The Luminaire: A Sustainable and Luxurious Tiny House on Wheels

Designer: Erin Adams

The Luminaire is not your typical tiny house on wheels. With an interior width of 7.5 feet and a length of 27 feet, this micro-dwelling is designed for full-time living. Unlike most wheeled tiny homes, The Luminaire offers the amenities of traditional homes, with a full kitchen, standard sofa, fireplace, full-size bathtub, 7-foot closet, dressing vanity area, standing height in the master bedroom, full-size washer and dryer, guest sleeping loft, dining area, and 14 windows to maximize daylighting.

Erin Adams, the designer behind The Luminaire, wanted to address the limitations of existing tiny homes on the market. Many designs require laborious transformations to access different functions of the space, such as stowing a bed to utilize a home office or rearranging a sofa to create a dining space. The Luminaire's layout eliminates the need for these transformative items, allowing for the simultaneous use of all functions without additional manual labor.

One of the biggest challenges in designing The Luminaire was fitting the modern amenities of traditional homes into the compact interior. Adams worked diligently to overcome this challenge, ensuring that the tiny home on wheels provides the comfort and functionality desired by its occupants.

Constructed on a custom triple-axle trailer with dropped axles and flush member framing, The Luminaire is road legal and can be towed with a standard 1-ton pickup truck. Power, water, and waste are hooked up like an RV, and heating and cooling are provided by an energy-efficient mini-split unit. The tiny home also features an on-demand hot water heater and an Energy Recovery Ventilator for improved indoor air quality.

The Luminaire was designed and built in Sylva, NC, and has garnered recognition for its innovative design. It was awarded the Iron A' Design Award in 2019, which recognizes well-designed, practical, and innovative creations that meet professional and industrial requirements.

Erin Adams' Luminaire is a testament to the possibilities of sustainable and luxurious living in a tiny space. With its unique features and thoughtful design, this tiny house on wheels offers a new perspective on downsizing and redefining the concept of home.