If you are of my generation, when you think of something large being stuffed into something tiny, Chris Farley’s fat-guy-in-a-little-coat sang likely comes to mind.
But not all large things in small spaces have to be so inelegant. In fact, this closet is a great solution and adds charm to a small, home-built apartment. It would also work well in a tall(er) tiny house.
Here is the Sketchup drawing and finished closet project.
The space started out as any corner would – empty. The frame is primarily constructed from 2x4s, with metal reinforcing braces to make sure the (ahem) ‘activity’ in the bed above won’t cause any structural failures.
The design uses a tool we’ve discussed before, Sketchup, originally from Google, but still available in a free version that will work great for small design projects.
The original space, notice the stair bulkhead encroaches at the bottom of the wall.
By mapping the closet out in a 3D representation of the space, Instructables user akullerkann was able to ensure that everything would indeed fit and get a great idea of what the finished product would look like.
As a former theatrical scene designer, I highly recommend playing with three dimensional drawing tools, as it increases your ability to think spatially and fully imagine your completed projects.
Here is the metal bed support, freshly welded and then installed.
Underneath the bed there is now room for a full wardrobe and a small shower, with all of the electric and plumbing hidden inside the structure.
The outside was finished out with bead board and paneled doors, creating the appearance of a separate room. Up top next to the bed there is a large flat area, perfect for display or working.
Taking a break behind the scenes where we can see the rear of the shower frame.
When working on projects that put a lot of weight overhead, make sure your framing is a bit over-built to ensure safe usage. Also, with THOWs (tiny houses on wheels) a unit like this needs to be positioned where it will have the least impact on the stability of the house while in transit.
The shower frame with plumbing stubbed out and waiting for fixtures.
All this would not be possible without help from my friends and family. Big thank you to all of them!
We hope that we have given you some ideas on how to design your own small living space.
See the full tutorial at this link.
