Luxurious tiny home for a family of 4 features tons of storage

Hello everyone, I'm Jean-Philippe from Minimalist, presently at the Expo Habitat show in Quebec, to present our latest model, the Charm. So this one will be in French with English subtitles, so you'll be able to follow whatever we explain inside the house. The Charm is a 10.5 x 38.5 feet unit that was designed for a young family in Ontario. This house is made to resist the Canadian climate, so we have an insulation coat of R24 in the walls, R34 in the floor and R44 on the ceiling, as well as a high-performance building envelope that makes the unit very eco-energetic. As for the exterior coating, we stayed true to our habits with a two-tone cedar arrangement, installed horizontally and vertically. So a horizontal tinned cedar and a burned shusugi-ban type cedar, according to a Japanese technique, in order to increase its durability and resistance to moisture and insects. So a good insulating value and a high-performance building represent savings in electricity for our clients, which is kind of the goal behind the way we design our houses. So without further ado, I invite you to visit the inside of the house. So here we are inside the Charm model. As I said earlier, it's a unit that was designed for a family. So we have about 400 square feet of floor surface. We have one bedroom on the ground floor, two bedrooms in mezzanine. On the safety side, it was very important for our client that we take into consideration the fact that there will be two young children in the house. So for the access to the two lofts through the storage staircase, we offered him a ramp. The client was not very keen on the idea of having bars that reminded him a bit of a prison. So we offered him to have glass sections. Then we are really happy with the result. And ultimately, the client is very satisfied with the result. So the goal is achieved. As for the two lofts, the available space offers the possibility of installing a liquid and to include a maximum of storage. It is also in the two lofts that we will install heat exchangers from Bloberg that we use in our houses. With a couple of walls that are waterproof like ours, it is inevitable to install heat exchangers for the good operation and durability of the house. We are currently in the living space. So the living space also serves as a dining room. That's why we installed IKEA modular sofas with a folder. So the seat of the armchair is at the same height as a conventional chair. So we can use a conventional table to eat 4 to 6 people around a table without any problem. In addition to being modular, all sections of the sofa also serve as storage. So we can store a lot more items than a conventional sofa or a bed sofa. For entertainment, we find a TV that has a wall support that we can pivot in all directions and then reorient depending on how many people want to watch TV at the same time. Another element that we take into account when designing a house is that depending on the geographical location of the house, we try to orient the window more to maximize natural light which will also allow us to save on heating in winter. Then we strongly recommend, which is the case in this house, the installation of semi-opaque or opaque stores in order to preserve heat in winter and maximize the conservation of fresh air in summer. Another feature of the Charm model is the 100A electric panel that is installed here. So we have easy access to the panel. We can have access to the heater quite easily. Then why is there a 100A in the house? So we have a lot of items to feed in the house. We are talking about a mini-split utensil that acts as heating and air conditioning. In addition, we have a glucose-based heating board the size of the house. So we have a heating that is quite optimal. The house includes all the same amenities as a conventional house, which justifies the installation of a 100A panel. As for the kitchen, at the beginning of the kitchen, we have the coat space right next to the entrance with hooks to hang the coats or clothes in general with a small entrance bench which was normally designed for children too. Obviously, when there are 4 people in the mini-house, it is very important that each place is optimal but both can have the dimensions to meet the needs of the customers. In terms of the kitchen, it is a kitchen that contains a lot of storage. Basically, in our houses, we install sliders on all sliding systems so that the use is more pleasant. In terms of the amenities that we find in the Charm kitchen, we have a round cooking surface as well as an oven that also acts as a microwave oven. We have a lot of storage at the bottom of the boxes as well as at the top of the boxes. Another particularity that we find in the Charm that we don't necessarily see in all the other houses, it is really a personal choice of the customer. We find storage at the level of the footrests. Of course, the footrests in a conventional house, we don't really think about using it as a storage space. On the other hand, when we optimize a space in a micro-house, we can take advantage of the space like the footrests. We also find a double sink as well as a dishwasher. As I said earlier, there is nothing left out. We really find all the necessary amenities. In terms of the refrigerator, in this model, we installed a conventional size refrigerator. With the constraint of the wheel arches in the micro-houses, the refrigerator must be raised. We optimize the space under the refrigerator by including storage like a drawer in this case. In terms of the doser in the kitchen, faithful to our habits, we installed an aluminum doser from the Muralux company, which is something that we install almost from scratch in our houses. It's the same thing for what we're going to see later in the bathroom. It's a light product that is durable, easy to maintain. That's why we really like to use it in our houses. As mentioned earlier, our customer wanted to have a double bunk staircase so that the children could have access to their bedroom without using a ladder, which obviously allows us to have a lot of storage. Every time we have a staircase, we can optimize everything below. Which is the case in this one. This is the first time we've had a double bunk staircase, which allowed us to use as much storage as possible, as well as some small details. We have a nice example here with a table that unfolds quite easily. It will be used by the children to do their homework. It's a pretty strong table too. We could eat around it, but it was clearly designed so that the children could do their homework. When we arrange it, of course, it's pretty easy. We bring everything back and then discreetly close it like this. It's one of the features that we can add to the houses. In addition to the four entry hooks, we always have a lot more clothes than that. In the beginning of the storage staircase, we find a wardrobe space. We can put boots, winter coats, raincoats, without crowding the space at the entrance. It's a very large wardrobe. Since the double bunk staircase is mirrored, we find a wardrobe of the same size in this corner. However, it is in the form of a pantry, so four large drawers that can be at different heights to contain a lot of food. Annexed to the bathroom, we find a box that contains a dryer. It's a 24-inch dryer, so it's a little smaller than the conventional standard. As a priority, our client wanted a 32 by 48 shower as well as a fairly large mechanical room to be able to use it as an additional storage space. Then, we had no choice but to include the amenities that we included in a bathroom, such as the toilet, a vanity, and a pharmacy mirror. For a five-foot by nine-foot bathroom, the space is really optimized. Nothing has been left to chance. We really find a lot of storage in the mechanical room without compromising the rest of the space. So, it's an acrylic shower base with muralux panels, as we find with the kitchen cabinet, as well as a sliding glass door that makes sure that we still have a nice brightness in the shower and we don't feel too cramped like when we install a curtain. To make the use of the shower more pleasant, it's something we do frequently in our homes. We install a thermostatic valve that allows us to pre-adjust the temperature of the water. Then, we just have to turn on the shower and it's already pre-programmed to the temperature we want. As for the vanity, we went with an IKEA vanity that is optimized for storage. Instead of finding a conventional door, it's drawers. Then, the plumbing has been condensed at the bottom to allow us to use the drawers as much as possible. It's something we do frequently in our homes to optimize the available space. Above the vanity, we find a large pharmacy mirror that will house the personal belongings of four people. During the design process, it's also important to identify the source of the water that you're going to use inside your house. This will allow us to define the needs, the different possible filtration systems that we can install. In this case, our client draws water from a well, a well that produces water that is quite ferrous. We have a treatment system for ferrous water as well as a UV treatment with another system to treat bacteria as well as a small particle filter. So, depending on the type of water you have, the more information we have on the origin of this water, the better we are equipped to advise you on the possible filtration systems in your house. The entire plumbing system is installed inside the mechanical room. So, the boiler with the expansion tank and all the glycol pipes go here to heat the interior of the house. Since we strongly advise young people to install an instantaneous electric heater due to the fact that it creates a very high amperage point, we recommend the installation, when we have access to electricity, of a conventional heater. In this case, we find a 30-gallon installed in a container with a humidity detector. So, if ever there is a leak due to a manufacturing defect in the heater, we will have a leak. So, an alarm will ring and we will be able to close the valves. At Minimalist, we think it is important that people know how their house works. So, each valve is identified and the water traction in the house is easy to read when we are in the mechanical room. So, if ever there is a leak, we don't need to call a plumber to close our water. The valves are very well identified, so people can really understand the mechanics within their own house. So, I mentioned that our client was connected to electricity. This is also the case for plumbing. Our client will have access to a septic tank. So, we installed a conventional toilet. Obviously, we offer the choice of compost toilets, incinerator toilets and, of course, conventional toilets, which is the case in this house. We see a lot of ways to do it in the different mini-houses, whether in Canada or the United States. On the other hand, there are things at Minimalist that are, let's say, non-negotiable. So, the installation of air exchangers in the unit as well as the bathroom fan to evacuate humidity. The ceiling is made of cedar with varnished layers, so we are not afraid that the humidity will remain trapped in the ceiling. However, the space is small, so the space becomes humid quite quickly and we need a way to evacuate this humidity. So, it's really not a luxury to have a bathroom fan in a micro-house. We are currently in the main bedroom of the room. It is a room that is open to the floor, so we have a full height. This is something that is appreciated by many, many people. Not only people who are a little older for whom it is a little more difficult to get into a mezzanine, but also people who go into a mezzanine is something they see as a negative point at the level of the mini-house. So, what we find interesting to be able to offer a room on the ground floor is that we do not have the constraints of a mezzanine room. Then, it also allows us to install, as in this case, a storage bed. So, in addition to the storage bed, which is normally used to store seasonal items, we find a wardrobe on each side of the bed. Then, the wardrobe can be modulated depending on the use that people are going to do. We can have a section with a pole and then tablets at the bottom or a section with a pole that makes the whole wardrobe. So, there is a little latitude at the level of what customers can do with the space we design. We have small bedside tables at the height of the bed to connect the cell phone with sockets, etc. Then, we have a backlight that is accessible from each side of the bed to have a slightly more muted atmosphere when it's evening. Behind the bed, we find an oven-type window. So, a window that can be left open when it rains. This is something that we find really interesting. Sometimes, we can feel the outside breeze while avoiding having water inside the house. As for the other window that we find at the entrance on the left of the room, it is a window that would be used as an emergency exit in the event of a fire, for example. So, it's a window with a sliding mechanism and not a crank, which is required according to the certifications to which we are subject. This is what concludes the visit of the Charm model. As you can see, it is possible to live with several people in a micro-house without compromising comfort, which was really the goal sought by our customers. So, we really managed to meet their needs to create a product that really responds to their reality, to their lifestyle. So, a floor mat, two bedrooms with a mezzanine for the children. So, these missions were accomplished for us, and we are really happy with the collaboration we had with the customer. We also take this opportunity to thank them for lending us their house for the Expo Habitat show. Obviously, in our situation, where it is the situation for several people, it is difficult to be able to see a mini-house. So, a big thank you to the customers for lending us their house for the Expo Habitat show. A big thank you also to all our partners who made the event possible. So, thank you for supporting us. As much to you who watch our videos as to the people who will eventually buy us a house. We hope you enjoyed your visit. We invite you to follow us on our different social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and we also invite you to subscribe to our YouTube channel right here. Then, feel free to write to us if you have any questions via the contact or submission section of our website or in the comments below. So, see you in the next video tour.