A Tiny House Castle? 

Jola Siezen, her partner Justin and their son Piko have created a tiny home on wheels that pushes the boundaries of creativity and originality. Their tiny house on wheels was engineered (the word built simply doesn’t do justice to this home) by the family to turn into a castle when unfolded. Like a Transformer, the house folds up into a full-size truck that is compact and complies with all necessary road regulations. A view from the backside of the vehicle, however, shows two turrets that offer a glimpse of what is to come.

When unfolded, the tiny house on wheels turns into an impressive castle that is solar and gas-powered. Except for the wheels of the truck, it is close to impossible to tell that this tiny home is actually an unfurled vehicle.

Justin, the designer and builder of the home were inspired to build the home through prior experiences of his living in a bus. “We were traveling around overseas and thought about coming back to New Zealand where we were going to live,” Justin says. “And I remembered living in this bus and I thought: ‘Oh, that’s actually not a bad idea.’”

After several months of planning and drawing, Justin came up with the design for his tiny “castle” on wheels. “I like engineering. I like art. When you can put them both together, it’s really good,” he relates.

A Unique Interior

While the exterior of this tiny home is certainly an attention grabber, the interior is just as impressive. The kitchen space is the main central feature of the home. “Everyone needs a kitchen space. That is where you spend most of all your time,” Justin says, “so that should be part of the priority when you are designing.

While many tiny homes have reduced spaces for cooking and eating, the kitchen in this tiny home includes full-sized appliances, including a full-sized oven for baking. The cabinetry in the kitchen was made from wood that was sourced from old power poles. Justin cut the cross-sections of those old power poles into planks which were then upcycled into a beautiful salvaged wood kitchen interior.

The main living room opens directly to the outdoors with large double doors. “A lot of homes have such small doors to get through, you almost have to go through sideways. Having an entire space open makes it just a good shelter,” Justin believes. The connection between the interior and the exterior of the home makes the home feel larger than it really is while also incorporating aspects of biophilic design.