A downsized lifestyle comes with countless benefits for the environment, but also for the mental health and the wallet of whoever is doing the downsizing – and the sole condition is that they be willing to make some serious compromises. This tiny house shows how these compromises can be made to feel slightly less forceful.
Tiny living has been around for decades, though its incredible popularity is recent. Initially proposed as a solution to cut down one's individual carbon footprint by downsizing, they have since evolved to encompass a varied range of benefits, from reduced monthly costs to a higher degree of mobility and higher affordability.
As tiny houses moved from the fringe of the housing market into the spotlight and ultimately became a means to earn a living by themselves thanks to the events of 2020, there's also been a marked shift towards larger builds. In other words, tiny houses became larger because the extreme downsizing initially proposed no longer suited the daily needs of modern downsizers.
That explains why many of today's most popular tiny house builders offer palatial-like units that can only be moved with special permits and under special circumstances. They're still based on trailers, but they make the tiny houses of yore look like sheds by comparison, what with their extra length, their second or even third levels, terraces, decks, and other add-ons that expand living space.
Photo: Evergreen Australia Homes
In this sense, the Casuarina is a return to basics. It's one of the most recent models from Australian builder Evergreen Homes Australia, officially introduced in the fall of 2023, but getting a completed unit just now. So, this is the first fully-constructed unit of Casuarina, and yes, it's almost identical to the renders that launched the model.
Evergreen Homes Australia aims to stand out on an already overcrowded market through a focus on sustainability, achieved mostly through the use of locally and responsibly sourced materials, and the possibility to take the homes off the grid for an even more reduced carbon footprint. They also work on orders only, which is partly due to the fact that they're a family-run business, partly promoted by the desire to cut down on waste during the construction phase.
That means that they propose a model via CGI (computer-generated images), as was the case with Casuarina, and build it later on, when they have a firm order on it. Usually, there are certain differences between the finished model and the renders, as the owner comes in to add personalizing touches here and there, but they tend to be subtle. The same applies to the Casuarina.
Photo: Evergreen Australia Homes
The Casuarina sits on a triple-axle trailer with a length of 8.4 meters (27.5 feet) and a width of 2.4 meters (7.9 feet). Whereas other builders would have added volume up top to create a larger footprint, Evergreen Homes Australia chooses simplicity through a single-level open-plan design.
The living space is just 18 square meters (194 square feet) in total, but it's enough to sleep as many as four people and offer all the creature comforts of brick-and-mortar homes. As a bonus, Casuarina offers standing height throughout, including in the main bedroom, and even some luxury touches here and there.
The layout features the main bedroom at one end of the trailer and the bathroom at the other. Sandwiched between these two are the kitchen with a breakfast bar on the opposite side, and a living room that can pull double service as a guest room in an emergency.
Photo: Evergreen Australia Homes
The open-plan design, the white walls with wood accents, and expansive glazing all work together to make the space feel airier and uncluttered. To be fair, though, it'll probably get much crowded when people actually move in it, bringing all their stuff with them.
All the wood, timber and cypress timber, is locally sourced, while the floor is natural cork. Appliances run on electricity except for the two-burner gas stove, and the home is rigged for solar, should the owner wish to take it off the grid at some point. The cast iron fireplace helps keep the place toasty during cooler days and nights, but it seems that the owner decided against the mini-split that was located over the living room couch in the renders.
Despite its compact dimensions, this tiny is designed to live like a real-life home. The kitchen and the bathroom are especially well specced given their size, including everything you need for a comfortable everyday life, albeit in a much smaller footprint.
Photo: Evergreen Australia Homes
The bedroom is also a standout for a tiny house, offering a queen-size bed and built-in storage on the entire rear wall, including a wardrobe for hanging clothes. If you're not new to tiny living, which you're probably not since you're reading this, you know that wardrobes are a rarity in tiny houses, much like full bathrooms or extra space to stretch out.
Because all Evergreen Homes Australia units are made to order, the builder only offers pricing estimates to those interested in having one built. So, for people like us who are just window shopping, a completed unit like the Casuarina here only serves to show that tiny living can still be comfortable with a single-level floorplan.
Photo: Evergreen Australia Homes
Downsizing will always entail making compromises regardless of the size of the house, but Casuarina strikes a nice balance between compromising and comfortable living.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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