Tiny Houses

Tiny but versatile Browny makes room for work and play

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The Browny is based on a double-axle trailer and has a length of 6 m (20 ft). Notwithstanding its small dimensions, the tiny house contains a home office, exercise area, and a guest bedroom
Baluchon
The Browny is based on a double-axle trailer and has a length of 6 m (20 ft). Notwithstanding its small dimensions, the tiny house contains a home office, exercise area, and a guest bedroom
Baluchon
The Browny is finished in red cedar, with aluminum accenting and roof
Baluchon
The Browny features generous glazing, including large glass doors
Baluchon
The Browny's glazed entrance is sheltered by a removable wooden awning
Baluchon
In the place where you'd expect to find a living room, the Browny instead contains an exercise area
Baluchon
The Browny's ground floor includes a dining area with a drop-down dining table and storage space
Baluchon
The Browny's bedroom is a typical tiny house-style space with a low ceiling
Baluchon
The Browny's bedroom has a dividing wall for privacy
Baluchon
The Browny includes a work area with multiple monitors and a desk
Baluchon
The Browny's bedroom is accessed by storage-integrated staircase
Baluchon
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Tiny houses have never been just for living in, and over the years we've seen the small-living movement play host to everything from a wedding chapel to a children's playroom. The Browny, by France's Baluchon, is another good example of their versatility and squeezes in a home office, an area for exercising, and a guest bedroom into a length of just 6 m (20 ft).

The Browny was commissioned by a client who had been working from home for nine years with an awkward-sounding setup situated next to his washing machine. The home office is now installed in the garden in Loire-Atlantique, western France, to offer a much improved work/life balance.

The tiny house is based on a double-axle trailer and finished in red cedar, with aluminum accenting and roof. It features generous glazing to maximize natural light inside, with the entrance shaded by a removable wooden awning.

Since the Browny lacks a proper kitchen and a bathroom, the downstairs has ample floorspace and is relatively open and airy. It's finished in spruce, with a solid oak floor. On entering, the space you'd expect to find a living room is taken up by an exercise area. This includes a treadmill and an electric heater for warming the space in colder weather. A dining area with a coffee machine and some cabinetry, plus a drop-down table is nearby.

The Browny's ground floor includes a dining area with a drop-down dining table and storage space
Baluchon

The actual office part of the home office is situated behind a dividing wall and consists of a desk and a multiple-monitor setup and some more glazing.

The Browny's bedroom is used as a place for the owner to take a midday nap and to host any visiting guests. It's reached by a storage-integrated staircase and is a typical tiny house-style space with a low ceiling and a double bed.

The Browny includes a work area with multiple monitors and a desk
Baluchon

We've no word on the exact cost of the Browny, but Baluchon's models typically start at €80,000 (around US$90,000).

Source: Baluchon

View gallery - 10 images
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2 comments
Jinpa
What every review of tiny houses should include is whether a specific tie-down kit is available, so they can't be blown away by a hurricane. It may be some kind of augur-based strapping method, or it ma by by a deep poured reinforced concrete anchor method, but the attachment method has to be built into the tiny house. That also would discourage theft and unauthorized removal of tiny houses. There is an organization that vets tiedowns, which is recognized by Florida state government and probably by insurance companies and finance sources. They are required for all manufactured homes and older residential trailers, since Hurricane Andrew. Most states, sadly, don't require tiedowns, but they should. Please include the tiedown certification in all tiny-house reviews.
Demosthenes
And a washroom with toilet?