Choosing a Tiny Home Builder

You’ve done your daydreaming, you can picture your dream tiny home, you found the perfect space to build, and now all you need is a builder to make your tiny-living dreams come true. The tiny house movement is relatively new, making it difficult to find builders with decades of experience.

But just because a builder has been designing tiny homes for only a few years doesn’t mean they’re not at the forefront of the movement. After all, this is a niche market, and providing a custom touch to these homes is part of what makes tiny-home builders successful. We’ve found nine top-notch tiny-home builders for you to consider. Bonus: many builders on this list don’t just build tiny homes, they live in one, too, making their first-hand experience as valuable as their construction skills.

Zyl Vardos

Abel Zimmerman Zyl calls himself a fantasy builder, and we think that’s a pretty good description. He’s known for uniquely shaped rooflines (think half-moons and more curved edges) and handmade everything. One industry veteran called him “the most creative tiny-house designer, period.” The Olympia, Washington-based tiny-home builder founded Zyl Vardos in 2007, but he’s been designing and building residential and marine homes since 1991.

California Tiny Homes

There are eight members of the Mosley family behind this Fresno-based company. It is a leader in advocating for legislation that makes it easier to build, buy, and live in tiny homes. Most models come with modern farmhouse-inspired interiors and start at $38,000, with the most popular configurations costing about $75,000.

Be sure to take a look at these other tiny home builders in the Fresno area.

Hummingbird Tiny Homes

Wood floors, retractable porches — whatever your tiny home wish is, Danville, Georgia-based Hummingbird Tiny Homes is ready to build it for you. Each of its homes are built to order, but to make the process easy, they have multiple base models that you can customize. The owners are so committed to the movement, they not only live in a tiny house themselves, they’re building a tiny home community, too.

Wind River Tiny Homes

The team behind Wind River Tiny Homes call themselves “tiny home alchemists” because they’re always pushing the boundaries of where innovation and construction meet. This Chattanooga, Tennessee-based team will build you a tiny home from any preexisting plans – theirs, another builder’s, or something you sketched out on a napkin during your last daydreaming session. But book them quick – because their team is small and everything they build custom, Wind River Tiny Homes only takes on a certain number of projects per year.

Wishbone Tiny Homes

The homes built by this Asheville, North Carolina-based, family-run company look less like tiny homes and more like charming cottages with angled roofs. Their models start at 198 square feet and go up to 768 square feet. Their modern designs, space-saving prowess, and their willingness to share their knowledge (if you’re going the DIY route, they can be hired solely as consultants to help you avoid pitfalls) help them stand out in a growing field of tiny home builders.

Zack Giffin

The host of A&E Network and Netflix’s “Tiny House Nation” is an industry veteran and one of the leading voices on Capitol Hill on behalf of the tiny home movement. His specialty? Highly customized multifunctional design aspects—not the traditional architecture elements you see carried through from house to house. Giffin has worked with most of the well-known builders and can easily assemble a team to meet any homeowner’s needs. He often partners with Brian Crabb, the designer responsible for many of the interior designs and aesthetics seen on “Tiny House Nation.”

Tumbleweed

Originally founded by the godfather of tiny homes, Jay Shafer, Tumbleweed is a pioneer in the industry. Its Fencl/Cypress model became an icon for the movement. Since Shafer’s departure in 2012, the Colorado Springs company has scaled back on building, but its blueprints are some of the most sought-after by DIYers eager to take matters into their own hands.

Tiny Home Builders

Owner Dan Louche started building tiny homes in 2009 after he taught himself how to build one for his aging mom. Today he and his team don’t just build tiny homes: they also have construction guides that teach aspiring tiny home builders the basics, videos so you can see how to get it done, and workshops in multiple locations that give you hands-on experience.

Core Housing Solutions

Considered some of the most affordable and well-built homes out there, Leesburg, Florida-based Core Housing Solutions’ 200-square-foot homes start at only $28,000. What they lack in design prowess they make up for in functionality, which explains why they’re beloved by tiny homeowners who do a lot of traveling.

Whether you’re looking to outsource the building process or tackle it yourself, do the research on tiny-home builders in your area – you might find that outsourcing is more affordable than you thought, or that DIYing is much more than you bargained for. There are plenty to choose from, and the list is growing as the movement and the laws begin to change to accommodate more tiny-home builders.