The homes we cover here on Home Designing scale from aspirational mansions down to compact contemporary apartments, but this home dials down the build footprint a little bit further than we have ventured before. This tiny build is a quirky construction designed by Hajjar Gibran, who has built a series of domes at his retreat center in northeast Thailand. The home we are looking at here was created with friend Steve Areen, so that Areen could set up home on Gibran’s very own mango farm, in Thailand.
As this home was built in cost-friendly Thailand, the final costs came in at just $6000 for the basic structure, plus an additional $3000 for doors, screens, upstairs structure, stonework, furnishings, the pond and landscaping.
The affordable dome home offers a strong, attractive and fun housing solution; it was built using time-efficient cement blocks and clay bricks, as suitable compressed earth blocks were not available at the time of construction. Hajjar Gibran recently built a compressed earth brick press for future quick and sustainable builds, and is also developing a new system for building with cellular concrete to offer better insulation for colder climates.
The finished result look reminiscent of a hobbit house on the shire, though the wooden door to this house is more oval than round.
The tiny home has huge windows to allow not only light to flood into the enclosed quarters, but a feeling of open space and the beauty of surrounding nature.
Inside the home, the décor is of warm hues, with simple comforts. Floor level furniture creates the feeling of extra headroom, as well as a laid-back feel.
The raw materials that make up this basin, faucet and vanity shelf design are beautiful in their simplicity.
More light comes into the home through numerous glass ceiling domes, which protrude through the curvaceous roof. Cut glass spheres have been hung in the skylights to project pretty rainbows on to the interior walls.
The roof structure holds a hammock chair, where the homeowner can gaze out over the land.
Image Courtesy: Steve Areen