channel and watch a full tour of the house. There are even details about sizing and cost of the build, in every video – perfect during the tiny house planning stages!
Tiny Timber House
This is one adorable looking tiny house! This account is run by a couple living in the cutest little house with a gorgeous interior. They also have a rural section and post photos of the whole tiny house lifestyle. Minimal impact living with a suitably good-looking vege garden – living the dream!
Hand Crafted Movement
These tiny house interiors are so nicely done and have some unique yet functional layouts. Their all finished with high-quality wood and decor for that perfect home look in a tiny space. We used lots of these tiny house ideas when planning our own layout and colour scheme.
Tiny Heirloom
This is a tiny house building company based in the States. They have really clever ideas for using space and it’s a great place to check out if you’re looking for tiny house layout ideas. Their homes are a huge variety of sizes and are custom made designs so this feed is absolutely teeming with tiny house inspiration.
Modern Tiny Living
Another tiny house building company with some incredible design ideas. These interiors are customised to their owners and have some very unique layout options. Definitely worth a scroll!
Tiny House Interior
Ever wonder what a tiny house looks like once you actually get all the stuff inside? This is a curated feed of all different tiny house ideas from the inside. Including everything from house buses to treehouses and a range of designer and self-built tiny houses. We’re excited to build the whole house but let’s face it, the interior will be the most fun to design.
Other great Tiny House ideas and inspiration
Most accounts will all also have a Pinterest account and this is a great place for scrolling and being able to see a wide range of ideas all in one place.
YouTube
There are more and more people adding YouTube videos about their tiny houses. From tours and ideas to detailed how-to videos and explanations you can find all kinds of tiny house ideas in easy to watch videos. I recommend starting with Living Big in a Tiny House.
Stay in a Tiny House

It’s becoming increasingly popular these days to list tiny houses on Airbnb and other accommodation websites. Actually spending some time in one is the best way to get a feel for the size and see how the layout works. The downsizing part is the easiest part for us but for many people they find it hard to envisage living in small space. They are actually much bigger and more ‘house-like’ than you might think so have a go before you make any decisions.
You can get $50 NZD off your first Airbnb booking by using this link.
Facebook and Networking
Tell people what you’re thinking about. We were surprised by the number of friends of friends that were building or living in a tiny house and we were able to connect with them and go and check out their places, bounce ideas and ask a million annoying questions.
We also joined a whole lot of Facebook groups where people ask questions daily and share their tiny house ideas. Through these threads, we gained lots of insight into tiny house design and materials as well as making some local connections.
If your New Zealand based I thoroughly recommend joining NZ Tiny House Community. If you are based elsewhere search up your local tiny house group and start reading through some of the posts. You can also do a quick Google of ‘*your location* tiny house’ to see if there are any recent features.
So now you have a huge array of tiny house inspiration, you can scroll until your heart’s content looking at gorgeous interiors. Or if you’re ready to get stuck in, start connecting with some other tiny houses and get planning your build.
Stay tuned for lots of tiny house planning and building posts!

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Your Guide to Tiny House Framing
Information about the different tiny house framing options including timber frame tiny houses, metal frame tiny houses, hybrid framing and SIPs.
Tiny House Progress Update!
Everyone is constantly asking about how it’s all going and what our plans are so I thought I’d write a quick update of where we’re at, where we’re heading and some of the challenges and decisions we’ve faced so far.
Why We’re Going Tiny!
Tiny House inspiration! A run through the idea behind a tiny house and why I think it is a good solution!
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