Whidbey
The Whidbey
The Whidbey is designed as a single story house with the choice of 1 or 2 downstairs bedrooms. Its simple design makes the house affordable to build, and full of light. The bedrooms have ample closet space, and the house makes use of its pitched roof for additional storage space or whatever else you choose to use it for. I do not list the upstairs square footage because, with so much sloped ceiling, it does not officially qualify as a habitable room. The house is 17′ 6″ tall.
Cost to Build
Estimated Material Costs: $35,000 (461 sq ft) or $41,500 (557 sq ft)
Want to know how much it will cost to have a contractor build it for you?
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General notes about construction costs: Costs for materials are almost the same in different regions but labor costs will vary greatly depending on where you live. We provide costs with a concrete poured perimeter foundation. Depending on where you live, it is possible you will need an engineered foundation designed by a licensed contractor or engineer in your state.
Loft
We don’t count the loft as square footage in this house because with so much sloped ceiling, it doesn’t officially qualify as a habitable room. That said, the loft is 6′8″ tall over much of its space. The loft is accessed by a drop down stair ladder.
The plans come with two options for the loft:
Option 1: A full loft over the kitchen, bathroom, living room and front bedroom. The stair ladder is located in the kitchen.
Option 2: Two lofts are split by a cathedral ceiling over the living room, and the lofts have a railing making the living room open. There are two stair ladders, one for each loft located in the kitchen and front bedroom.
Can I put in stairs instead of a stair ladder?
Stairs won’t fit in this design.
Why does the picture in The Small House Book show a staircase?
Originally, the sleeping area was in the loft, but to improve the design the stairwell was removed. This allowed the living area to become much larger, and the bedroom was moved downstairs. Meanwhile, no space was lost in the loft area.
Foundation
We sell our plans with a poured perimeter foundation. However, it is possible to put this house on a slab foundation or even over a basement. However, you may need to work with an architect or engineer licensed in your state to get approval from the building department.
Can this house be built on wheels?
No. This house is designed to be built on a permanent foundation.
Utilities and appliances
The kitchen maximizes spaces and includes a dishwasher, full size range with oven, and built in microwave. The tank-less on demand water heater ensures that you never run out of hot water, and tucks away completely out of view. A small fireplace is tucked nicely in the corner of the great room. The one bedroom house features a washer/dryer closet just off of the kitchen. The two bedroom house has an under counter washer/dryer in the kitchen. You can choose to convert the closet in the back bedroom near the shower into a washer/dryer closet.
Can I install air conditioning?
Yes, you can. Our plans don’t include an air conditioning unit, but you can install one in the loft or outside the house.
What type of fireplace does the house have?
We don’t specify a specific fire place or heater because codes vary so much based on climate. We recommend discussing your options with a building contractor licensed in your state.
Building this house
We sell the construction plans to build this house. It is designed to be built on site. This house is not designed to be on wheels. We recommend working with a licensed contractor in your state to build the house. When you build this house, please send us pictures. Since we don’t build the house ourselves, we are dependent on you to supply us with real pictures.
Download Plans $695
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Download the Whidbey study plans for FREE.
Plans include 13 total pages:
Front, back, side elevations
Floor plans for downstairs and loft
Electric plans for downstairs and loft
Transverse section (a diagram cutting house in half) showing roof pitch, ceiling heights, insulation and more.
Foundation plan
Roof plan
Kitchen detail laying out each and every cabinet and appliance. We use standard size cabinets found at most hardware stores.
Material list including windows, doors, water heater, bath tub/shower and more
Comments
36 Responses to “Whidbey”
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I this house. I decide either I want the Enesti or the Whidbey?
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I like this house. I decide either I want the Enesti or the Whidbey?
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The Whidbey keeps coming up as my favorite design- gotta have a downstairs bedroom, just in case, and the rest of the design talks to the tiny traditional side of me. Keep me on your list, please! My house is on the market but my heart is already living in this small house.
Belinda, central NH
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cheryl reply on April 18th, 2010 9:40 am:
I love the widbey house, I was wondering if on the two bedroom design could the back bedroom actually be redesigned as a garage with the washer and dryer out there? If it was extended to the same length of the house, would that work? I see me in this house in my future!
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I love this one. I think the demensions for the bedroom, though, should be 10×10? The schematic says it’s the same size as the living room.
Not trying to be picky, but it might confuse some people. At 10×10, that’s a very niced size bedroom!
Keep up the good work, guys.
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As a single person with a home business, I would choose the “2 bedroom” version and use the front as a beautiful Office space!
I intend to build something in the next 2 or 3 years and will bookmark and keep this one in mind…
Thank you for providing such an affordable and attractive housing option <3
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Ruth reply on March 29th, 2010 12:33 pm:
Could a spiral staircase possibly work with the Whidbey design?
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Jessica reply on April 16th, 2010 9:22 pm:
My heart is set on this design and I was wondering the sam thing on the spiral staircase
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I really like the 2BR Whidbey. The front BR is a bit small and I wish the loft was livable (for the grandkids) – otherwise, I could live there very comfortable. I’ve downsized several times and am now alone and nearing the big 70 so a small space to clean that “comes with” a small yard to maintain is just what I’m looking for.
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Leslie reply on July 27th, 2010 7:43 pm:
In the videos, Jay always seems to have a sleeping area in the loft areas. I don’t think “not habitable” means that you can’t use it, just that it’s size is so small that it cannot be technically counted as living space. If you choose to set it up as an area for the grandkids there is probably no harm as long as its has good ventilation, heating, and cooling.
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Tumbleweed Houses reply on July 30th, 2010 10:29 pm:
you definitely got it right!
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Are there any planned communities in the works, or are people simply purchasing small residential lots to put these on? Great opportunity to provide affordable housing to low-income or older couples…
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What a beautiful house! I think people will find the loft is very livable — especially for kids — who will love scrambling up and down the ladder. The wall between kitchen and living room could be opened up for a breakfast counter. I love the windows on all 3 sides of the front bedroom and agree that it would make a perfect home office. That’s a great idea to have entire neighborhoods of tiny houses. The neighborhood could have walking pathways instead of roads, and cars could be kept in a remote parking lot and/or multi-unit garage.
Congratulations on an outstanding design! Keep ‘em coming!
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I really like that the main living is all on one level. The only thing I don’t like is that the best room in the house(the one with all the windows) is a bedroom. I would prefer that lovely room to be the main living area.
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I have had my eye on this model for a long time. Your changes and the sale price have made it irresistible, so I just bought the plans! Next steps are to sell my condo, buy a lot, and have my son build it. Thanks for such great ideas!
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Tumbleweed Houses reply on April 7th, 2010 6:46 am:
Good Luck with your small house Kathleen! Send us some picture and other progress in your house. :>
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Interesting redesign of the Whidbey! It makes sense to remove the staircase and use that space for something else, since there is no “livable” space in the upstairs.
Since there *is* “livable” space in the Enesti and B-53, will these plans stay the same, please (with switchback stairs)?
Thanks, Joan C.
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I love this new design. It is something I would consider building. That is after I get my current place paid off in about 3.5 years. Great work. Keep it up. I have been intrigued by these homes since I first discovered them.
Thanks,
Eric
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Is there any reason you don’t use a more loft friendly roof design in your houses? Such as a gambrel roof? I wouldn’t imagine it would take much more material to build and it would make the left area entirely useable
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Made a typo in my previous post, meant loft instead of left. To expand on my idea I’m thinking a gambrel style roof with one large slant as to be almost vertical with a shallower point to the roof finishing it off. This would allow easier placement of furniture, etc, and make the loft into an excellent bedroom area.
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I love this design. One question, can I adapt the back extra bedroom to measure 10′ x 12′ (or really 13′ x 12′ since I would be extending the storage area.) That would be the only change I’d make. I would ask the contractor/builder to make that adjustment? would it be easy? I believe that would add 65 sq feet if I calculate correctly.
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i’ve been looking at your house designs for the past 5 years and a real enthusiast about your homes. i love all of your designs but this one i’ve come to like the most. with all of the natural lighting given from the skylights, and abundance of windows, and the floorplan how can one not love this design. i was thinking though could it be possible to make the front bedroom into a kitchen? and make the current kitchen into a half bedroom? also i’m kind of interested to see what the whidbey would look like with the same square footage as the b 53 at 837 sq ft
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great job everyone at tumbleweed you deserve it. i’m looking forward to more of your wonderful designs
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Could the plans be modified to either leave out the loft or change it so that the kitchen can be open to the living room instead of being closed off? I think the main living area would seem more spacious if the kitchen flowed into the living room.
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Dear Sirs:
I have to tell you that you feature very good designs in your site.
I have besides my 5 models in my web designed several prototypes
very modern and full of good design an living ideas.
How can I advertise and sell them through your website and your company ?
Besides I am working in some small homes ideas.
Thank you
Ruben Feldman
1 866 503-2554
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Love this plan……
Just curious what the height is of the house finished. I have a limit of 28 feet for the height requirement for beach property. Love this plan, with the loft area open, just makes it look bigger. So glad that I found your website.
Also can the plans be modified to add a half bath or one with a small shower to the 557sqft plan?
Thank you
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Robert reply on June 9th, 2010 1:56 am:
It states in the description that the house is 17? 6? tall.
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I’m curious, could the 1/2 lofts be used as extra bedrooms?, or simply storage?
What else can they be used for?
I love this design very much it’s unique and it’s the perfect size it seems for what I need.
Good job on the baby sized house, it’s cute, chic and eclectic!
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Ann reply on June 23rd, 2010 2:01 pm:
I would think they could be sleeping lofts just like in all the other tiny houses Jay has designed.
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I just noticed… none of these permanent foundation homes have garages. Why is that? Is that optional?
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I like the Whidbey plan very much, particularly the high ceiling, plentiful windows and long sightlines, which will make the house feel much more spacious than its actual size. Despite the larger size of this plan, you keep the plumbing core together which reduces costs and future problems. In the larger plan you provide easy bathroom access to both bedrooms and the living area, which is a rare feat nowadays.
This is a beautifully planned house that will delight both the soul and the wallet.
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I was once in love with the B53 … I feel like I am cheating but this may be just what I needed.
Okay so upstairs isn’t liveable in whose terms? Look at teh tinier houses on wheels with loft sleeping areas!!
Each of the two kids could have a loft sleeping area and I could have the bedroom. If we built on a basement then W/D and other necessities could go downstairs. It would be such a simple foot print. The kids love the ladder ideas and once they are gone (will it ever happen??) I wouldn’t have to go “upstairs”.
Looks as though it is a redesign but not sure, hasn’t caught my eye before now. Even more encouraged than ever to find a piece of green and try my hand at building – be escared, be very escared! LOL – kidding I can build.
Thanks for this …… 1 question not yet answered …. what about that spiral staircase??? Where and is it feasable???
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This is the winner for me because it is so flexible – easily able to personalize. I have lived in a small (925sq. ft) and smaller (700sq ft) and I LOVED it. I think that adjusting this plan to what you want is a great idea, you just need to check it out with the designer, or a builder to see if what you envision is do-able. So: here is how I would “personalize” this plan (in my perfect world): the front bedroom would be my office and I would have the loft above it open to the living room. I would add the additional bedroom to the back but fully extend the walls to meet the side walls of the rest of the house. However, I would not make the back room a bedroom, but a screened in porch – or most of it. I would push the bathroom back into the “porch” area but it would be enclosed and this is where I would put the washer/dryer. I would flip flop the kitchen layout so the plumbing would be on the same side as the bathroom and all in one general area, and use the extra space in the kitchen for a built in/storage eating area. Above that I would have another loft (but this loft would be closed off from the living room area) extending over the extra bedroom/porch with a (spiral ?) staircase up into the loft area. I would turn this loft area into a bedroom with a half bath over the other bathroom. Having the washer dryer towards the back of the house would allow me to have access to hot and cold water so I could possibly add an outside shower/tub and/or gray water, if allowable in the area. Having the screened in porch would give me an area to line dry clothes in inclement weather, keeping dryer use to a minimum and also give me a “sleeping porch” area, conceivably cutting down on my use of AC (I live in Texas). I would also put in as many transoms and cross ventilation aids as possible! So my “dream” for this plan would increase the sq. footage and materials costs some, but keep the basic footprint and efficiency of design.
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if you ever have a contest to build one for free…I would be a great candidate. I have property just no house. wishful thinking..
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very good for a student that just got in/out of college, that wants a place not to expensive, and is good for having family/friends over. i think it would work!
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I love the Whidbey design, the loft idea is so cool. I just graduated from college, and got my dream job. I am currently renting an apartment but I would like to invest my money on a property that I will own, and I think it will be cheaper that way. I would love to build the Whidbey style but the problem is buying a land, I am living in California around Central Valley area. I would like to have at least an 800 to 1000 square feet land (600 sq feet for Whidbey and the rest would be little front and backyard and a parking space for my car. I am totally ready to live on a tiny cute house since I am not YET accumulating staff. If anyone out there who has a piece of land that is affordable, it would be awesome, then I can start building this cute house.
One question, can the cieling be at least 8 feet tall so then other areas of the ceiling would be higher? Currently planning to buy the plan.
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