As someone who’s built my own tiny home – which I’ve lived in for over a decade – I’ve learned that it’s easy to build a small home that’s efficient, affordable, and makes just enough space for what’s important.
10 x 20 tiny homes are perfect for tiny, simple living with a little bit of extra leg room. Keeping your top priorities in mind, it’s possible to make space for everything you want to do in your space and the outdoor area surrounding it.
Keep in mind that this size is great for a backyard ADU, as it easily fits 1-2 people. Most 10×20 tiny home designs can fit all the standard amenities that much larger homes contain, such as a full kitchen with appliances and a full bath with a tub or walk-in shower.
10 x 20 tiny homes are small, but they’re big enough to allow opportunity to get creative. With its rectangular footprint, similar to the dimensions of a small shipping container, it’s also a shape that lends itself well to transport.
This size home is a great choice for single or coupled residents, and, if smartly designed, it could even accommodate a family or provide space for entertaining.
When designing a 10 x 20 tiny home, take some time to determine your needs and priorities. The awesome thing about designing your own home is you can put your needs first — you’re not buying an existing home and trying to retrofit it to your life.
Utilizing the outdoor space is a common way to enjoy tiny home living. One approach to incorporating a porch or deck without increasing the home’s footprint is to build it into the 10 x 20 base, so the entire setup can be transported. If you settle in a temperate climate — something that was important to me — you can use outdoor settings for things like food prep, eating, cooking, entertaining, and hobbies.
Sustainability features are another topic that can be very personal but increase a home’s efficiency, or off-grid capacity. Do you want traditional plumbing, or a composting toilet? Is the location sunny enough for a solar-powered home?
I find dual-purpose elements useful, like a bench that converts to guest bed, while also serving as storage for infrequently used items. Stools that slide underneath can help a counter shift from a space to eat to an area for tasks like mending clothes.
Another way to make a 10 x 20 space multi-functional is by choosing the right appliances. Small versions of things like microwaves and cooktops, or even a washer/dryer combo, will help you fit everything into your home.
10 x 20 tiny homes cost around $40,000. The materials ultimately influence any fluctuation in cost. Flooring, counters, roof, and climate control, as well as wood stains or paints, are all elements with highly variable costs that can also affect how well your tiny house on wheels will travel.
The other factor that affects the cost of a 10 x 20 tiny home is whether you’re going to build it yourself or hire a professional company to build it for you. While you can save a lot of money in labor costs, constructing a 10 x 20 tiny house is still a lot of work and it helps to know your local building codes.
Once you’ve decided that a 10 x 20 tiny home is right for you, and you’ve prepared some ideas about the size and design you’d like, you then either decide to build it yourself – which is something that I managed to do, despite never having done it before – or enlist a builder. Builders in every state can help you make your tiny home dream a reality.
