Within this small but hand-selected group of plans, you’ll find possibilities for backyard offices, sheds, playhouses, tree houses, hobby shacks, vacation cabins, and possibly even tiny houses. Some are seasonal units but could easily be insulated and improved to extend their use, depending on your climate. All of them are small, of course. The plans are here to give you ideas and to serve as basic construction guidelines. Feel free to enlarge, shrink, tweak, and craft them to your needs. Each offering includes a Construction Basics section providing a quick overview of the build to supplement the plan drawings. This assumes some familiarity with standard construction technique, so if you’re a newbie, it’s a good idea to sit down with an expert to get a sense of what the project might involve.
A jack of many trades, and a carpenter and small-space designer by profession, Will Yount, of the design company Hummingbird Tiny Spaces, has been at it for decades now, crafting one-of-a-kind, affordable cabins, backyard retreats, and full-out homes, both small and large, in the greater Tennessee area. He's based out of the music epicenter that is Nashville, so it’s no surprise that most of his clientele are musicians looking for backyard recording studios and rehearsal cabins. Regardless of use, Will’s work offers great flexibility, simple construction, affordability, and even portability, if need be. The Sawtooth is no exception. What I love most is its departure from the gable roofline, which seems to dominate most small builds.
The Sawtooth’s design is lean and straightforward, with conventionally framed walls, basic shed-style roofs, and a simple custom wall for the clerestory windows. The three large walls add versatility to the interior space and make it easy to modify size and placement of doors and windows.
The foundation type can be based on the building site and local code requirements, as applicable. Standard options may include full-length timber skids or a series of concrete blocks placed at regular intervals. The foundation should provide even support under the cabin floor and deck areas and prevent ground contact with the floor frame.
The floor frame consists of two sections, so you don’t need lumber longer than 12 feet. Sheathe the cabin floor with standard (non-treated) 3⁄4-inch tongue-and-groove plywood. Deck the porch floor with treated 5/4x6 decking boards.
The cabin walls are conventionally framed with 2x4s at 16 inches on center. On the front wall, the door header and the beam below the upper windows are built with 2x4s sandwiched over 1⁄2-inch plywood. The porch roof is supported at the front by treated 4x4 posts. Sheathing can be 1⁄2-inch OSB or plywood, and you can use any standard siding material, or use plywood siding to serve as both sheathing and siding.
Build the optional loft platform with 2x4s and plywood, anchoring into the side- and rear-wall studs. The platform shown is 5 x 8 feet, but its size can be modified as desired.
The cabin door frame is sized at 72 x 801⁄2 inches for a standard-size slider or hinged patio doors. Sizes and locations of the door and all windows can be modified to fit salvaged, prefab, or homemade units and custom layouts. Adding windows to the rear wall — such as above the loft, if included — increases light and ventilation in the cabin.
The rafters are 2x6 but can be 2x4 if appropriate for local conditions. At the other end of the spectrum, some framing modifications might be needed for snowy climates, such as adding a full-length wall stud directly under the short outer studs on the upper wall. Sheathe the roof with 1⁄2-inch OSB or plywood. Most standard roofing materials are suitable, but roof slope is a consideration. Metal roofing looks good on shed-style roofs, and most types are suitable for the 31⁄16-in-12 slope on the cabin roof. Check with manufacturers’ specifications for roofing over the 15⁄8-in-12 slope of the porch roof.
H olly Gomez, a mom with a background in architecture, has always had a passion for designing tiny spaces that encourage self-expression and open-ended play. As a child she spent summers building forts and play spaces in the woods near her house. She would sketch out plans, then rush outside to play. It only made sense that as an adult, she would design grown-up buildings. Holly graduated in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Mississippi State University and gained experience designing larger-scale buildings.
In 2009 Holly started the blog A Place Imagined as a way of documenting her research on playhouses. The blog, full of endless inspiration and helpful tips, is now a resource for anyone considering building a play space of their own. In 2011 Holly left her corporate job and officially founded the company A Place Imagined, where she now designs play spaces full-time. Playhouse plans, as well as fully assembled playhouses, can be purchased through her website.
The Micro Dogtrot Cabin features great use of both indoor and outdoor living space. The partially enclosed area opposite the cabin houses a bench or can be outfitted with an outdoor kitchen and/or storage units. Like the other offerings in this book, it is simple, sturdy, and affordable. It could also be altered in many ways, as shown on Variation 1: Extended Roof with Screened-In Porch. Additionally, the cabin could be widened to 8 feet to take full advantage of stock-length lumber and to make the interior, and especially the little loft, slightly roomier. One could also increase the height and pitch of the roof for even more sleep loft space.
The Micro Dogtrot Cabin is 7 feet x 14 feet 8 inches and stands at 11 feet 6 inches tall. That footprint makes it slightly over 102 square feet. Check with your local building department about requirements for small structures. Some towns require a permit for anything over 100 square feet.
The foundation can be as simple as six (or more) concrete blocks partially buried atop a 4-inch or thicker layer of compacted gravel. The tops of the blocks should extend at least 2 inches above grade.
The floor is framed with pressure-treated 2x6 joists and gets a double joist at the door-wall for the enclosed cabin space. This is where the floor deck transitions from 3⁄4-inch treated plywood sheathing (for the interior floor) to treated 1x6 decking for the exterior floor. Gap the decking boards for drainage.
The cabin and covered bench/ storage area have conventionally framed 2x4 walls. You can modify the window and door openings as needed to fit any prefab, salvaged, or homemade units. Only one of the cabin side walls gets a window, but you could quite easily add more.
Frame, raise, and brace the cabin walls first, then add the 4x4 posts at the corners of the porch opening. Span across the porch with two double 2x6 beams. The 2x4 double top plate over the long side walls covers the cabin wall, porch beam, and right end wall, tying all three together.
Sheathe the walls with 1⁄2-inch OSB or plywood sheathing, followed by trim and any desired siding materials. Alternatively, you can use plywood siding as both sheathing and siding.
Frame the loft with 2x6s, spacing the joists 16 inches on center and anchoring the frame into the studs of the three surrounding walls. Top the frame with 1⁄2-inch plywood. Build a homemade ladder with 2x4s. You can secure the ladder to the loft frame, or leave it unsecured so you can hang it on the windowless side wall of the cabin when it’s not in use.
The roof frame has a continuous 2x8 ridge beam. Three sets of 2x6 “A” rafters define the three gable ends; seven sets of 2x6 “B” rafters fill in between. A 2x4 post helps support the ridge at each gable end. Sheathe the roof with 3⁄4-inch plywood, overhanging the gable-wall studs by 3 inches and the rafter tails by 1 inch. Any standard roofing material is suitable. If you use shingles, fasten them with 1⁄2-inch roofing nails so the nails won’t protrude below the sheathing.
The basic plan calls for a prehung door and new or salvaged window units for three rectangular windows on the main walls. As an optional feature, the gabled space above the door gets four homemade triangular windows built with 2x2s. Ideally, the tall center windows are operable for ventilation. A set of salvaged windows also can work well here. Wrap the window rough opening with a single sill cut from a 2x8 and with 2x4s along the sloping sides.
T he Stilted Sleeper is a collaboration between me and a friend, Jay Shafer of Sebastopol, California’s Four Lights Tiny Houses. Shafer is well known in the small-structure community, and he’s often been credited as a key founder of the modern tiny-house movement — for good reason. Jay has lived in a tiny house, has built and designed tiny houses, currently lives in a very small home with his family of four, and has taught well over a hundred building and design workshops nationwide. He knows his stuff and lives, eats, sleeps, and breathes small structures. For this reason, and because our backgrounds and styles are so different, we thought it might be fun to team up on a design. “Let’s just see what happens,” we said.
Jay, a pro in simplicity and efficiency, had been wanting to build a series of tiny, cubbylike sleeping sheds that could be dispersed on a property for guests and friends. These would require little money, effort, and time to build. I, having built many similar tiny single-sleepers or “escape pods” for reading or meditating or as offices, jumped in and thought, “I love it, but let’s make it a tad more out-there and whimsical — yet still on a meager budget.” The result is a stilted cabin with an underbelly area that can be used as a shelter for food preparation, sitting, staying out of the sun or rain, or even as a parking spot for a full-out picnic table. A hinged wall serves as a windbreak in the down position and transforms into an overhead patio shelter in the up position.
By lofting this simple gabled microhut, we’ve enhanced its window views, created a bit more privacy through its height, and added more security from woodland animals that might try to damage it. Access to the elevated cabin is provided by permanent stairs or a removable ladder, which you can take away to improve security when you’re not a home. A built-in bench (facing a campfire, perhaps) could be added between the stilts.
The cabin of the Stilted Sleeper has a lean frame of 2x2s built atop a floor deck made with a single 4 x 8-foot sheet of plywood. The stilts are 4x4 pressure- treated posts and have knee bracing for stability. As an option, you can anchor the structure for wind resistance by burying the posts (with or without concrete) below the frost line in your area.
The joist layout of the cabin floor frame includes a 31⁄2-inch space at each end to capture the top ends of the 4x4 support posts. Bolt the posts to the floor frame, then add two 2x4 knee braces at each post. A sheet of plywood completes the floor. If desired, add a custom bench or two between post pairs, as well as 2x6 shelves adjacent to the hinged wall.
You can build a permanent set of stairs or use a homemade or prefab ladder to reach the cabin. Start with a 48-inch-wide landing anchored to the two front posts and supported with a knee brace on each end. Stair stringers tie into the landing. Precut stringers with eight steps can simplify stair construction.
2x2 wall frames maximize interior space and keep the structure lightweight (and inexpensive). Modify the window and door openings as needed. The front and rear walls get 2x4 top plates that form the gable and help support the roof ridge. The rear wall also gets a 2x4 horizontal plate that serves as a window header. Cover the outsides of the walls with 1⁄2-inch plywood sheathing and any standard siding, or just plywood siding. The interiors also can be sheathed and finished, if desired.
The roof frame keeps things light with 2x2 rafters. 2x3s can be used as well. These meet the top of a 2x6 ridge beam that sets into framing pockets on the gable ends. At their bottom ends the rafters rest on 2x3 plates that overhang the outsides of the walls, creating a convenient ledge for butting up the wall sheathing and siding. Sheath the roof with 1⁄2-inch plywood. Corrugated polycarbonate roofing (such as Tuftex) works well for both the cabin roof and the covering for the hinged wall.
Another lightweight design, the hinged wall is framed with 2x3s and gets three evenly spaced rafters. Top the frame with clear or translucent roofing panels, depending on how much light and heat transmission you want. Mount the wall structure to the cabin base, using heavy-duty exterior hinges anchored into the floor framing. The hinges may need blocks or shims behind to provide clearance for the wall to swing down flush to the 4x4 posts. If desired, flash over the joint with flexible material, such as a strip of flexible rubber or EPDM pond liner.
Add a 2x4 leg to each outside corner of the hinged wall frame, mounting the legs with a single carriage bolt so they can swing up against the wall frame to move it into the down position. Add a pin or nail to the bottom ends of the legs (or taper them to a point) so they stick in the ground when the wall is up.
M atthew Wolpe is cofounder, with partner Kevin McElroy, of the eco-minded building company Just Fine Design/Build, based in Oakland, California. The two have released a book on the tiniest of tiny structures, called Reinventing the Chicken Coop, with the approach of making coops as unique, colorful, modern, and aesthetically pleasing as possible. Wolpe is also a senior mechanician in furniture and carpentry at the University of California Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design and teaches woodworking at The Crucible, a nonprofit arts school in Oakland. In 2014 he launched the company PRACTICE Community Design/Build. See Matt Wolpe’s Tiny House .
I met Matt when we were both featured speakers at the Yestermorrow Tiny House Fair in 2013 and found him instantly likable and full of great ideas. So I reached out and asked him to design this tiny camp cabin. His design makes great use of outside space by means of a generously overhanging roof, a small deck, and an outdoor kitchen and shower. It even has outdoor storage cabinets, all of which could be fitted with locks. Yes, a cabin like this is best suited for mild climates or seasonal use, but even if that doesn’t work for you, it’s still full of great ideas that you might borrow.
Here’s what the designer says about his building: “As an outpost in a meadow miles from the nearest town, a low-budget country house on a ridge, temporary housing while building a bigger house, or guest accommodations for an urban backyard, the Permatent is just what it sounds like: a permanent tent, inspired by the visual vocabulary of vintage tents and remote national park ranger huts.” The structure stands on a 12 x 12-foot deck and, with lightweight framing materials (primarily 2x2s), can be assembled by a single person. It can also be insulated to be weathertight and cozy. Inside, you can add a desk, bed, and storage space. Outside, the side wall conveniently hosts an open-air kitchen and shower.
The Permatent combines a simple wood-frame structure with an appealing mix of angles, overhangs, and finish materials that make the design truly distinctive. The roofing, siding, and exterior features play key roles here, and all can be easily modified for custom looks and function.
The deck and floor have simple square frames with joists at 16 inches on center and doubled end joists. The deck is treated 2x6s, while the floor is treated 2x4s. Cover the deck with treated 5⁄4x6 decking boards gapped about 1⁄4 inch for drainage. Sheathe the floor with standard (untreated) 3⁄4-inch plywood.
As an option to save on decking material, you can set the cabin floor frame directly onto the deck frame. If you take this route, you should double the deck joist under the front wall of the cabin to provide support for the decking boards.
The four walls are framed with 2x2s and get single-2x4 headers over the windows and door. The front and rear walls can be framed in two sections each, simplifying construction and transport (if necessary). The siding can be plywood or other suitable materials (with sheathing, as needed). If you plan to add cabinets or other wall-mounted fixtures on the right side wall, it’s a good idea to sheathe the wall’s frame with 3⁄4-inch plywood for backing. Only the front, rear, and right side walls get siding; the left side wall is covered with the roofing material.
The roof frame consists of seven trusses made with 2x4s. The five interior trusses get two bottom chords (collar ties) each, while the two end trusses get a single (interior) bottom chord so they can fit onto the front- and rear-wall top plates. Reinforce the joint at the peak of each truss with plywood gussets or metal connector plates.
The roof has no sheathing, so before the corrugated metal (or other) roofing goes on, you need to install 10-foot-long, 2x4 purlins, evenly spaced, along both roof planes, as well as down the left side wall of the cabin. Install the roofing with roofing screws and neoprene washers (or as specified by the manufacturer), making the sure screws won’t penetrate the bottom faces of the purlins. Run the roofing a little long on the left side of the roof so it extends beyond the left wall for proper drainage.
With a 30 x 72-inch rough opening, the door is a standard width but short in height. This means you can cut down a solid door or build a custom door to fit. The windows can be salvaged units or custom-made with plastic or glass glazing.
The designer’s plans include some clever ideas for outfitting the cabin interior, including a bed with storage below, a simple wall-hung desk, and storage drawers that form a staircase leading up to the bed.
I n recent years, fledgling Boston-area architect Sean Carey has helped me tremendously a couple of times by rendering many of my already-built cabins, or my sketches, into more readable, functional plan sets. He also did so for the sketches Jay Shafer and I came up with. So while trying to scheme up a funny or bizarre name for this simple little backyard office, I figured, why not just pay tribute and thanks to someone I know? Also, this writer’s shack is so small that just a few individuals could “Carey” it from one locale to another. Get it?
The Carey Cabin takes up so little space that it could easily reside on a city rooftop, on an alleylike sliver of land, on the back of a trailer (as small as 4 x 8 feet), or in any backyard or patch of woods. Plus, it’s affordable, light, and easy to construct. Because it uses stock-length lumber (or the exact halves of 8-foot lumber runs), full sheets of plywood, and 2x3s instead of 2x4s, this one’s not only a friend to your wallet but also to your back. The 2x3s allow for an extra 2 inches of width in the interior, which is more noticeable than you might think. The cabin can be built for only a few hundred dollars. With the exception of the rear window, which likely requires new Plexiglas, the windows can be salvaged, as can many of the building materials.
Aside from being so darn small (but with almost 7 feet of standing room at the peak), this tiny retreat’s unusual offering is its deck. The platform can fit a small chair or two and not only adds a little visual depth to the structure, but it also mimics the exact shape of the body and roofline. When not in use, the deck can be flipped up and secured against the cabin’s front wall to provide protection during transport or while you’re away for long periods.
I imagine the Carey Cabin mainly as a backyard office or writer’s retreat. But it could also serve as a tiny shed, a greenhouse (with clear roofing), a meditation room, artist’s studio, playhouse, sleep retreat in the woods for two, or outdoor guestroom. And it could easily be tossed onto a platform in a tree.
All of the framing for this tiny structure is joined with screws, and the windows and door need only single-2x3 headers. Custom trim details and finishes can have a big impact on the look of both the exterior and interior. Consider mixing siding materials, and even colors. Shiplap or tongue-and-groove siding on the outside makes for nice ceiling and wall surfaces inside the cabin.
The floor is a simple platform framed with 2x6s and topped with a full 4 x 8-foot sheet of 3⁄4-inch plywood. You can also frame it with 2x4s if it’s evenly supported from below.
Frame the walls with 2x3s and screws. The front and rear walls are the through walls and cap over the ends of the side walls. Include the end rafters when framing the front and rear walls (see Roof, below). Each set of end rafters gets a collar tie about 8 inches down from the roof peak. This can be a furring strip, or you can use a triangular plywood gusset for a bit more strength.
On the side walls, place a center stud at the exact center along the length of the wall, then space the intermediate studs evenly at either side. Include rough openings for windows, as desired.
In the project shown, the side walls get 3⁄8-inch plywood siding. A single 4 x 8-foot sheet running horizontally will cover each side, but the walls are 491⁄2 inches tall, so you have to center the panel up and down so it covers about half of the top and bottom plates equally. Cover the gap along the bottom with trim. The front and rear walls get tongue-and-groove plank siding or other desired material.
There are two types of rafters: end and interior. The four end rafters are part of the front and rear wall frames. The number of interior rafters is based on the desired spacing; you’ll need three sets for approximately 24-inch spacing or five sets for approximately 16-inch spacing.
The ridge beam is a single 2x3. You can leave the ridge with square edges or rip the top edges on a table saw to match the roof slope. In either case, notch the interior rafters to accept the ridge. The two end rafters at each gable do not get notches; the ridge butts into the inside faces of these rafters.
Fasten the top ends of the rafters to the ridge beam by screwing through the outsides of the rafters and into the ridge. Screw the bottom ends of the rafters to the wall plates with one screw driven down through the rafter and into the wall stud or plate, and one opposing screw through the stud or plate and into the rafter. Alternatively, you can use steel framing connectors to fasten the rafters to the walls.
Sheathe the roof with siding planks, plywood, or other material. If your roofing material requires fasteners between rafter locations, make sure the sheathing is thick enough so that the fasteners don’t poke through the bottom and into the cabin interior.
The shape and finished dimensions of the deck match those of the cabin’s end walls. Frame the deck with 2x6s if you’ll leave it down permanently, or use 2x4s to build it for the flip-up function. Cover the deck frame with 5/4x6" decking or basic lumber planks. Support the deck from below with custom bench-style platforms or masonry blocks. Anchor the deck to the cabin floor frame with screws or carriage bolts, or mount it to the cabin base with heavy-duty hinges for flip-up action.
Plexiglas sheeting works best for the large rear-wall window. Cut the sheet to fit the rough opening, leaving about 1⁄4-inch “float room” on all sides; the glazing should not fit tightly into the opening. Install the glazing with 3⁄4 x 3⁄4-inch stops on both sides, and seal the exterior edges with silicone caulk. Salvaged windows work well for the side walls, especially if you want them to open for ventilation, or you can build custom windows using the same construction as the large rear window.
The door is an easy custom build using good 3⁄4-inch plywood or board-and-batten construction. Size the door based on the actual dimensions of the rough opening, and factor in the hinges, giving the door plenty of clearance in the opening. Hang the door so it opens out, which saves on interior space. Use 3⁄4 x 3⁄4-inch stock for stops wrapping the inside of the opening, or add trim or batten strips to the interior edges of the framing. For a handle, a simple storm door kit with a lock works well.
Construct a simple built-in desk under the large rear window with 2x3 framing topped with plywood leftover from the door (if applicable). Add a piece of trim along the front to cover the plywood edge and framing lumber. Built-in shelves take advantage of framing cavities; build these with 2x6 or 2x4 planks cut to fit between two wall studs. It’s a good idea to round off the exposed corners of the shelves to prevent boo-boos. Screw through the outsides of the studs and into the edges of the shelf planks.
A builder and designer, carpenter by trade, partially off-grid homesteader, beekeeper, and tiny-house (well, gypsy wagon) dweller, Sage Rad is one interesting and passionate dude, and he’s constantly working on one project or another. I shared his preliminary designs for this cute ’n’ cozy little dwelling on wheels on my blog. Its simple approach and good looks made an impression on me, and I later asked Sage to share the final design. I’m hoping that someday we might see a vast array of creative takes on this fun, affordable little structure.
“I just want to build one of these, leave the city, roll it into the woods somewhere, and live out of it,” Sage told me. This is coming from a guy who now lives in a self-built, salvaged-material gypsy wagon on the outskirts of Boston, and who once ditched college to live in a tree house in the middle of the Massachusetts woods. So I tend to believe him.
The Woodsy Waggon gets its name from traditional gypsy “waggons” of old Europe, and it’s designed to be a smaller version of the same: a pullable, lightweight wagon with a small sleep space, counter space for food prep, and storage. It also has a hinged stoop/seat over the front handlebars, which makes a great campfire seat and can flip up to help secure the cabin door.
All portable structures require careful consideration of the trade-off between strength and weight. When building the Waggon, you can opt for thicker plywood for stiffer, stronger walls, floor, and door, or go for lightness with thinner material. If your aim is to be as light as possible, use lightweight lumber (or other material) for braces and supports to stiffen panels or strengthen corner joints as needed. Just keep in mind the extra weight of the bracing to make sure the trade-off is worth it.
As a wheeled structure, the Waggon has a base that’s part chassis and part cabin floor. It starts with two 12-foot-long 2x4 struts joined with two or more 2x4 cross braces (or joists). The struts are shaped into handles at one end, while the other ends get a simple taper. This chassis frame gets topped with a full 4 x 8-foot sheet of plywood. You can use 1⁄2-inch or 3⁄4-inch, but you might want an extra cross brace or two with thinner material. Glue and screw 2x2s along the perimeter on the top face of the plywood. This stiffens the floor and provides backing for fastening the plywood walls. Notch the struts to accept an axle for the wheels, or use whatever system your project requires. For the wheels you can use anything that rolls and is strong enough to support the Waggon and its occupant(s).
The plywood walls can be as thin as 3/8 inch and as thick as 3⁄4 inch. Fasten the walls to the outsides of the 2x2s on the base, and join the wall panels at each corner with a vertical 2x2 on the cabin interior. The front and rear walls cover the edges of the side walls, and all cover the edges of the base plywood.
Use Plexiglas for the windows in the rear wall and the door. The windows can be any size and shape you like. Just make sure there’s enough wood around the glazing for strength. You can set the glazing into a rabbeted edge in the plywood and secure it with caulk, or cut the Plexiglas 2 inches or so larger than the opening and screw it to the interior side of the plywood. A screened ventilation panel, or a small window that opens, might also be a good idea.
Hang the door so it opens out, using stops on the inside of the opening to prevent the door from swinging in. Choose the best handle/latch and lock for your needs. A simple screen door handle kit might do the trick, or add something more heavy-duty for security.
The barrel-shaped roof is made with Tuftex (or similar) polycarbonate roofing panels fastened to the walls with roofing screws with neoprene washers. Secure the panels to the faces of the side walls and to the edges of the front and rear walls (or screw into lightweight blocking if the plywood is too thin). If any sag occurs in the middle of the roof, you might want to jigsaw-cut a side-to-side arched rafter from plywood (that matches the front and rear roof curve) to further support the polycarbonate.
The front stoop doubles as a handy bench seat and can be flipped up on hinges to cover the lower portion of the door, where you can secure it with some latches and locks, if desired. You can make the stoop with plywood (3⁄4-inch, or two layers of 3⁄8- or 1⁄2-inch if you have scraps) or build a small frame and top it with four 5/4x6 decking planks gapped about 1⁄4 inch apart.
A platform bed and full-length table or shelf take advantage of the long cabin space. Both can be made with plywood, secured to the walls with cleats, and supported with vertical posts. Hang the bed platform from the cleats with hinges, if you desire, for a flip-up/flip-down bed. Add smaller shelves below the table using simple brackets.
