Category: Appliances

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Mirrored Radiator for Small House PlansHaving grown up in old Victorian houses, I love the heat given off from radiators, but they can take up a lot of space. I introduced you to a more ornamental radiator before that I loved for the design, but the Decor Radiator from Deltacalor does double duty as a mirror making it perfect for small bathrooms or even a bedroom.

Finding products that make your small house plan work, while also providing another use, is critical to saving space. The Decor Radiator comes with options for holding towels, can blend into any decor and even resists steam! No more waiting for the mirror to clear before you start preparing for your day.

Building a tiny house for a family is a challenge when it comes to having enough room for food. Currently we have 2 fridge/freezer combinations in our main house, and a single side-by-side in the cottage. I don’t like side-by-sides because there is never enough room for large trays, we have a lot of company and buy in bulk since we have 4 kids. While I love the idea of the drawer fridge, I still wonder where we would put the milk, large juice containers, pitchers, etc.

The corner fridge by Norcool is ingenious for two reasons. The first is that it’s HUGE without taking up a lot of floor space. The inside is the size of 4 normal refrigerators, amazing. The second reason I love the Norcool is that it takes advantage of the dead corner design issue that occurs in kitchens all across America. No more lazy susans, cabinets at weird angles, or dead space that can’t be used at all. Now small kitchens can handle big appetites!

Planning to build a tiny house without a basement and probably no garage means I really don’t want to waste space for a water heater. Of course we also want to try to cut utility costs, while still making sure we have enough hot water for an entire family. While Europe has been using tankless water heaters for decades, the U.S. is just beginning to catch onto the idea.

The Stiebel Eltron DHC-E 30 Tankless Electric Water Heater comes with electronic water temperature control, uses less energy saving you up to 20% on your utility bill, takes up very little space, and is even seismic proof so there is no preventive construction needed for seismic codes. You can read more about this particular model after the jump:

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You may have heard about my weakness for bottled water, what can I say, I’m a slave to the gods of repackaged tap water. I’m trying to break the habit because it’s so expensive and bad for the environment, so the Aqua Maker is an interesting concept. I’m not sure how “compact” the machine is, but the basic premise is that the Aqua Maker creates filtered water by pulling the humidity from the air and condensing it into drinkable water.

According to the makers, the air filter removes air born particles like dust, allergens, bacteria and VOC’s and can work even in a desert setting. You simply plug the machine in and it can create up to 36 liters of water in 48 hours. It would be interesting to see a cost breakdown to compare the cost of electricity to the cost of bottled water and tap water. You can read more at their website.

Remember living with just a hot plate during college? Well get ready to move on up in your tiny house with this mini kitchen designed by Russell Hobbs.

The Russell Hobbs 13824 Mini Kitchen is a multi-function electric compact cooker, with hotplates for grilling, roasting, baking, frying and boiling. The fan-assisted oven has a good size 26L capacity, and is thermostatically controlled. There are 2 hotplates on top – one large (1kW), one medium (0.7kW) – which you can use at the same time as the oven. The interior of the 13824 is self cleaning, and there’s a main oven light. The Mini Kitchen is also supplied with a baking tray and grill rack with handle.

Brilliant idea for small spaces! I love the idea of a grill rack because I can’t really function a real grill, I know, sad. The mini kitchen is available online from England, not sure what type of outlet it needs, but maybe someone designs something similar in the U.S., I’m on the lookout!