This Alaskan tiny house is full of space-saving storage ideas

It’s a conundrum that might send some interior designers running. What do you do if your client’s house is only 24 feet long, but their top priority is to have the feeling of “wide open space”? Well, as this tiny home demonstrates, you get creative.

Alaskan furniture-builder and designer Ana White took up the challenge of creating a small-but-spacious home recently when she and her husband were called upon to build and design this tiny house.

Her first step in creating a feeling of openness: getting the bed out of the way. Lots of tiny-house aficionados use loft beds, but having a loft bed generally means climbing a ladder and sleeping just a few feet from the ceiling, which isn’t always ideal. So instead of a bunk-style bed, White created an “elevator bed” that rises and descends with the push of a button. The bed was built using basic hardware-store materials, including sliding-door hardware and a garage storage lift. The bed hangs out (literally) near the ceiling during the day, and when it’s time for bed, pressing a button lowers it to a comfortable height.

White’s next impossible task was creating a living room area with seating that was comfortable and included storage space, but could also become a guest bed. Most fold-out couches don’t tend to have space for storage, so this ask seemed fairly implausible, but White again got creative. She built a sectional couch with storage in the frame and cushions made out of a foam mattress. By moving a few pieces around, she was able to create a comfy full-sized bed in just a few minutes.

Other space-saving innovations in the house include a desk that folds out from the side of a storage space, a cabinet that slides out from an inaccessible corner revealing a tiny pantry, and a closet that hides in the wall of the bathroom.

To see all the little space-saving tricks in this beautifully open-feeling home, check out White’s video tour of the space.

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