London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 29, 2025

Black Aluminum and Cedar Wrap a Traveling Couple’s Tiny Home

Black Aluminum and Cedar Wrap a Traveling Couple’s Tiny Home

French builder Baluchon created Ala Köl for their clients’ life on the road.

Ala Köl, the latest design from Baluchon-the French company that designs and builds custom tiny homes for people around the world-was inspired by wanderlust.

Nina and Guillaume, the couple who commissioned Ala Köl (pronounced "cool"), have a penchant for travel, so when they approached Baluchon about creating a tiny home–on–wheels, their biggest concern was size: The structure had to be large enough to accommodate everything they needed, but small enough to be towed legally.



Ala Köl, the most recent design imagined by Tiny House Baluchon for a couple who love to travel, is clad with black aluminum, cedar, and glass.



The power for the tiny home–on–wheels comes from a standard RV-style hookup.

With a length that measures 19.6 feet, Ala Köl is clad in cedar and black aluminum. The aluminum wraps one side of the tiny home and continues on the roof, creating a waterfall-like effect. Slim, vertical cedar boards lend texture for the three remaining elevations. The juxtaposition of the two materials-in combination with a saltbox-style roof form-provides a striking, sculptural aesthetic for the micro home.



The dining area displays a solid French walnut table that extends and can accommodate up to four people.



The large staircase features integrated storage and accesses the mezzanine, where the designers arranged the sleeping area.

Nina and Guillaume named the tiny home after Ala Köl lake in Kyrgyzstan, a place the couple visited together. In the same way the black aluminum wraps the cedar on the exterior of the tiny home, the Terskey Alatau mountains wrap around the circumference of the turquoise blue lake.

Large windows on each elevation flood the interior of the tiny home with sunlight, giving a feeling of spaciousness and warmth. The shiplap walls and wood flooring, crafted with heat-treated solid Landes pine and stained solid spruce, are insulated with cotton, linen, and hemp. In the dining area, a wood table doubles as a desk and accommodates two people; when necessary, the surface extends and can serve as many as four people.



The kitchen is outfitted with two solid French walnut counters, a refrigerator, a gas stove with an oven and four burners, a sink, and plenty of cabinetry that's painted a mint green tone.

Two solid French walnut counters provide a good deal of space for food preparation in the kitchen, where mint-colored cabinetry adds brightness and plenty of storage. The room also features a large refrigerator, a sink, and a cooktop with an oven. Just beyond the kitchen is the laundry area with a washing machine and the bath, where there’s a full-size shower and more cabinet storage.

The bedroom, located above the bath and the laundry area, is accessed by a large staircase that incorporates storage within the treads. The compact mezzanine area has a cabin-like feeling that’s supplied by a spruce ceiling, insulated with wood fiber, and spruce flooring. A floor-to-ceiling window runs the length of the space, drenching it in sunlight and connecting it to the outdoors.



The bedroom accommodates a queen-size bed and built-in wood shelving.



The bathroom is accessed via a partition door with a full-length mirror. The room also features a sizable shower, a dry toilet with a stainless-steel bucket and chip compartment, a large wardrobe, and a washing machine.



Wood walls, flooring, and ceiling in the bathroom offer texture and a feeling of warmth.

And in the living room-where a tall ceiling and large windows make the tiny home feel surprisingly expansive-a sizable wood map affixed to the wall marks all of the places the couple has traveled-as well as all of the places they’d still like to go.



A wood world map installed on the wall in the living room reminds the young couple of their many excursions.



Double-height ceilings mark the living area, where large windows harness plenty of natural light.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
×