The Orchid Tiny House is our version of a contemporary, gable farmhouse design. A lofted king-sized bedroom and an extra hide-away bed make this home the ideal off-grid dwelling. We reimagined the tiny house floor plan by elevating a central kitchenette in a way that creates a new lifestyle flow and dynamic spatial perspective. With a one of a kind custom valance lighting package and a completely original exterior siding package, the whole home is a study in asymmetry.
The Orchid Tiny House’s exterior siding is an application we’ve only seen in a few Scandinavian cabins and certainly the first application of its kind on a tiny house. We spaced and raised cedar boards off of the walls and roof to give each piece the appearance of floating. The boards carry over onto the roof in a seamless line and result in an original, timeless wooden exterior (and fear not, we over-engineered the underlayment, so there is no possible way for any leaks to occur).
Following the full solar eclipse of 2017, we felt inspired to recreate this experience within the home. After all, an eclipse is the ultimate and original form of valance lighting. To execute this effect, David hides LED strip lighting behind trim throughout the entire home. While you see the light pouring over a wall, creating a shape and mood, the actual source of the light is never directly visible to the eye. The valance lights run along many of the asymmetrical lines of the house and are focused on the central wall within the kitchenette. We partitioned the lights onto individual separate dimmer switches, so you can easily create different settings within each part of the home.
The interior siding is all maple plywood and combines a modern look with a warm, natural feel. We placed the primary king-size bed in the loft and another full-size bed on the ground floor, behind the sofa. This sofa-bed combo was custom designed out of solid walnut and rolls seamlessly without the slightest effort. The kitchen guardrail and the HVAC closet box are also made from solid walnut to match the sofa-bed.
The bathroom is covered in custom tile and features a floating mirror with valance LED lighting. A custom floating vanity sink, a Cinderella incinerator toilet, and a 4’x6’ full-size shower make this bathroom both functional and luxurious.
@homestratosphere Coolest tiny house with rolltop garage door entry, sleeper sofa and lost bed. Beautiful imterior. #tinyhouseliving #tinyhouse #loftbed #interiordesign ♬ Paradise – Bazzi
About New Frontier Tiny Homes
1. What inspired the creation of New Frontier Tiny Homes and what makes the houses so unique?
The creation of New Frontier Tiny Homes was inspired by a number of things. In 2014, Founder David Latimer had just experienced a major professional disappointment. It sent him into a deeply introspective time during which he contemplated how he wanted to spend his working hours, the impact he wanted to have on the people around him, and the legacy he wanted to live behind. During this time, he came across the tiny home movement, and it awoke something powerful in him: a sense of clarity and purpose he hadn’t felt in his professional life.
Tiny Homes are a confluence of many things David is most passionate about:
-
Original, Unique Design
-
David is obsessed with creating experiences for people through the spaces he designs. Design is his first love/passion, and he loves being able to control the design process from architectural, to the interior, to decor. One of his favorite things about tiny homes is that he has total control of all three of those facets: Architectural Design, Interior Design, and Staging/Decor
-
-
Quality Craftsmanship
-
Build the highest quality product on the market that is both well designed and well built
-
-
Intentional Living
-
Practice Mindfulness: understand what you actually use and actually need day to day and eliminate the superfluous
-
Cultivate a life of experience instead of the acquisition of status and stuff
-
-
Affordable and Attainable Housing
-
Designing a high-quality home that adds inventory to the housing market
-
-
Reimagining the American Dream
-
Cultivating a life with a great sense of purpose. Owning a home without crushing debt or a 30yr mortgage
-
-
Sustainability
-
Reintegrating our lives with nature.
-
Using less, wasting less, relying on civic utilities and contributing to their volumes as little as possible.
-
-
Community
-
Redefining what that means in both urban and rural settings
-
What Makes Us Unique?
Our design is unlike anyone else and our quality of craftsmanship and materials is unrivaled in the tiny home industry.
DESIGN:
-
Our Architectural Design is inspired by Scandinavian design (minimalist cabins and Hygge), Japanese design (particularly Zen minimalism), and maximizing natural light through large surface areas of functional windows and doors in order to eliminate the boundaries between indoor and outdoor space.
-
We use modern, contemporary shapes and lines for our structure and juxtapose this with natural, warm materials so that the modern spaces never feel cold or sterile.
-
-
Interior Design:
-
Lighting: Maximize natural light and integrate it with elegant, sexy lighting design.
-
Make the space feel inviting, welcoming, clean, and comfortable.
-
Maximize utility with multifunctional furniture and storage. Make all Storage hidden. Clean site lines, open spaces when functional items aren’t in use.
-
Make every room feel full size.
-
Sensual design: appeal to all the senses:
-
Feel – Touch various textures and materials,
-
Smell – David loves scent most of all and gives each space a beautiful scent profile
-
Taste – Taste freedom in how you live. And while you’re at it, cook some amazing meals with a full capacity commercial chef’s kitchen
-
Sight – Every angle, every site line, every room, every surface is a visual feast
-
-
2. Are there any currently available to rent or is it just to buy?
There are 2 to rent. One is an Escher, one is an Alpha.
Both of them are in the Santa Cruz Mountains – on top of a 360-degree view. Absolutely stunning. 10 minutes from Big Basin Redwoods state park. 60-75 mins from San Francisco.
Escher: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/
Alpha: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/
3. What can owners expect and what is the reaction like?
Owners can expect to get a home that is unmatched in creativity and the quality of craftsmanship and materials. Our clients have all been blown away at the quality of our product and the experience they have working with David and his team. We do everything for and because of our clients. Designing and building a completely custom tiny home on wheels for a client is a very intimate process.
During that process, we get to know our clients as people which allows us to build them homes fit for their every need. As a testament to the quality of our work and the gratitude of our clients, David has become great friends with each of his clients. Cornelia Funke, the owner of the Cornelia Tiny House recently purchased a second New Frontier Tiny Home. Bela and Spencer, the owners of the Escher Tiny House have become family, asking David to be the godfather to their daughter, Escher for which the home is named.
At New Frontier Tiny Homes, we aim to surprise and delight in every single opportunity we can. We never compromise, never settle, and do everything in our power to create
David Latimer – CEO & Founder, Lead Designer
David founded New Frontier Tiny Homes to capitalize on his love for design and an incomparable eye for quality craftsmanship. David studied Literature and Philosophy at Furman University while there on an athletic scholarship. After successful stints in both fashion and hospitality, David landed on his true love that now constitutes his work at New Frontier.
