
Bruno Thiéry, a local builder in Normandy, is spearheading the French tiny house movement. Three years ago, Bruno was hired by an environmentalist friend, Yvan Saint-Jours, to build a tiny home. During construction, he became aware that tiny homes could help many Europeans increase their standard of living. He was inspired to make tiny houses more available Europe.
Read in French / Lisez en français

“La Tiny House” & French Tiny Houses
In 2013, Bruno started his tiny house company, La Tiny House. Today the carpentry team behind the company has built over 15 tiny homes for european customers. One of the challenges of building tiny homes in France? Weight restrictions. Unlike in the United States where tiny homes have been known to weigh well over 10,000 pounds, in Europe the limit is 3.5 metric tons (or 7,716 pounds). That’s quite a difference! Bruno uses boat trailers for his tiny homes and has come up with several custom tiny house designs.
“First I was skeptical, I couldn’t see how one could live so small. But when building it, I realized the happiness it could bring.” – Bruno

French Tiny House Movement
Is the French tiny house movement growing? Recently we visited Bruno at his workshop in Normandy to discuss details. In the videos below, Bruno explains the challenges the French tiny house movement faces and why many Europeans are starting to embrace tiny homes.
“Appalachia” Tiny Home, built by La Tiny House
One of the most recent tiny homes built by La Tiny House is the “Appalachia” model. This tiny is only 95 square feet, but includes a spacious bathroom, kitchen, staircase and lofted bedroom. It evens has a large removable porch, which is located on the tongue of the trailer! Perhaps the most surprising feature in the Appalachia Tiny Home is that the entire structure can be removed from the trailer. This is due to a requirement in France that states all trailer loads need to be easily removable. The advantage? La Tiny Homes can be placed on a foundation in the future when tinies become legal!
Features of “Appalachia” Tiny Home:
- Bathroom sink / shower combination unit
- Modular staircase that converts in to a bench
- Lightweight, durable roof
- Live edge countertops
- High ceilings for a tall customer
- Full porch that folds up for travel
- Tiny house can be removed from the trailer
To find out more about La Tiny House company, visit their website, facebook and instagram.
Read this Article in French:
Bruno Thiéry, charpentier en Normandie, est en tête du movement des tiny houses en France. Il y a trois ans, un ami environnementaliste, Yvan Saint-Jours, l’a embauché pour construire sa tiny house. Pendant la construction, Bruno s’est rendu compte que ce concept pouvait vraiment aider les européens à améliorer leur style de vie.

“La Tiny House” & Les Micro-Maisons En France
Bruno et ses collègues on créé l’entreprise La Tiny House en 2013. Ils ont depuis construit plus de 15 maisons pour le marché européen. Un des challenges techniques pour la construction de tiny houses en France? Le poids! Aux USA, les mini maisons sont souvent au delà des 4,5 tonnes et la limite en Europe est 3,5 tonnes. C’est une sacrée différence! Bruno utilise des remorques à bateau pour ses tiny houses.
“Au début j’étais un petit peu sceptique parce que je voyais pas trop comment on pouvait vivre dans aussi petit. Et finalement en la construisant, je me suis aperçu du bonheur que ça pouvait représenter.” – Bruno

Le Mouvement Tiny House en France
Le mouvement des tiny houses a-t-il atteint la France? Nous avons récemment rendu visite à l’atelier de Bruno pour en parler plus. Dans la vidéo qui suit, Bruno explique les challenges pour ce nouveau mouvement ainsi que les raisons pour lesquelles les européens sont convaincus de leurs avantages.
“Tiny Appalaches”, construite par La Tiny House
Un des plus récents projets construits par La Tiny House est le modèle “Appalaches”. Cette tiny fait moins de 9 mètres carrés et inclut une salle de bain, cuisine, un escalier modulable et une mezzanine. Elle a même une terrasse amovible sur l’avant de la remorque! Une des caractéristiques les plus intéressantes est sûrement le fait que la maison peut être séparée de la remorque si besoin, comme toutes les maisons construites par La Tiny House. C’est une restriction pour les remorques dénommées “plateau” sur lesquelles on peut fixer une charge qui doit être facilement amovible.
Caractéristiques de la tiny Appalaches:
- Douche avec évier intégré
- Escalier modulable
- Toit en toles polycarbonates
- Comptoir en bois brut
- Hauteur de plafond
- Terrasse amovible
- Remorque amovible
I’ve been researching about laws regarding what’s permitted in terms of codes but when it comes to Europe, it’s hard to access what is permitted and what isn’t. For example, I want to buy a small lot in France to build a tiny house on the foundation but this info is hard to come by. Any suggestions?
Hi Sarah,
I’ve been living in a ‘Tiny House’ in France for the last 2 years! And love it.
Its a fixed residence and not mobile as the laws required for building without planning permission restrict the square meterage to 20mtr2, i have got around this by adding a 10mtr2 mezzanine with a maximum height of 1.8mtr which doesnt classify as floor space, i also have a 10mtr terrace with covered cantilever roof, again i got around planning by not adding or indeed needing posts to support the roof.
The Marie in each town/village decide what can and can’t be built without the need for official planning reg’s
And, its basically that simple!
Any questions please just ask.
Regards
Joss
Hi Joss. Could you tell me how did you find the construction process? Was it difficult? What would you say would be the cost for a house like that? There is quite a lot of information on tiny homes in US but not so much in Europe. I am just trying to assess whether that’s a good idea or not. Currently reside in the UK.
Joss, Will you send me an email where I can communicate with you about this. I am going to be in France in May searching for a plot of land to build a tiny house.. but one that is like yours…a bit bigger than the traditional ones and not necessarily mobil. Would love to get more info as to where you got yours, etc. I am looking for something in southern France. Many thanks.
Hi Joss, Do you still live in your tiny house ? Any chance I could write to you by email. All the best, Peter.
Hi Bruno. My family’s dream is to own a tiny home in Europe for our summer vacations. We live in USA but we hv family across Europe. We want to be able to travel with our house to different countries over many years and have a safe place to store it when we aren’t around. I look forward to hearing from you.
Author
Hey Patricia. You probably want to contact him directly through his website.
This is Awesome! I love their choices and the quality! Thank you for this and the lovely translation!!!