London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

A Tiny Cabin in France Makes 215 Square Feet Feel Nearly Boundless

A Tiny Cabin in France Makes 215 Square Feet Feel Nearly Boundless

With its emphasis on the outdoors, the petite shelter in Normandy offers room to roam.

Situated about a half mile from the sea and the limestone cliffs of Normandy, France, the compact cabin that architects Jean-Baptiste Barache, Sihem Lamine, and Pierre Gourvennec of arba designed in Longueil is a kind of homecoming. "The landscape is very dear to our clients as it’s where the wife grew up," Barache says.



The blackened timber–clad cabin that arba designed in Longueil, Normandy, France, is marked by large glass doors, layered with wood slats that slide open and connect the home to its lush landscape.



An expansive wood deck on the front facade extends the living space and creates an indoor/outdoor experience.

The clients-the wife works as an English teacher and the husband is a philosopher and theater critic-live full-time in Rouen. They commissioned the 215-square-foot cabin as a retreat they’ll eventually use as their retirement home. "They wanted a minimalist space, a frugal construction," Lamine explains. "This project was about making the most of the existing gardens and the proximity to the sea."

Surrounded by walnut trees, the tiny home is wrapped in blackened timber. Large glass doors slide open and disappear behind walls, joining the home with its verdant surroundings. "It’s as if the garden is passing through the house," Barache says. "We wanted the clients to feel like they’re in the garden even when they’re inside." A generous window in the dining and living area features a deep frame that doubles as a bench where the couple can sit and view the sea and the village church. "It immerses them in the landscape," Lamine says. An expansive wood deck offers another indoor/outdoor living experience.



A deep window frame in the living space doubles as a sitting area and harnesses views of the garden and the village church.

"Normandy is known for its rainy and windy weather," Barache says. "But it’s a place where you can experience four seasons in one day." Since the weather varies dramatically, the architects designed the retreat to be adaptive. "It’s small-scale, so it’s easy to heat and ventilate," says Lamine. Substantial openings on each of the four elevations create a cross breeze that flows through the interior. The windows are layered with wood slats that help mitigate sunlight and provide an added layer of insulation; they also allow for privacy or openness, depending on the weather and the clients’ mood.

The kitchen, bathroom, living, and dining areas occupy the ground floor, while a wood ladder leads to two bedroom lofts on the second level.



The open-plan ground floor allows the communal spaces to flow into one another. A wooden ladder accesses the lofted bedrooms.



A Cove 5 metal fireplace from Charnwood warms up the 215-square-foot cabin.



Brilliant green mosaic tile covers the walls and the floor of the bathroom, where the architects arranged a varnished wood soaking tub.

In the kitchen, wood cabinetry and counters contrast with the white tile backsplash. The bathroom features a soaking tub made from varnished wood and bright green tile on the floor and the walls. "The idea for the bathroom came from a trip with the clients to Japan," Barache says. "The bathtub is central in Japanese culture. They shower before getting into the bath. Here, the whole bathroom is a showering space."



Sliding wood doors close off the loft-style main bedroom, where botanical-print wallpaper lends a whimsical note.



The wood headboard in the main bedroom features a built-in storage nook.



The guest bedroom, which is wrapped in wood, also features a built-in storage nook.

La Petite Maison is as compact as it is efficient. And because the home is so tightly woven with its cinematic landscape, its 215 square feet feels boundless. "Creating such a comfortable and dynamic house in such a small volume feels like a big achievement," Lamine says.



At night, the large window in the dining area creates a lantern-like effect for the cabin.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×