steve areen designed this tiny house to be as playful as possible

steve areen is ready to share another playful, curvy creation with the world — a fram-stay tiny house, parked near a little lake on yandoit farm, in melbourne, australia — his unity wagon. in his interview on ‘living big in a tiny house’ (shown above), steve welcomes camera crews into this tiny, warm space of bent gum and burnt ash; he explains the reason behind the name ‘unity wagon,’ touches on previous projects, explains some technical processes and openly shares his intentions, behind every playful curve.

image © steve areen | video courtesy of ‘living big in a tiny house’

especially with tiny houses, every decision must be intentional, versatile, preferably multi functional, and most importantly to steve (what so many often forget) fun. to steve, tiny houses should be fun. the idea of climbing on top of a structure he’s created excites and motivates him. he certainly needed a lot of that feeling, drive and patience to craft this one; all of the wood was sourced from a mill. discarded. off-cut. and warped. it took a long time, he said, to recurve the wood precisely onto the bent steel structure, but it made his little successes with each plank way more rewarding. ‘like christmas day.’

image © steve areen

note the series of pretty circles that surround the round seat-window, where he plays guitar. steve can rest here, in the window and stare out at the land. then he can store little things in the circles around the window (extra strings, his capo, some picks, maybe a snack). these circles also serve as lights (powered via solar panels) and as stepping stones to climb up the exterior of the caravan. there’s also a velcro net, and a versatile canvas that doubles as a shelter and an awning. 

image © steve areen

but perhaps the most incredible thing about this stretched, 5 X 10 trailer is its capacity for sharing. two facing-benches seat seven people, comfortably. the bed will hold a couple people as well. while the name ‘unity’ originally was nicknamed for the many types of wood that created the structure — spotted gum, red gum, burnt ash, etc. — the name now speaks to the soul of the caravan as well, steve told ‘living big in a tiny hosue.’ the artist hopes the unity wagon will bring people together, as well as bring in some additional income for the yandoit farm, where it is currently stationed. 

image © steve areen

image © steve areen

image © steve areen

image © steve areen

image © steve areen

via inhabitat