In our previous post we mentioned that one of the ideas we’re tossing around is to build a “compound of small (not tiny) houses”. What we’re envisioning is a cluster of 3-6 cabins between 400 and 1000 square feet. Each one would would have a full bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen(ette). They’d be connected by paths, some shared outdoor gathering places, maybe an outdoor fire pit, endless pool, and a pavilion.

We’d build these on a big piece of land so that they’d have total seclusion, and would have some kind of natural element to look at or play with- a great mountain view or a big loud stream possibly.

They’d be rented out individually, or could be rented all together by a bigger group.

With the rest of the land, we’d eventually get some trails put in and link up to anything that’s already existing (so bonus for any land that’s near or adjoining any of the existing trails systems).

In addition to being compact, these cabins would be largely off-the-grid, leveraging solar power and captured water. At least one of the cabins would be accessible, and the other paths and shared areas would be built with this in mind as well.

We looked all around for a place like this for our small (10 people) wedding a few years ago and couldn’t find anything that fit the bill. There was nothing small, modern, and rustic that could accommodate us.

Now what are you envisioning in your head?

We found these cabins, designed by Osburn Clarke of British Columbia. There’s 4 cabins with an identical footprint but slightly different layouts. They’re 100% off the grid. Lighting is provided by solar, water by the rain, and heat by the wood stoves.

They’re not designed for winter living. Instead, the doors and windows can be covered up by the rolling doors. You can see these doors and the tracks in the couple of pictures below.

The same people designed this house with a footprint of only 500 square feet.

There’s also a slew of cool projects designed by Balance Associates. The house linked is bigger than the cabins would be, but at 1600 square feet, it’s not unreasonable. The inside is more modern than what we like, but it’s not too far off.