The Pin-up Cabin You Can Build Yourself Using Simple Plans

Meet Cheryl, a tiny house that was built in less than a month, a process you can view thanks to the timelapse video created by Joshua Woodsman from Pin-up houses. Check out his website to find free plans for cabins, sheds, cottages, playhouses and more.

Compact tiny house exterior

Compact tiny house exterior
Compact tiny house exterior

The tiny house plans designed for this particular project are really and simple and easy to follow which makes them very accessible. Basically, anyone can build the Cheryl cabin. All they have to do is follow the steps.

Compact tiny house exterior

It all starts with a good foundation. The wooden floor is built and then the wall frames are added. Then come the rafters and the paneling. After that, the roof is completed, the porch is reinforced and all the finishing touches are added (including the small wooden stairs and the railings). It’s then time to paint the whole structure.

Compact tiny house exterior
Compact tiny house exterior
Compact tiny house exterior

The overall design is quite simple. The cabin has a small covered porch which is a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning or to read a good book in the evening.  At the back of the cabin there’s a small platform which is perfect for storing firewood which will later be used to power up the stove.

Compact tiny house exterior
Compact tiny house exterior

The interior is small but very well organized and extremely flexible and practical. Multifunctional furniture was used throughout. The box stools are actually the most interesting and most versatile ones. They can be used as stools, obviously, but they can also double as storage containers when flipped over or as shelves when mounted on the walls using pegs. And if you join them all together you can even make a large and comfortable bed.

Compact tiny house exterior
Compact tiny house exterior
Compact tiny house exterior

These tiny house floor plans are not only simple but also very ingenious. The structure can serve as a holiday home, as a guest house or as a garden annex. It can even be a studio or office. The whole building process is described in the video and the plans offer additional details and info.

Compact tiny house exterior
Compact tiny house exterior

The most important part when building a cabin, cottage or a house is having good plans and Pin-up houses offers them. You can browse through several categories and find all sorts of interesting designs. They all have names and they’re all cute and inspiring.

Compact tiny house exterior
Compact tiny house exterior

Looking at this amazing timelapse video describing how the Cheryl cabin was built, we became curious and wanted to find out more so we asked Joshua a few questions.

This whole thing started out small, with just a few designs and, since they were all so inspiring, others followed. But are you planning to expand the concept? At one point you also mentioned boats and wooden planes. What about some unusual treehouse plans and other similar things?

I am thinking about adding some DIY furniture construction plans, which I will be designing in the style of the Pin-Up houses. I like the kind of furniture that’s smart, flexible and multifunctional, which allow you to save space in a small home. I like treehouses, but they dependent too much on the type of tree, so it seems that selling  compatible treehouse plans is a bit unrealistic. I also have an idea to design small paper kits for houses, something like a 3D puzzle, so one can easily understand the main concept of the house. I already contacted some Chineseand Czech factories which are producing paper kits, but this project is just beginning to take shape.

Each cabin, shed, cottage and house has its own name. Where does the inspiration come from? We read about Christie..what’s the story behind this whole concept?

Most of the designs are named after famous pin-up models. The most famous and the main icon of these actors/models is probably Marilyn Monroe. My first cabin is named after her. My friend from university of architecture came with this idea when I was looking for a suitable brand name. She asked me if I knew the classic American marketing symbol – Pin ups. I didn’t even know the term “Pin-Up”, but after I googled it I then quickly invented the name “Pin-Up houses”. It is one of the ways to stand out from the competition. Its strength is in the  connection between two absolutely different elements/ disciplines- architecture and the Pin-up phenomenon.

Since each structure has a special name, it must also each have its own distinct character? Have you considered creating themed designs with certain specific looks or for certain specific locations and climates?

I am focused on giving each design its own distinct character. My teacher at the university inspired me to design this way. Every design must have its own specific and clear concept and it doesn’t matter if you are designing a skyscraper or a garden gazebo. I am currently studying for a PhD at the university of architecture and I am developing a kind of system that allows houses to adapt to different world locations and climates. But most of my designs are easy-to-build garden cabins and sheds regardless of the location. Garden sheds and holiday cabins are mostly the same worldwide.

So the plans are available on the website and we assume they can be modified. But do you also provide custom plans as well?

Yes, I provide custom designs like other architects do. But if you are designing something bigger, other than a tiny house, for example a regular family house or a public building, you need to know specific local building rules. And then I am also limited to my country – the Czech republic. This is another reason why I love to design small houses, which don’t need building permits.

The plans are easy to follow and the end result is a smart, flexible, cost-efficient structure which is easy to build and to maintain.

Compact tiny house exterior
Compact tiny house exterior