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Country’s First Tiny House Competition Reveals Jaw-Dropping New Trends

They’re red hot! They’re adorable! They’re downright tiny. And now they’re … futuristic?

Get ready for the next wave of innovation to hit America’s favorite (and cutest) housing trend, the tiny home.

We got a glimpse ‘’into the minuscule future at the finals of the country’s first Tiny House Competition, hosted by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) in mid-October. The contest pitted engineering majors from nine colleges in Northern California against each other to design and build 100- to 400 square-foot homes that are “solar powered, zero net energy houses on wheels.” The challenge, according to the contest rules, was to “showcase energy saving strategies, new technologies and sustainable design.”

And showcase them they did! Once complete, the fully mobile mini-houses were transported to Consumnes River College and judged by a panel of architectural experts. The winners, announced mid-October, highlight some genius new tiny home-building trends. Here are some of the biggest of the small:

Tiny trend No. 1: Houses that rotate to catch the sun’s rays

One of the obvious benefits of tiny houses is that most of them (the ones not built into a foundation) can easily be moved. So why not make them move, to better catch the sun’s rays?

This concept is what enabled the team of students from Santa Clara University to clinch the contest’s top prize with its rEvolve house. Built on a solar tracking ring, the house rotates to face the sun as it moves across the sky; the result is 30% more energy efficiency than tiny homes not using this technology.

If you ask us, it sounds like a great idea—not only for tiny houses, but all houses equipped with solar panels.

Tiny trend No. 2: Full-size bathrooms

If you’ve ever spent any time living in a tiny home (or, like us, binge watching “Tiny House, Big Living” on HGTV) you know that squeezing into eensy-weensy bathrooms with coffin-sized showers is a major downside. Little wonder that California State University, Sacramento, won the “Best Bathroom” award by squeezing a normal-sized toilet—and even more incredible, a full-sized bath—into its 184-square-foot home. “Because [the house] was designed to have two people live in it, we wanted to have the bathroom space be the most accommodating, because that’s where you spend a lot of your time,” said Rustin Vogt, a professor of mechanical engineering. No argument there, Rusty! The team achieved the bathroom magic with a clever multipurpose design of interior space, and also upped the game in water efficiency by incorporating a rainwater catch and filtration system.

Tiny trend No. 3: Pet-friendly digs

Just because you live in a tiny home, it doesn’t mean you have to say goodbye to your (not so tiny) dogs. Santa Clara University’s rEvolve home includes pet-friendly amenities such as a vacuum built into the wall to collect dog hair and a drawer with bowls that emerge from the wall so you can just shut them away out of sight once chow time for the pooch is over. Because after all, living in a shoebox shouldn’t mean you can’t squeeze in your beloved Great Dane, right?

May the tiny house movement never cease to amaze! Here’s hoping these innovations catch on, in a big way.

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