Dutch Woman's Modern Tiny House Gets Approval From Local Council

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Updated February 24, 2020

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Though they are by no means mainstream, tiny houses are emerging as quite the cultural phenomenon, with entire television shows and blogs being built around this architectural genre, lifestyle and philosophy. While regulations in many places have yet to recognize them as legal places to live in full-time, some municipalities are catching up.

Another case in point is Dutch tiny houser Marjolein Jonker, the resident of this lovely tiny dwelling, who is also a "tiny house ambassador" and advocate. Jonker now has her home parked on a small plot of land on an "industrial estate", actually provided by the council of the town of Alkmaar, in the Netherlands. She's the first person in the area to have her tiny home given the legal go-ahead.

© Walden Studio

© Walden StudioThe modern design of this home was created by Lena and Laurens van der Wal, and Vincent Höfte of Buro Walden and built by Dimka Wentzel of Tiny-House.nl. The asymmetrical roof line is quite striking, and is used to bring more light and head room to the interior.

Inside, the roof's angles allows for one section to be opened up with operable, clerestory windows, letting lots of natural light and air to flood in. Here, there is one small loft at one end, and a built-in reading nook that also has some storage cabinets around it. As we can see, the layout is simple, but uncluttered so there's enough floor space to walk around comfortably, and to include a large refrigerator.

© Walden Studio

Looking at the other end, we see an enormous picture window to one side. There's an alternating-tread staircase going up to the sleeping loft, which is lit by a skylight. Below the loft is the bathroom, which has a composting toilet installed.

© Walden Studio

The home is solar-powered; here is a video of the electrical installation from Victron Energy.

Jonker's home is but one of the several modern European tiny homes that we've seen popping up -- unique tiny homes that are on the more contemporary and stylish end of the spectrum. There may be soon more in the Netherlands, as other Dutch municipalities are apparently planning to legally recognize tiny dwellings.

[Via: Tiny House Talk]