Here’s What the Kitchen in a Sustainable Micro-Cabin Looks Like

Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold
Cambria Bold is the Executive Editor of Cubby, and one of Apartment Therapy Media’s first full-time editors from way back when. She was The Kitchn's founding Design and Lifestyle Editor as well as Managing Editor of Re-Nest, Apartment Therapy’s late '00s green living site. She now thinks a lot about design, kids, and designy kids' things. She lives with her two daughters and their father in St. Paul, MN.
published Jan 23, 2015
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(Image credit: June Bhongjan)

Tim and Hannah live in a tiny (196-square-foot) cabin they built themselves in Tahoe, California. The cabin is situated in a forest; is made of mostly recycled, salvaged, or low-impact materials; and is completely off the grid.

How do they cook if there’s no electricity? What about a refrigerator? Or running water? They figured it all out, and designed a functional cooking space full of untraditional yet smart solutions.

(Image credit: June Bhongjan)

Here’s what they say about their micro, off-the-grid kitchen:

We love to cook, so we had to make sure all the necessities were there, but nothing extra. We do most of our cooking on the wood-burning stove. We made a custom kitchen counter/sink out of a commercial stainless steel table and an RV sink, which drains into a five-gallon bucket that gets emptied over our compost pile, along with our kitchen scraps. Our Yeti cooler keeps our food fresh with ice packs. We bring in potable water, and melt snow on our woodstove for winter utility water. Everything else has to be very organized in such a small space, so it all has a home hanging on hooks or in Mason jars.

(Image credit: June Bhongjan)
(Image credit: June Bhongjan)
(Image credit: June Bhongjan)

A clever, space-saving way to store pantry staples!

(Image credit: June Bhongjan)
(Image credit: June Bhongjan)

The couple relies on oil-burning lanterns, LED lights, and headlamps for lighting, while a few small solar panels collect enough energy to generate electricity to charge small electronics, like their phones and batteries. With no oven or stovetop, they rely on their wood-burning stove for all their cooking.

(Image credit: June Bhongjan)

It’s pretty inspiring to see how much you can do with so little. Check out the whole tour for more!

See the Full Tour: Tim and Hannah’s Affordable DIY Self-Sustainable Micro Cabin at Apartment Therapy

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Inspiring Kitchens
Small Space Living
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