Tini Living Makes Tweakable Steel-Framed ADUs That Start at $38K

Welcome to Prefab Profiles, an ongoing series of interviews with people transforming how we build houses. From prefab tiny houses and modular cabin kits to entire homes ready to ship, their projects represent some of the best ideas in the industry. Do you know a prefab brand that should be on our radar? Get in touch!

About five years ago, architects Ignacio de la Vega and Pilar Cano-Lasso came to a realization. "We had various residential projects in the works with our firm, Delavegacanolasso, and realized how difficult the process was for everyone," de la Vega remembers. Their clients often wanted a final bill as soon as the work was underway—a near impossible number to know at that phase—and all the planning in the world couldn’t anticipate inevitable in-the-moment issues.

"We wanted to create something simple and elegant," he continues, "but we also wanted clients to know exactly what they were getting, the cost, and the timing from the very first meeting."

The duo created Tini Living, a prefab company with six models that provide a buyer with as much transparency as possible. The best part? The ADUs can be completed in 100 days, says de la Vega. Here’s more on what Tini Living has to offer.

What’s the most exciting project you’ve realized to date?

We’ve had several projects with all types of clients. Most of them are people who are very interested in design and the possibility of living in spaces that are directly connected to nature, so all of the design processes with them are very enriching and fun. But for obvious reasons, the most exciting project is our own home, Fresnos—not only because we live in it, but also because of its sustainability. We preserved 45 pine trees on the sloped terrain, and used a cantilevered structure to minimize the impact on the existing environment.

What does your base model cost and what does that pricing include?

We offer a full range of standalone, prefab modules, and the extra small version, the Tini XS, starts at $38,000. It is best for up to two people, and includes a kitchen, bed frame, full bathroom, and a hot and cold air pump, among other details. The structure is about 180 square feet in total.

We are very transparent in terms of pricing, as we want the client to have as much information at the start of the process as possible. Because of this, we have spent significant resources on creating a customization tool, which makes it easy to go through our different models and personalize them to your needs.