Windsor 500
12:12 roof pitch and dormer at the top of the stairs. Also showing the larger hip-roof porch.
Looking toward the kitchen
Built to the geometry on my plans. Check out the video!
12:12 roof pitch and dormer at the top of the stairs. Also showing the larger hip-roof porch.
The Windsor 500 is a two-room tiny house on 1.5-floors. With nearly everything you need for compact living on the ground floor, it's a simple climb up the alternating tread stairs to the bedroom. Close the hatch behind you to block any sounds from the first floor and you'll have full standing headroom in the center of the room and at the head of the stairs.
Big Picture Information
Study Plans
If you’ve found the flyer compelling, the next step is to get serious about building the house. Our Study Plans consist of detailed drawings that let you discuss your project with a builder and begin to work up semi-realistic costs. For more info, click here:
Construction Plans
Whether you’re building a code-compliant plan or chose to add our Enhanced Efficiency details to create a high-performance home, you will start by reaching out via the contact page so we can work up a proposal. We’ve found that selling stock plans and leaving you trying to figure out how to get them built is not a good experience. We know there will need to be changes based on local building requirements, and you probably want to tweak things a bit yourself. For a more detailed explanation for why we only provide custom plans, click here:
About the plan
Welcome to my home! I designed and built this simple cottage as a guest house in Centreville, Maryland, but I have yet to move out, because it works so well for me! The Windsor 500 plans are modified slightly with a steeper roof pitch and a dormer to make the attic bedroom more roomy with more headroom. They also include a larger porch at 11’ x 11’, which I would have liked for myself. These changes to the roof and porch are reflected in the 3D model images above. Essentially, the house is a simple two-room structure (downstairs room and upstairs room) suitable for a single person or spry couple that is comfortable with the alternating tread stairs. Spatially, it feels much more like a house than a trailer, compared to a tiny home on wheels. And the energy costs will beat the pants off a trailer--my energy bills average about $50 over the course of 12 months.
Customized Plans
We recognize that the best houses are designed to fit the site, local climate and the owner’s lifestyle. We are happy to customize any of our plans, so please contact us for an initial discussion.
Natural Homes
We do not sell pre-designed natural homes on our website--there are just too many variables to make that feasible. Whether you are already knowledgeable about natural home building techniques, or want to begin to educate yourself, contact us for an initial discussion. Click here to learn some fundamentals of Natural Home Design, or click on the “My Home” menu tab.
Phone Support
In this age of artificial intelligence, there’s no substitute for interaction with an actual human, especially with something as complicated as building a house. Study plans come with a 1/2 hour of phone support, and construction plans come with a minimum of 4 hours. Learn more here: