Forget the Conversation Pit. These Tiny Homes Have a Conversation Platform
Welcome to Tiny Home Profiles, an interview series with people pushing the limits of living small. From space-saving hacks to flexible floor plans, here’s what they say makes for the best tiny homes on the planet. Know of a builder we should talk to? Reach out.
Wherever Manuel Kohout went on his travels, he couldn’t help but see tiny homes. The small structures were rarely called that, but whether they were thatch-roofed cottages, house boats, Mongolian yurts, or log houses, they all shared a distinct pragmatism, craftsmanship, and adaptability. When Manuel returned to Sweden in 2016, he was struck by the absence of any type of tiny home there. "I wanted to change that," he tells us. "So, I started my company, Vagabond Haven, and built the first tiny house as a prototype." Manuel moved into the model with his two daughters as a way to evaluate his design first-hand—and would continue to do so for many of Vagabond Haven’s subsequent models. Here, we asked Manuel about what he and his customers like most about his tiny houses.
Vagabond Haven’s most economical option, the Nature Pod, sits on a glulam-beam platform and is framed with Thermowood: pine timber treated with heat to improve its longevity. Asphalt-coated fiberglass shingles are used to line the roof.
What qualities make your tiny home stand apart from the rest?
The most important thing to us is to build beautiful and practical houses that can contribute to a more sustainable and freer lifestyle. The materials used are naturally a very important aspect, and we strive to use environmentally friendly building materials as much as possible: from the insulation made of sheep’s wool or recycled textiles, down to the environmentally friendly paints we use. Another important aspect is mobility: all our houses weigh under three-and-a-half tons and can thus be transported behind a car. To achieve this, we use lightweight materials, such as poplar (for the furniture) or aluminum (for the roof). Many of our customers want to live off-grid. Therefore, we also offer a whole range of off-grid solutions, from solar panels, to a rainwater harvesting system, various dry toilets, and wood, pellet, or gas stoves.
The Nature Pod is available as an empty shell without insulation for €13,000. Furniture, millwork, heating solutions, off-grid options, and the trailer beneath it must be purchased separately.
The kitchen cabinetry is made out of the same Thermowood that clads the home. The electric cooktop can be replaced with a gas one for off-grid use.
Another thing I think that makes our houses unique is that they feel big despite being "tiny." We achieve this by raising the ceiling as much as possible and utilizing all available space as efficiently as we can through storage and store-away solutions. We also leave wall space empty and have many big windows on all four sides. A reaction we get often when someone steps inside is, "Oh wow, this is actually so much bigger than I thought!" This always makes us feel like we did something right.
Toilet options are available: a water flushing model, an electric incinerating toilet, or an odorless dry toilet.
This Nature Pod has an outdoor shower. Most of them have the shower inside, behind a glass door, or a curtain, if the home is ordered without insulation. Other off-grid options offered for this model include a woodburning stove, a gas heater, a water pump and tank, and solar panels, among others.
What’s the most exciting project you’ve realized to date?
People have used our tiny homes as mobile restaurants, art or music studios, digital detox cabins in the middle of nature, and more. To be honest, what makes us most happy is quite simply when our tiny homes allow our customers to achieve a freer and more fulfilled life by providing them with a more affordable home that they can place somewhere on a nice spot in nature close to where they would like to live but cannot afford otherwise. Knowing they pay a fraction of the cost they would pay for a rented flat somewhere in the city compared to owning their own cozy and mobile tiny home just feels awesome every time. But then I also love it when our customers do fun things with their home themselves: like installing a self-built greenhouse adjacent to the entrance for growing their herbs or a nice veranda for chilling out.
Vagabond Haven produces seven other tiny home models besides the Nature Pod. Just under 270 square feet in size, the Elise pictured above is one of the builder’s larger models.
What does your base model cost and what does that pricing include?
Our smallest model with 15 square meters (around 160 square feet) is our so-called Nature Pod. This model starts from €13,ooo before taxes for an empty house. We have also built off-grid houses for €90,000 or more, but I’d say the average is around €50,000 for a fully equipped house of about 25 square meters (or 270 square feet) in size.
What aspects of the design can a client customize?
A lot. We offer seven different models which can be totally customized both in regards to materials such as inner and outer cladding, flooring, insulation, off-grid solutions, and appliances. Furniture and colors can be picked out, too. For those having a hard time choosing, we offer a large range of ready-built models that we have designed based on the experience of all our previous orders.
The 10-foot ceilings allow for the placement of a lofted bedroom on one side and a den beneath a raised living room on the other. While laminate is normally used for the entryway flooring, spruce boards lines both lofts and all the walls in this model.
Like in the Nature Pod, the Elise’s bathroom equipment and layout can be adjusted to accommodate off-grid living. Vagabond Haven also offers to switch out the floor and wall finishes to materials better suited for wet rooms.
Where are your units available? Are there plans to expand to different parts of the world?
Currently our main market is Scandinavia and the rest of Europe, but we’d be happy to expand to the U.S. as well.
How long can a client expect the process to take after they put down a deposit?
Our ready-build models will be delivered within two to four weeks. Our custom-tailored orders, on the other hand, have a delivery time of about four months.
The counter and tabletops are made from oak planks. The MDF cabinetry can take a veneer or be left as is. The Elise’s kitchen comes with a ceiling fan, a dishwasher, and a larger refrigerator than the Nature Pod. A raised living area has a woodburning stove.
Do you assist with the placement of the tiny home?
We deliver all our tiny homes to the customer and help them set up the house, connect it to water and electricity, and then do a checkup if everything works as it should. When it comes to permits we help by supplying our customers with any requested drawings or technical info.
The den beneath the raised living room can be converted into a bedroom, freeing up the loft above the bathroom for storage or other uses.
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