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How to Design a Tiny House: 18 Creative Design & Decor Ideas

Searching for design inspiration for your tiny house interior? Small space living means you’ll need to find creative ways to do more with less. Below, we share 19 tiny home design and decorating ideas that you can use!

Start with a Neutral Color Palette

There’s a reason why light paint colors are so popular in tiny home interiors. Colors like whites, grays, and beiges help rooms feel airier and larger than they actually are because neutrals reflect light well. Having a neutral base for your tiny house also makes it easy to change up your decorating style as you please, whether you want it to be a charming bohemian hideaway or a sleek minimalist haven.

Be Strategic with Patterns & Pops of Color

Although having too many competing patterns and colors can make tiny homes feel smaller, adding a few color pops and statement pieces can give your tiny house interior a fresh, new look. A fun backsplash in the kitchen, a bright accent wall in the living room, or unexpected tile in the shower are all ways to get experimental with design without going overboard.

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Opt for Natural Accents

For some people, living sustainably is extremely important, and many plans for tiny home interior design take this into account by using reclaimed or refurbished items. From treating and staining salvaged wood for countertops and flooring to using eco-friendly paint or wallpaper, adding shiplap to walls for texture, designing and decorating your tiny home can help you engage in a more sustainable lifestyle!

Decorate with Plants

Houseplants bring a lot of life to any home, making them a great addition to tiny house decor! Hang greenery from the ceiling, mount plants on the wall, or use succulents as natural decor to spruce up your space and keep the air fresh. You could even start an indoor herb garden!

Get Funky with Lighting

Furnishing a tiny home can be tricky, as you don’t want to overwhelm the space. Fortunately, lighting is the one place where living big in a tiny house is easy because they don’t take up too much room! Hang a chandelier in your bedroom, install Edison bulbs in your bedroom, or make your tiny home’s living room stand out with a Mid-Century Modern lamp.

Make the Most of Vertical Space

Tiny home kitchen with black walls and plant decor. Photo by Instagram user @thatgrackle

Photo via @thatgrackle

If you’ve run out of floor space in your tiny house, go vertical instead! Tiny house decorating requires you to get creative, so maximize wall space by installing floating shelves, hideaway tables, and wall desks. You can also hang photos, plants, and other decor above eye level to create the illusion of height and take your tiny home decor to the next level.

Emphasize the Connection to Nature

Tiny home porch with giant glass doors. Photo by Instagram user @cargo_home

Photo via @cargo_home

Some of the best tiny home design ideas are those that maximize your outdoor living spaces. Adding a large deck or patio, designing a small yard, installing skylights or windows that open outwardly, and decorating with plants are all unique ways to blend nature into your interior and exterior home design.

Install French Doors

White french doors showing outside. Photo by Instagram user @tinyheirloom

Photo via @tinyheirloom

If you’re wondering how to make small spaces look bigger, installing French doors is a great way to open up your tiny house entryway and bring natural light into your home. Whether your decor style is rustic chic, minimalist, or anything in between, you can apply this tiny home interior design tip to any decorating style.

Save Space with Sliding Doors

Want to create distinct rooms in your tiny home without making it feel smaller? Sliding doors—like pocket doors and rolling barn doors—don’t take up a ton of square footage and make a stylish addition to small living spaces. This tiny house decorating idea is also a perfect way to add privacy to the bathroom and bedrooms.

Utilize Rugs & Runners

The floors of your tiny home can have a big impact on the rest of your interior design. For example, you can make your short hallway feel longer with a runner. You can also use runners to make certain areas feel cohesive, like a combined kitchen and dining room. Meanwhile, using smaller rugs to distinguish between different areas of your home can give the illusion of separate spaces without changing your tiny house floorplan!

Choose Multi-Purpose Furniture

Tiny home with white walls and wicker coffee table. Photo by Instagram user @shelbyadrift

Photo via @shelbyadrift

Good tiny house furniture should combine both form and function. Fortunately, there are tons of cool space-saving furniture ideas you can test out! Look for a trendy coffee table that doubles as an ottoman, couches that fold into beds, hideaway desks, and other furniture with hidden storage potential!

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Invest in Miniature Appliances

Tiny home kitchen with white cabinets and light blue fridge. Photo by Instagram user @shelbyadrift

Photo via @shelbyadrift

When living in a tiny home, your appliances should take up less square footage than they would in a full-sized house. Opting for compact refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, microwaves, and coffeemakers is one tiny home kitchen idea that saves space and money! Using a combined laundry unit instead of separate washers and dryers is another way to create space in a small room.

Use Steps for Storage

Clothes in under stairs storage cabinets. Photo by Instagram user @tinyhousekusku

Photo via @tinyhousekusku

When you embrace tiny house living, you’ll need to implement creative storage solutions. Many tiny houses invest in stair drawers to hold clothes, pots and pans, and other essential items. Plus, you can even use the space under the stairs as a miniature closet or install cubbies where you can store decorative items, books, hats, and more!

Or Save Space with a Ladder

tiny home with wooden accents and ladder stairs. photo via Instagram user @ethanabitz

Photo via @ethanabitz

Another excellent tiny house interior design idea is to install ladders instead of steps! While stairs take up a lot of space in small homes, ladders can free up floor space both when they’re in use and stored away! Not only do ladders give you access to a loft or storage space, but they can also add a touch of rustic or industrial flair.

Go with Bunk Beds for Kids

Bunk beds are a great tiny home design option for any family living the tiny home lifestyle. Not only does this tiny home bed idea save space in shared bedrooms, but you can also add storage to bunk beds with drawers or shelving. If you have a large family and a lot of vertical space, you can even triple up and have three beds to a bunk instead of just two!

Loft Your Bed

Tiny house layouts with lofted beds are tried-and-true. While you may not have space for a separate bedroom in such a small home, lofting your bed allows you to create some separation between your living and sleeping areas. If you value privacy and want to keep guests out of your tiny home bedroom, consider this type of floor plan.

Build a Mesh Loft

Living in a tiny home with kids? If you’re worried about them not having enough room for a full playroom, consider investing in an affordable tiny home renovation by transforming available vertical space into a space-saving nook for nap time, reading, or games by using a mesh loft.

Rethink Your Bookshelf

When you decide to embrace tiny living, you don’t need to give away your favorite reads. Use minimalist organization techniques like floating shelves or DIY bookcases to declutter your bookshelves and display your favorite stories in otherwise unusable spots, like corners, in your tiny house.

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Need a place to store belongings that won’t fit in a tiny house? With convenient, secure storage facilities located across the U.S., Extra Space Storage can help. Find storage units near you!

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