Big interest in tiny Kiwi house - 8.7 million views: 'I can't believe it, extraordinary'

A video of this Tauranga house got 8.7m views since late March. Photo/Built Tiny

A video showing off a tiny house built in the Bay of Plenty has drawn 8.7 million views in just two months and international acclaim.

The 3:08-minute video Tiny House With Net Loft For Young Couple, published on March 21 has 5274 comments and drew praise of the house as epic, amazing and perfect, although some found it claustrophobic.

Net in the sleeping/working loft, ladder access at left. Photo/Build Tiny

Gina Stevens, a director and in-house designer of Katikati-headquartered Build Tiny which constructed and sold the house, said last night: "I can't believe the video has crept up to nearly 9 million views. That's extraordinary!"

Stevens said the film was made in Katikati but the couple live in Tauranga. The completed house cost around $110,000 to build "including appliances and upgraded trailer."

They bought a design similar to the firm's Millennial, 6m by 2.4m on wheels, with kitchen/living/dining/bathroom downstairs and a sleeping loft upstairs.

The double-glazed insulated place has full-sized appliances, custom-built furniture with storage, a concealed washing machine, extractor fan above the gas cooktop, a table which stores on the wall when not in use, cavity slider to bathroom and shower with a rollaway door.

Washing machine tucked in corner, behind drawers. Photo/Build Tiny

A space-saving verticle ladder gives upstairs access to a queen or king loft sleeping area and a dedicated home office which can also be another sleeping area with a safety net between.

A Millennial Tiny House: Photo/Build Tiny Ltd, Cassandra Sharp

A footwell above the kitchen and below the workspace means legs can be stretched out under the desk, the video shows.

The layout of the home in the video. Photo/Build Tiny

Stevens said the film was of clients Larissa and Tyler's house, completed in March.

After touring two completed tiny homes, they built their own, drawn to small because they didn't want a big mortgage, Build Tiny says on its web site.

"At just 6m long, this is a truly tiny tiny house," the company said of its creation.

The home in the video: double-glazed windows, insulated walls. Photo/Build Tiny

" Designed to fit into a tight spot in a suburban location, this tiny house has a detachable drawbar to save on space outside the tiny house. Being young and fit, these clients chose to forgo the comfort of a staircase for a vertical ladder fixed to the wall."

Inside Larissa and Tyler's house, finished in March. Photo/Build Tiny

They often work from home, so needed a dedicated office space similar to the Millennial prototype, "where your feet hang down below the loft into a footwell in the kitchen.

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The net is a safety feature, but also "an awesome place to chill out and read a book," Build Tiny says.

Full-sized appliances, 'hidden' washing machine. Photo/Build Tiny

Stevens said the company had built 16 homes and had a further five in its workshop.

"They've gone to Wellington on the Kapiti Coast, Tauranga, two in Auckland and three are going to the South Island," Stevens said.

Some were rented as Airbnb, while others were lived in full time by owners, she said.

"The most expensive one went out the door this week," she said of a $150,000 place with $20,000 off-grid solar capacity.

The Camper is Built Tiny's cheapest model at $92,900, she said.