Skip menu and go to the main content Skip to footer
Mighty Small Homes Logo Mighty Small Homes Logo Mighty Small Homes
Phone icon Phone icon Call Us Email icon Email icon Email Us
  • Our Kits
    • A render of a completed Modern kit. Modern kit page.
    • A render of a completed Contemporary kit. Contemporary kit page.
    • A render of a completed Ranch kit. Ranch kit page.
    • A render of a completed Cottage kit. Cottage kit page.
    • A render of a completed Carriage kit. Carriage kit page.
    • A render of a completed Tiny kit. Tiny kit page.
    MODERN
    VIEW DETAILS Modern kit page.
    A render of a completed Modern kit.
    Sizes:
    • 256 sq. ft.
      (16 x 16)
    • 600 sq. ft.
      (20 x 30)
    • 1200 sq. ft.
      (30 x 40)
    RANCH
    VIEW DETAILS Ranch kit page.
    A render of a completed Ranch kit.
    Sizes:
    • 384 sq. ft.
      (16 x 24)
    • 768 sq. ft.
      (24 x 32)
    • 936 sq. ft.
      (26 x 36)
    • 1200 sq. ft.
      (30 x 40)
    COTTAGE
    VIEW DETAILS Cottage kit page.
    A render of a completed Cottage kit.
    Sizes:
    • 480 sq. ft.
      (16 x 24)
    • 600 sq. ft.
      (20 x 30)
    • 864 sq. ft.
      (24 x 36)
    Contemporary
    VIEW DETAILS Contemporary kit page.
    A render of a completed Contemporary kit.
    Sizes:
    • 900 sq. ft.
      (30 x 30)
    • 1200 sq. ft.
      (30 x 40)
    CARRIAGE
    VIEW DETAILS Carriage kit page.
    A render of a completed Carriage kit.
    Sizes:
    • 396 sq. ft.
      (18 x 22)
    TINY
    VIEW DETAILS Tiny kit page.
    A render of a completed Tiny kit.
    Sizes:
    • 192 sq. ft.
      (8 x 24)
    • View All Kits
    • Build Your Custom Kit
  • How It Works
    • Home Buyers
    • Builders
    • What's Included
    • Assembly Guide
    • Mighty Ideas
  • Advantages
    • Hurricane-Resistant
    • Sustainable
    • Structural Insulated Panels
    • Prefabricated
    • Made in the USA
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Connect With Us

  • Mighty Small Homes Social Media Links
  • Facebook icon Facebook
  • Instagram icon Instagram
  • Pinterest icon Pinterest
  • Twitter icon Twitter
  • Youtube icon Youtube
Back to Blog

New Cottage Fits Perfectly in Established Neighborhood

August 13, 2019

open floor plan of cottage kit with designer features in kitchen

Steve Corwin found himself in a tight spot – on purpose – when building this cozy cottage from Mighty Small Homes.

The latest project is a modified cottage on an infill lot in Louisville’s historic Irish Hill neighborhood with single-family homes of shotgun and other cottage style houses.

The neighbors are excited to see a house going up on the long-vacant lot. While a next-door neighbor is sorry to lose the space they were using for parking, they’re glad something is going in there.

payne street cottage exterior in the fall

“They love it, they love it,” he said.

His cottage is a Mighty Small Homes prefab small house kit that uses an envelope system incorporating prefab structural insulated panels. When the home is completed, Corwin plans to sell it.

“We put up a 50-foot wall in 40 minutes.”
-- Steve Corwin

The modified cottage will have 1,150 square feet on the main level and an additional 300 square feet of loft space. It's the perfect place for a young family, or as an investment property listed for rent on Airbnb.

It will look similar to the other homes on the street, many of which are shotgun style frame houses, Corwin said.

>> Explore Other Mighty Small Homes Models

The one-story Mighty Small Homes cottage is long and narrow. Unlike a shotgun-style home, though, the cottage’s open floor plan doesn’t make people walk through a bedroom to get to another part of the house.

The home features three bedrooms, one being in the loft. All have full on-suite bathrooms. The home also features an open kitchen, dining and living rooms. The loft has access to an attached deck outside in the backyard.

The modified cottage is built on a narrow infill lot in a historic Louisville neighborhood.

Key Features of the Modified Mighty Small Homes Cottage

  • 1150 square feet on the main floor
  • 300 square feet in the loft
  • 3 bedrooms
  • 3 full baths
  • Open floor plan
  • High efficiency
  • Deck accessible from loft

loft of cottage home that opens onto a second floor deck.jpg

Mighty Small Homes Cottage Makes the Most of Space and Energy

cottage living room with stairs in the background leading to loft space.jpg

The tough part about a small or tiny home is generally the limited storage available. Corwin says he’s tried to maximize that with storage above one of the bathrooms, which can be accessed from the loft.

In addition to bedroom closets, there’s also storage in the laundry room at the back of the house. Corwin says there will be storage drawers underneath the stairs leading to the loft.

The efficient use of space matches the overall efficiency of the home.

The Mighty Small Homes envelope system seals out the elements and provides a level of durability higher than most of the homes in the neighborhood.

Corwin says he expects utilities to be a fraction of the monthly costs compared to a traditional stick-built home.

The sealed and insulated prefab small home kit has another benefit - it reduces the urban noise.

Smart Solutions to Building Challenges

Corwin faced some challenges in getting the house built. The weather slowed work. It was a very rainy spring, he said. On the flip side, one of the long walls of the house went up very quickly. “We put up a 50-foot wall in 40 minutes”, he said.

cottage home with lower deck and upper deck out of the loft

Infill lots are challenging for any type of construction, so adding the roof panels required a crane. Maneuvering in the narrow lot was difficult, and the ground was too soft for a forklift. The panels for the rear of the house took the most time to install.

Windows were installed along the long sides of the house. Because of the closeness of the homes on either side, fire code required an extra layer of outside drywall for protection.

The construction of the small home kit helped mitigate a common building challenge in urban areas. The small-house kit approach accelerates the build because the need for a carpentry crew is minimized.

Despite the minor hurdles, the home is expected to sell quickly.

A high-performance home in a hot neighborhood? Sounds like a mighty smart investment.

Contact Mighty Small Homes to discuss a custom design or one of our standard small house kits.

Previous Post Next Post

Subscribe

Stay up to date with small home trends and our newest builds

Get a Custom Quote

For a more detailed estimate, click below and we’ll have a representative get in touch.

Contact Us

View
Our Kits

See All of our kits
A render of a completed Modern kit

Related Articles

December 12, 2022

How Our House Kits Help Entry-Level Homebuyers Build Wealth

October 31, 2022

Mighty Small Homes Help Downsizers Struggling with Low Housing Inventory

January 10, 2020

Why Pocket Neighborhoods are Attracting Builders and Investors

Why Mighty

  • Advantages
  • Our Story
  • Our Kits
  • How It Works
  • Mighty Ideas
  • FAQs
  • Blog

Contact

  • (502) 242-2977
  • contact@mightysmallhomes.com
  • Proudly based in Louisville, KY
Get a Custom Quote

Subscribe

Get updates on small home trends
and our newest builds

Follow

  • Mighty Small Homes Social Media Links
  • Facebook icon Facebook
  • Instagram icon Instagram
  • Pinterest icon Pinterest
  • Twitter icon Twitter
  • Youtube icon Youtube
© 2023 Mighty Small Homes DBS Interactive Logo DBS Interactive's Logo - a white chevron Louisville Web Design by DBS Interactive
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

A "cookie" is a small digital file that is created by a website and then stored by a user's browser. We use these cookies to help improve our site, including improvements to both content and ease of use. We do not use cookies to store any personal identifying information about you, and you can remove cookies from your browser at any time.