This couple transformed a 366-square feet grain silo to make tiny living possible.
Christoph Kaiser and Shauna Thibault hail from Phoenix, Arizona, and their tiny house is a bit different than what we’re used to seeing.
They were skeptical when their family and close friends learned that they planned to live in a small grain silo. But despite their loved ones’ reactions, the couple soon found out that they had made the right decision.
Christoph found the 1955 Corrugated Steel Grains Silo on Craigslist. This was the beginning of Christoph’s idea to live in the steel structure. He initially intended to store his gardening tools, but he found himself drawing up plans for his house at his architecture firm.
“It’s easy to cram all the parts that you need to live in something. It’s easy to build it, even — relatively speaking … The real challenge is to end up with a piece of architecture that actually feeds your soul, as opposed to draining it,” he said.
The couple, who were newlyweds, took 18 months to get their 366-square foot silo home up-and-running. It’s made with walnut and black steel interior filling and comes with a climate control system that uses subterranean air ducts for less noise.
Christoph and Shauna had to deal with a few bumps in the road, but the most difficult part of the project was decorating.
Most furniture and appliances are designed at a 90-degree angle, so Christoph had to build everything by hand—from the kitchen cabinets to the doors—to fit into the 366-square-foot silo’s cylindrical nature.
Christoph and Shauna also had no other rooms in their house, aside from a small bathroom hidden behind a tall wooden door that blends into a wall.
There’s a dining area in the kitchen where they strategically placed spices and other appliances in the tiny space.
The sleeping loft, which is located above the kitchen and living room, allows the couple to enjoy movies from their separate bedroom. They mounted loudspeakers underneath the bed and projected films onto a curved wall to the side of the bed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever slept better in a space,” Christoph said. “There’s got to be some magic to being in a round environment and how it plays into your quality of sleep it’s just really comfortable. You just kind of feel like you’re always on vacation waking up in a space like that.”
Christoph installed a huge, glass-door-on-wheels that opens into the backyard to make it feel bigger.
The 366-square-foot exterior features a beautiful landscape with lots of greenery and an outside shower. They can entertain guests easily because they have ample outdoor space.
“Whether you’re sitting inside and have this 10-foot-rolling door open and you just have a view you can experience … or you’re outside enjoying it directly, I think it was definitely something we considered as part of the floor plan,” he said.
Living in the space hasn’t only physically brought them closer together; it also brought them closer emotionally.
“I think there’s an intimacy that’s imposed on people when they’re in one space. You can’t find that separation,” Christoph said. “… It makes you confront issues more, and it really brings you together.”
Shauna agreed: “I think we’ve learned a lot about our dynamics, and the way that we work and accomplish things,” Thibault adds. “[It’s] very coupling.”
The home has taught them to reduce. They had to get rid a lot of stuff to be able fit all their belongings in their tiny house.
The video below shows you their stunning silo 366 square-foot home.
