Most tiny houses builders make the most of the space they have available to them by incorporating a loft into their build. The loft area is then used as a bedroom, and it’s accessed via a ladder. This all makes space-saving sense. But I receive a lot of questions from people who don’t want to use a ladder in their tiny house. For some people, in particular older people and those with limited mobility, using a ladder would be impossible. For others, it’s simply a case of preference. If you’re going to put time and money into building your own home, you want it to be as close to perfect as possible. If you’re not comfortable climbing ladders, you’re not going to enjoy living in your tiny house, and the whole experience will be a waste of time. So, what alternatives are there to the loft and ladder combination? I’ve scoured the internet, looking for clever, efficient, and quirky solutions to this dilemma, and it would seem that the range of designs out there is pretty impressive.
If you’re anti-ladders, take a look and see if any of these designs could work for you! Stairs are the obvious replacement for ladders, since they’re much easier to climb. However, they do come with a number of limitations. If you go for stairs, remember to take headroom, dormers, and extra weight into account when you designing your house. Now let’s get to the inspiration! Gradual Steps to the Side This gorgeous Airbnb tiny house has two lofts and provides a ladder to get to one and a gradual staircase to get to the other. The staircase isn’t at all steep, it’s out of the way at the side of the house, and it even includes a bit of storage space. This Cape Cod Molecule tiny house includes a staircase that doesn’t quite reach all the way up to the loft area. It doesn’t take up much space at all, though it does look slightly steeper than the staircase in the previous picture. This McG Loft by Humble Homes includes a staircase that twists to the side as it reaches the loft.
The steps also double up as bookshelves. This tiny house staircase takes up much less volume than most of the other tiny house staircases you’ll come across. It may be slightly harder to climb than a bigger staircase, but if space is important to you, this option could be a good compromise. The Kitchen Under the Stairs If you don’t mind having some funky-shaped cupboards, why not integrate a staircase into another part of your tiny house, such as the kitchen? A Full Staircase with Carpet If you’re tempted to install a staircase, why not go all the way and get it carpeted too? You could position it at the side of your house or even in the middle. If you’re really tight on space and mobility isn’t a problem, this winding staircase might be for you. It hardly takes up any space and it almost looks like a sculpture! Tiny House, Charlton (photo by Paul Connors) If you have two lofts, you could go all out and include two staircases in your tiny house!
If mobility is an issue for you and you do need that extra loft space, this could be the solution for you. Lilypad Tiny House (photo by Shawn Linehan) Tansu steps are basically storage box stairs. Storage space can be hard to fit into tiny houses, so if you can use your stairs as storage space, you’ll be killing two birds with one stone. You might also be able to hide your water tank using this approach. For more information on how to build box stairs, see this tutorial by Tiny House Living or this one by DIY House Building. Alternatively, you can even buy some pull-out box stairs from Four Lights. Alternatively, if you don’t like the idea of having a loft in your tiny house, you could forgo both the ladder and the stairs, and instead find another place to put your bed. Here are a few ideas. A Murphy bed (otherwise known as a pull-down bed, a wall bed, or a fold-down bed) is one that hides in a cupboard in the wall during the daytime, and that you pull out at bedtime.
This option is perfect if you want to sleep downstairs but aren’t willing to lose the space needed for a bed. A Bed Under a Loft If you want to be able to roll into bed without climbing a ladder or some stairs, but you don’t mind going upstairs for other activities, consider installing a bed under a loft. Although this example is of a bed in a converted bus, it might give you some ideas. Mira Thompson’s School Bus Conversion Again, if you want a downstairs bed but you don’t want it taking up room, build a raised platform into one end of your house, and hide a pull-out bed underneath it. The stairs to the platform can double up as storage space, as in this example. Continuing with the fold-out theme, you could also install some fold-out bunk beds. Of course, whoever takes the top bunk will need to climb up a ladder to get there, but at least one of you will get a rest! If you build your tiny house on a gooseneck trailer, you could build your bedroom into the space above the hitch.
Then you’d just need to add in a few steps or boxes to help you reach your bed. Perhaps the simplest option would be to create a downstairs bedroom. Obviously this would take up some space, but you’d gain some privacy. BRV1 and BRV2 by Humble Homes If you like the idea of having your bed downstairs but want to keep things simple, why not just put your mattress down and create a “bed area.” Again, this wouldn’t be the best option for those with mobility issues, but otherwise it could be a pretty simple solution. A Futon or Folding Couch Another simple solution, the futon or fold-out couch, saves space during the daytime and is really easy to set up when it’s time to turn the lights out. Have any of these options inspired you to ditch the ladder? Which design do you think would work best for you?Have you turned your heat on yet? After I divulged that Mr. Frugalwoods and I haven’t–and likely won’t until November–I received a number of comments and emails from readers asking that I share our methods for thermostat abstention.
We adore the shoulder months of fall and spring when we live totally sans climate control. Heating and air conditioning are money drains and we save a bundle by flat out not turning ours on. Summers are rather mild here in Cambridge, MA and we were able to squeak by with AC only in July and some of August. Our winters, on the other hand, can be epically harsh. Going without heat all winter is an absolute impossibility–in addition to being extraordinarily uncomfortable, our pipes would freeze and burst, which is about the least frugal thing in the world. Despite this fact, we spend a fraction of what most folks do in order to avoid the shivers every winter. Wait as long as humanly possible to turn your heat on. In the early fall when the temperatures are waxing and waning, don’t get all hyper (as I am wont to do) the first time it dips below 60. It’s probably going to cycle up again before deepest winter sets in. Stay strong, my frugal friends! What direction does your house face?
We have a south-facing sliding glass door and we open those curtains during the day to let the sunshine soak in. Sometimes Frugal Hound and I pretend we’re cats and lay on the floor in the sunlight. Natural heat: feels amazing and is free! The first winter we had Frugal Hound, we quickly realized we needed a way to keep her warm. Being a greyhound, she doesn’t have much fat or fur and so she’s naturally a bit of a chilly dog. She has blankets on her beds and we tuck her in at night, but, she thrashes around chasing squirrels in her dreams and uncovers herself. We conducted research into hound-warming mechanisms and lo and behold, found the K&H Pet Bed Warmer (affiliate link). This thing is fabulous. It’s basically a rectangular, waterproof, chew-proof heating pad that slips inside of her doggie bed. It plugs into the wall and is weight-sensitive, so, it heats up when she’s laying on it and doesn’t when she’s not. The hound warmer uses very little electricity and keeps the hound snug.
I’ll caution that I think an animal could chew through the cord and/or pad if they’re an aggressive chewer, so use this at your discretion. Frugal Hound isn’t a biter and she’s never shown any interest in electrical cords, so we’re in the clear. Every year we debate the merits of purchasing an electric blanket, but, we have yet to take the plunge. What we do have is an extremely inexpensive little bag of rice that we heat up in the microwave. It’s perfect as an individual warmth device and we’ll drap it over our necks, laps, or feet for a bit of added heat. Wear all of your sweaters at the same time! Ok maybe not quite, but, Mr. FW and I do dress accordingly for the season. People, if you are running around the house in a t-shirt in November, newsflash: you’ll be freezing. I typically wear long underwear as my base layer with fleece PJ pants (pirate-print to match my pirate trash mug) and a hoodie sweatshirt. Sometimes I’ll layer a big sweater on top. Frugal Hound has a snuggly fleece coat that she wears indoors during the deepest chills.
Changing behavior and clothes with the seasons is imperative. Plus, you get to pretend you’re in Little House on the Prairie (those people did not have heat). In case you needed an excuse to squeeze your loved ones, here you go: body heat! Mr. FW and I love to curl up together on the couch to write or in bed to read. It’s frugal, it’s fun, and it’s good for your relationship. Bonus: drape your Frugal Hound across your lap for added warmth! Or, go curl up on the hound warmer (don’t think it hasn’t crossed my mind… that thing is toasty!). In the same vein as dressing for the season, cook seasonally too! Resident chef Mr. Frugalwoods rarely turns the oven on in the summer, but in the winter, oh man does that oven get a workout! Last night he baked homemade artisan boule bread and split pea soup, both of which warmed the house up. Oven heat is no joke. Mr. FW’s culinary exploits yesterday raised our temp from 61 to 67 degrees! If you live in a small space, it’ll be cheaper to heat.
We actually don’t live in a very small house (as it’s destined to be a rental property), so we instead employ zone heating. Since we rarely use our upstairs, we heat it to the bare minimum to prevent freezing pipes. Ditto for our basement. The main floor, our primarily dwelling space, is where we concentrate our heating. Mr. FW and I are extremely fortunate that our current home has new, insulated windows (thank you previous owners!). But, in the past, our apartments have been drafty and ill-insulated. To combat air infiltration around windows, Mr. FW used Mortite weatherstrip and caulking cord along with window shrink film fitted over every window (affiliate links). This dramatically reduced drafts and is a sound option if you’re renting or not planning on buying new windows for your home. We currently have Mortite on the windows in our basement as they’re less insulated than the others. Insulating your home is the best way to temper your climate control expenses.
At the very least, adding attic insulation is often a cheap and easy DIY project that’ll pay dividends after the first few years. The cost/benefit relationship of insulating beyond just your attic is a complex and expensive undertaking that’s worthy of exploration. At the end of the day, if you want to achieve frugal weirdo status with low heating bills, you’ll have to acclimate yourself to an icier ambient temperature. There’s no way around it. Once Mr. Frugalwoods and I finally cave and turn the heat on, we keep it set at 62 degrees during the day and 58 at night. Yes, this is a lot lower than your average American, but, we’ve never claimed to be normal :). I’m a naturally cold person and I’ll be honest, I’ve had to adjust to this over the years. My first winter in Boston was not a pleasant one–I was incessantly freezing in our dank basement apartment. But, I’m now totally accustomed to our climate and our indoor temperature. Mr. Frugalwoods and I are not the only frugal folks who keep our home this frosty–check out this entire thread (started by my friend The Goblin Chief) of hardcore thermostat enthusiasts on the Mr. Money Mustache forum.