Seaside Tiny House Is Equipped With an Intriguing Stair Design

One little tweak in designing the stairs can change a lot.

By

Updated February 25, 2021 12:41AM EST

Fact checked by

tiny village latvia tiny house exterior — Alternative Houses

It's amazing to see how far and wide the tiny house movement has grown over the last decade that Treehugger has been covering it. So far, we've seen many gorgeous specimens from far-flung places like France, Italy, Iceland, New Zealand, and Australia – each of them unique to their climate and tailored to occupants' needs, yet still sporting that unmistakable "design DNA" that makes them part of the tiny house phenomenon.

Today, we get a look at a couple of tiny houses in the northern European nation of Latvia. This handful of three tiny house rentals form the Tiny Village, Latvia's first collection of tiny houses, located in Bērzciems, a seaside village about one hour away from the capital city of Riga. We get a better look at the interiors from Roman and Ioana of Alternative House:

The first tiny house that we get to see sports a simple angled roof, wooden siding and a large patio deck on the outside. Guests have access to a portable brazier, and apparently, the beach is right across the street.

Measuring about 23-feet (7 meters) long and 8-feet (2.5 meters) wide, the interior of this first tiny house is minimalist and modern and is intended to accommodate up to two people. The kitchen includes a counter that's large enough for preparing food, as well as a sink and a portable electric stovetop. Thanks to a recessed lighting strip, the shelf above also doubles as a source of light, in addition to providing a place to put away cups.

tiny village latvia kitchen — Alternative House

Of particular note here in the kitchen is the clever reconfiguration of a design idea we've seen before: overlapping the stairs with the kitchen counter to save space. With this Latvian tiny house, the stairs have been pushed back to sit between the kitchen and the bathroom, a position that we've only seen maybe once or twice before. One advantage of this configuration here is that the stairs don't run along the length of the interior, which can translate to possibly cutting off light or views to the outside. On the other hand, one possible disadvantage here would be the height of the treads – they seem pretty tall!

tiny village latvia stair — Alternative House

To make the stair treads more multifunctional, they've been constructed to provide more space for storage within – a common tiny house design idea we have seen before many times.

The main living space here isn't particularly mind-blowing, as the owners have decided not to install transformer furniture, but there is a dining table with folding chairs, a sofa, and a shelf.

tiny village latvia living room — Alternative House

The sleeping loft overlooks the living room, and is accessed via the stairs.

tiny village latvia sleeping loft — Alternative House

The bathroom presents a visually bold look, thanks to the patterned tiles. There's a small sink, shower, and a toilet.

tiny village latvia bathroom — Alternative House

Moving on over to the adjacent tiny house, the layout and feel here is a little different. The exterior is horizontally clad in wood (rather than vertically) and the roof is flatter. There are two entrances instead of just one, and the double patio doors here lead onto the wooden deck.

tiny village latvia second tiny house — Alternative House

This tiny house can accommodate four people, thanks to a convertible couch that can be rearranged to form a large bed. Rather than a staircase, we have a mobile ladder here leading up to the sleeping loft.

The middle of the house includes a counter that can be used for dining or working. Beyond that we see the kitchen and enclosed bathroom.

tiny village latvia dining area — Alternative House

Due to its L-shaped configuration and close proximity to the bathroom, the kitchen here feels a bit smaller than the previous house, though the counter space is about the same. We've still got the sink, tiny refrigerator, portable electric stove, and decent storage in the cabinets.

Looking into the bathroom, we've got the same hexagonal tiles as before, and the tiny sink and regular-sized shower and toilet.

Overall, it's great to see the idea of tiny living gaining traction in other parts of the world. There are a few intriguing tiny house design ideas here that potential tiny housers might be interested in experimenting with. But no matter how small these houses get, it's always amazing to see how much these micro-living spaces can change or enlarge, just with one simple tweak! To see more or book one of the tiny houses, visit Tiny Village Latvia on Facebook and Airbnb, and you can check out more of Alternative House at their blog and Instagram.