My wise mother, Wendy, has a saying about big houses: "it's just more to clean." And yet Australia builds some of the largest new homes in the world. No wonder we feel like we never have enough time.
So here are 18 small house plans that go the other way — every one of them architect-designed, every one under 100 square metres, and every one proof that floor area and quality of life are not the same measurement. They range from a 27m² inner-city apartment to a 100m² house built largely from salvaged material, and they sit everywhere from Woolloomooloo to the Coromandel Peninsula.
The 18 small house plans at a glance
Sorted smallest to largest, so you can find the floor area you're actually working with.
| Home | Floor area | Type | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Studio | 27m² | Apartment renovation | Woolloomooloo, NSW |
| Darlinghurst Apartment | 27m² | Apartment renovation | Darlinghurst, NSW |
| JR's Hut | 28m² | Cabin / retreat | Kimo Estate, NSW |
| Keperra House | 45m² | Granny flat | Keperra, QLD |
| Gogo Bach | 45m² | Bach (two cabins) | New Zealand |
| Sled House | 48m² | Relocatable hut | Coromandel, NZ |
| Copper House | 60m² | House, steep site | Coogee, NSW |
| Moonlight Cabin | 60m² | Beachside cabin | Victoria |
| Pump House | 62m² | Off-grid cabin | Victoria |
| Tintaldra Cabin | 65m² | Prefab cabin | Tintaldra, VIC |
| House 28 | 70m² | Shipping container house | Wye River, VIC |
| Flinders Lane Apartment | 75m² | Apartment renovation | Melbourne, VIC |
| Carbon Positive House | 77m² | Prefab house | Melbourne, VIC |
| Samford Valley Small House | 80m² | Granny flat | Brisbane, QLD |
| Musk | 87m² | Prefab cabin | Victoria |
| Prospect House | 90m² | House | Victoria |
| Footscray Apartment | 95m² | Apartment renovation | Footscray, VIC |
| Sawmill House | 100m² | House | Yackandandah, VIC |
Copper House — 60m², Coogee NSW
With a floor plan of just 60 square metres, this two-bedroom house is considered small by Australia's bloated standards. In reality, it contains all the essentials in a compact and space-efficient package. Plus, it melds comfortably into a difficultly steep site. Copper House is doing a lot within a small package!
The Studio — 27m², Woolloomooloo NSW
If you're a single guy (or gal) living in one of the world's most expensive cities, affording a place of your own probably seems like an impossible dream, right? This studio renovation helps to prove that wrong, transforming a dated and poorly planned apartment into a Mighty Mouse-inspired bachelor's pad.
JR's Hut — 28m², Kimo Estate NSW
Looking a little like the classic A-frame tent, but a lot more luxurious inside, JR's Hut is your refuge. As the architect says, "It is a place to switch off, quite literally, and forget about the distractions of modern life."
Moonlight Cabin — 60m², Victoria
Moonlight Cabin is a small footprint, 60 square metre shelter that explores the boundaries of how small is too small, challenging conventional notions of what is actually necessary in our lives. It is designed to be passively environmentally responsive, ultimately reducing energy use and running costs while maximising living (and enjoyment of those views).
Flinders Lane Apartment — 75m², Melbourne VIC
At just 75 square metres, this apartment renovation is compact. But thanks to high ceilings and abundant natural light from windows along three of the four walls, the space feels open and light. This open, functional redesign utilises readily available, affordable materials like plywood to make the most of a small space and a modest budget.
Keperra House — 45m², Keperra QLD
Sometimes downscaling is seen as synonymous with downgrading. In this case, smaller isn't a dirty word. The client made the choice to downscale his three-bedroom home to a much smaller, single occupant building. By building a granny flat in the backyard, he was able to leverage his investment and take better advantage of an amazing site that overlooks a creek reserve — all without changing his postal address!
Prospect House — 90m², Victoria
On a windy and exposed site, nestled behind a hill, sits a metal-clad nugget; a home for a gold prospector and his family. Looking a bit like a country tin shed, this small house uses galvanised steel and raw ironbark cladding to nestle into the landscape, feeling like it's excavated from a contour.
Samford Valley Small House — 80m², Brisbane QLD
Large open decks make this compact home feel spacious and connect to the lush sub-tropical garden. In this friendly climate, the decks can be used as extra living space virtually all year. With large sliding doors, the front deck is designed as an extension of the living area, making a modest living space feel much larger than it is in reality and bringing the outdoors in.
Pump House — 62m², Victoria
Pump House is a compact, off-grid home for simple living. Owners and guests can enjoy a quiet night, a cup of tea and quality time with their horse, George. At just 62 square metres, this small house worries less about size and more about the beautiful surrounds.
Darlinghurst Apartment — 27m², Darlinghurst NSW
The 27 square metre Darlinghurst Apartment is designed to comfortably accommodate a couple. Through high-quality design, it provides an affordable option for inner city living and challenges the need for urban sprawl…
Footscray Apartment — 95m², Footscray VIC
When you're dealing with a small space it's more important than ever to think about light and flexibility to make your home feel spacious and work more efficiently. This pretty typical apartment in Footscray was cleverly renovated into a light-filled and flexible home...
Tintaldra Cabin — 65m², Tintaldra VIC
Sitting quietly on the banks of the mighty Murray River in Victoria, Australia, with the Snowy Mountains as a backdrop is this prefabricated, self-sufficient cabin. With everything you need in 65 square metres, it's the perfect small home design.
Sled House — 48m², Coromandel NZ
On the idyllic white sand of New Zealand's Coromandel Peninsula lies a stylish double-storey hut.
Built on a sled.
The whole area is within a coastal erosion zone, meaning all structures must be removable and that concept has been taken very seriously. The small home sits on two sleds, making relocating it with a tractor a cinch (BYO tractor). Movable or not, this is a space efficient and stylish beach retreat.
House 28 — 70m², Wye River VIC
House 28 is a deceptively simple small house made from two shipping containers which clings precariously to the hillside, taking in stunning views of the ocean. Measuring just 70 square metres, the two-bedroom home packs a lot into a small space.
Gogo Bach — 45m², New Zealand
Separated by a 7-metre deck, two cabins originally bought for a bargain have been transformed into a stylish and practical small home.
Carbon Positive House — 77m², Melbourne VIC
This carbon positive, prefabricated house represents a new movement — the carbon positive house provides the option for a more environmentally-conscious design, through both reducing embodied energy that accompanies new-home construction and maintaining positive-energy production.
Sawmill House — 100m², Yackandandah VIC
Befitting a regional sculptor based in Yackandandah, Sawmill House is a compact handcrafted upgrade from his existing, rather rustic bohemian abode.
Musk — 87m², Victoria
Musk is a stylish modern prefab cabin designed as a secluded retreat to relax and enjoy 360-degree views of natural Victorian bushland. The design is broken into two separate modules — a practical way to construct the prefab house. A covered deck area separates the two modules.
What counts as a small house in Australia?
There's no legal definition, and that's part of the problem — "small" is measured against whatever your neighbours built. Australian new homes have been among the largest in the world for years, which means a house most of the world would call generous reads as modest here.
A more useful way to think about it: every home on this page is under 100m², and none of them feel cramped. The 27m² apartments work because a single room is doing four jobs well. The 90m² houses work because nothing in them is doing nothing.
How small can you actually go?
Two homes here share the floor plate of a large double garage. The Studio and the Darlinghurst Apartment are both 27m², and both comfortably house one person — the Darlinghurst plan is designed for a couple.
Below about 30m², the design problem stops being layout and starts being joinery: the plan only works if the furniture, storage and services are built in and often doing double duty. That's why every genuinely tiny home on this list is architect-designed rather than drawn from a catalogue. There is no spare space to absorb a mistake.
What these 18 small house plans have in common
Look across all eighteen and the same handful of moves keep appearing:
- Ceiling height instead of floor area. Flinders Lane and Copper House both buy a sense of volume upward rather than outward.
- Light from more than one side. A single-aspect plan feels small no matter its area. Almost every home here pulls daylight from at least two directions, often through a skylight or clerestory window.
- Outdoor space counted as floor space. Samford Valley, Musk and Gogo Bach all use decks as genuine rooms, which is realistic in Queensland and optimistic in Melbourne.
- Built-in everything. Joinery does the work furniture would otherwise do, and does it without the circulation space furniture demands.
- One generous room, not three mean ones. The most successful plans here refuse to subdivide. Open plan living isn't a style choice at this size — it's the only thing that works.
More small house plans and designs
Browse the full collection of small houses in our archive, or explore related ideas: tiny houses, granny flats and bungalows, prefab homes, narrow sites and affordable housing.
Planning a small home of your own? Find an architect who works at this scale in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Perth.