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A Tiny House Over the Garage: Architect Hironobu Kagae’s Exercise in Downsizing

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Green Design

A Tiny House Over the Garage: Architect Hironobu Kagae’s Exercise in Downsizing

March 8, 2024

“People tend to think that only special days spent outside the home are happy times. In reality, it’s time at home that we should cherish.” So writes Hironobu Kagae, an architect at Sinken, a green-minded building company in Kagoshima, Japan, and a designer-philosopher of everyday life. In addition to serving as an essayist on the Sinken site, Hironobu has a devoted Instagram following and recently published a book, The Meaning of Living (available only in Japanese).

In December, we featured the house Hironobu designed for his young family of five on a rural triangle of land: see A Labor of Love Home in the Japanese Countryside. Today, we’re returning to tour the newest addition to the compound: a nest-like tiny house with an expansive view.

Photographs by Hironobu Kague (@kagae_hironobu).

hironobu fit the 33 square meter (355 square foot) dwelling over the car port n 17
Above: Hironobu fit the 33-square meter (355 square-foot) dwelling over the car port next to his family’s sloped-roofed home. Both structures were built to Hironobu’s design by Sinken and clad in laminated cedar—the house is painted black and the boxy tiny house was left natural.
the back of the structure extends around an existing oak tree. &#8\2\20;for 18
Above: The back of the structure extends around an existing oak tree. “For convenience’s sake, it’s called a house, but we aimed for a building that is somewhere between a house and a hut,” says Hironobu, adding that he welcomed the challenge of paring back: “It has just enough functions for two adults to live in and was constructed using the minimum amount of material possible.”

The tiny house currently serves as guest quarters and the family hangout, but Hironobu envisions a day when the children are grown and he and his wife could move in.

the back balcony aligns with the second floor of the main house: &#8\2\2\1; 19
Above: The back balcony aligns with the second floor of the main house: ” Since the tiny house is intended to be used by guests, we intentionally did not fully connect the houses in consideration of each other’s privacy.”  The deck has a sink, a Weber grill stowed in the cupboard, and a folding picnic table, a discontinued design purchased from Sanwa.
the dining table—a danish modern piece paired with vintage japanese chai 20
Above: The dining table—a Danish modern piece paired with vintage Japanese chairs—overlooks the family’s own rice field and the surrounding green hills. Storage benches with sliding doors run along two sides of the house. Electrical outlets are hidden inside some of the storage chambers and the circular door openings double as holes for cords.

The ceiling is intentionally low: “It’s kept to 2,100 millimeters [6.8 feet], creating the effect of guiding the eye horizontally to the large windows and the outdoor space beyond.”

hironobu did much of the finishing work himself on weekends. as in the main hou 21
Above: Hironobu did much of the finishing work himself on weekends. As in the main house, he had the Sinken crew leave the structural supports visible and, in lieu of Sheetrock, they used a traditional Japanese building material called moiss, made of lime and pulp. The wood throughout is finished in a persimmon tannin paint, another natural, age-old choice (read about it here). A Danish stove heats the house using wood pruned from the yard.
to keep the interior feeling open, it&#8\2\17;s door free and divided by pa 22
Above: To keep the interior feeling open, it’s door-free and divided by partitions into a living area, kitchen, and bedroom (the bathroom is downstairs). For total privacy, linen curtains slide across two sides of the house, and cover not only the windows but the bookshelf. Hironobu hid architectural lighting behind the curtains, “so at night the space is enveloped in the gentle light of linen.”
the compact kitchen is equipped with a sink, range, cooktop, and fridge. 23
Above: The compact kitchen is equipped with a sink, range, cooktop, and fridge.
the sink has a brass backsplash. the cabinetry was custom built by sinken (for 24
Above: The sink has a brass backsplash. The cabinetry was custom built by Sinken (for something similar to the overhead cupboards, see R-Toolbox, a Tokyo company specializing in À la Carte Kitchen Components for Tiny Apartments).
the coffee, tea, and rice cooker station: see our \15 favorite japanese counter 25
Above: The coffee, tea, and rice cooker station: see our 15 Favorite Japanese Countertop Appliances Available in the US.
the bench storage continues into the bedroom:&#8\2\2\1;by utilizing the wal 26
Above: The bench storage continues into the bedroom:”by utilizing the walls for storage, we have created a design that is both space-saving and practical,” writes Hironobu. The curtains are from Japanese linen specialists Natsusobiku. The collapsible chair is the Nychair X Lounge, a 1970s Japanese design classic.
an upend sofa bed from innovation living of denmark fills the bedroom. the cord 27
Above: An Upend sofa bed from Innovation Living of Denmark fills the bedroom. The cordless light is the Wick Brass (it’s one of Heidi Swanson’s 12 Outdoor Living Favorites).
instead of a tv, there&#8\2\17;s a projector for watching movies in the bed 28
Above: Instead of a tv, there’s a projector for watching movies in the bedroom (on the screen is a Youtube tour of the family’s compound).
the tiny house entry is on the ground floor, next to open garage, and includes 29
Above: The tiny house entry is on the ground floor, next to open garage, and includes a bathroom and changing room. There’s also a downstairs outdoor sink—for use during backyard parties and for washing produce from the garden. In addition to wooden interior stairs, there’s a metal stair ladder to the second floor.
hironobu plans to add solar panels to the membrane roof to make the tiny house 30
Above: Hironobu plans to add solar panels to the membrane roof to make the tiny house off-grid. That’s one of the family’s goats under the oak tree.
&#8\2\20;in the future, when the color of the exterior walls changes and th 31
Above: “In the future, when the color of the exterior walls changes and the surrounding trees grow, it will look like a nest of living things,” says Hironobu. “This is a project to return houses to their origins as nests for living things.”

Floor Plan

the house is designed for indoor outdoor living and to make the most of the vie 32
Above: The house is designed for indoor-outdoor living and to make the most of the views. The stair divides the living room from the kitchen and bedroom, and doorless partitions keep the small space open but private.

Here are three more favorite tiny houses:

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Frequently asked questions

Who is the architect of the tiny house featured in the post?

Hironobu Kagae

What is the title of the book recently published by Hironobu Kagae?

The Meaning of Living

What material is used to clad the tiny house designed by Hironobu Kagae?

Laminated cedar

What is Hironobu Kagae's vision for the tiny house when the children are grown?

To move in with his wife

What does Hironobu Kagae plan to add to the membrane roof of the tiny house to make it off-grid?

Solar panels

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