A luxury tiny home company's CEO says demand 'exploded' during COVID-19 — see inside its most popular $95,000 unit

Brittany ChangDec 5, 2021, 19:10 IST

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

Tiny homes have been all the rage throughout COVID-19.
One luxury tiny home maker says he saw demand "explode" by five times during the pandemic.

Tiny houses have been all the rage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, from a $100,000 smart home that was so popular, it crashed its maker's website …

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography.

… to the opening of six multimillion-dollar colorful tiny home villages in Los Angeles designed to shelter the city's unhoused population.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography.

One segment of little living units, in particular, has received plenty of attention throughout COVID-19 and the consequential real estate boom: luxury tiny homes.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography.

This may seem paradoxical to a typical homeowner, but David Latimer — founder and CEO of tiny home company New Frontier Design — says interest in his tiny homes has been "amazing" since the start of COVID-19.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography.

This may seem paradoxical to a typical homeowner, but David Latimer — founder and CEO of tiny home company New Frontier Design — says interest in his tiny homes has been "amazing" since the start of COVID-19.

According to Latimer, demand for his tiny homes had already been growing steadily since before COVID-19 …

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography.

... but the onset of the pandemic caused demand to "explode" by five times, especially from customers with less constrained budgets.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography.

"Tiny homes initially had viral popularity," Latimer told Insider. "We get hundreds of inquiries every month and people are still really excited about them across demographics."

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography.

"Tiny homes initially had viral popularity," Latimer told Insider. "We get hundreds of inquiries every month and people are still really excited about them across demographics."

But Latimer doesn't peg this skyrocketing interest in tiny homes to some viral internet trend.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

Instead, he believes current real estate trends like the hot housing market and rise in remote living and work have helped boost public interest in downsized living.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

His company's lineup of luxury tiny homes currently ranges from a $95,000 unit that can sleep two people, to a $209,000 home that can sleep up to six. Both are less than 400 square feet.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

His company's lineup of luxury tiny homes currently ranges from a $95,000 unit that can sleep two people, to a $209,000 home that can sleep up to six. Both are less than 400 square feet.

The least expensive unit, the Luna, was first unveiled in early 2021 as one of the company's more "economical" tiny homes that can sleep two people, Latimer said.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

This "more attainable price point" with Latimer's self-proclaimed "unique design" quickly made Luna one of New Frontier Design's most popular products.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

If you have a difficult time seeing how a $95,000 256-square-foot trailer could be considered economical, just compare the Luna to New Frontier Design's other tiny homes.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

If you have a difficult time seeing how a $95,000 256-square-foot trailer could be considered economical, just compare the Luna to New Frontier Design's other tiny homes.

The company's six-person Escher and four-person Orchid builds are also popular among its customers.

New Frontier Design's Alpha.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

And both start at $209,000 and $195,000, respectively.

New Frontier Design's Escher.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

New Frontier Design also has another model that can accommodate up to two people …

New Frontier Design's Orchid.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

... but that build, the Alpha, is about double the price of the Luna at $189,000.

New Frontier Design's Alpha.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

Given the price tag of his tiny homes, Latimer says his clients are typically "higher net worth individuals [like] celebrities who have a remote piece of property."

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

"Tiny homes continue to have a stigma of having a DIY, crafty, crappy quality, but actually no, this product is 10 times better quality than your house," he said.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

Let's take a look inside the most popular build, the "economical" asymmetrical Luna.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

Luna stands at 25 feet long, 8.5 feet wide, and 13.5 feet tall.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

It's mounted on a 25-foot double axle trailer and weighs 13,000 pounds.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

The inside of the 256-square-foot Luna includes a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom …

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

… and a full wall of windows.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

The interior is almost completely white, creating a brighter space to compliment the LED lights speckled throughout the home and the large windows that bring in plenty of natural light.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

The interior is almost completely white, creating a brighter space to compliment the LED lights speckled throughout the home and the large windows that bring in plenty of natural light.

The glass entry door leads right into the living room ...

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

… which has enough space for a sofa, coffee table, and dining table.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

The kitchen is right across from the living room.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

The home may be small, but the kitchen includes more than the bare necessities.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

It has a full sink, refrigerator …

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

… dual burner electric cooktop, and a convection oven that doubles as a microwave.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

This cooking space also has ample shelves and cabinets ...

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

… and enough room to fit a washing machine, according to pictures of the interior.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

Moving along. The bathroom is just beyond the kitchen past a barn door.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

Similar to a typical bathroom in a full-sized home, Luna's bathroom has a vanity, shower, sink, toilet, and additional shelves.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

Like many tiny home models, the Luna has storage units hidden in unique spaces.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

Just take a closer look at Luna's staircase, which doubles as a series of cabinets.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

This staircase leads right up to the loft.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

The tiny home can sleep up to two people on a king bed in this little lofted area.

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

"[Luna] is really simple, functional, and open," Latimer said. "And I think people were definitely drawn to the price point. So people who have been wanting to buy one of my tiny homes for years now are like, 'oh, I can afford that.'"

New Frontier Design's Luna tiny home.Design by David Latimer // New Frontier Design. Photographs by Studiobuell Photography

"[Luna] is really simple, functional, and open," Latimer said. "And I think people were definitely drawn to the price point. So people who have been wanting to buy one of my tiny homes for years now are like, 'oh, I can afford that.'"

I'm an Ivy League college student who sucks at cooking. Here are 13 things I always buy at Trader Joe's.

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

A luxury tiny home company's CEO says demand 'exploded' during COVID-19 — see inside its most popular $95,000 unit

Tiny houses have been all the rage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, from a $100,000 smart home that was so popular, it crashed its maker's website …

… to the opening of six multimillion-dollar colorful tiny home villages in Los Angeles designed to shelter the city's unhoused population.

One segment of little living units, in particular, has received plenty of attention throughout COVID-19 and the consequential real estate boom: luxury tiny homes.

This may seem paradoxical to a typical homeowner, but David Latimer — founder and CEO of tiny home company New Frontier Design — says interest in his tiny homes has been "amazing" since the start of COVID-19.

According to Latimer, demand for his tiny homes had already been growing steadily since before COVID-19 …

... but the onset of the pandemic caused demand to "explode" by five times, especially from customers with less constrained budgets.

"Tiny homes initially had viral popularity," Latimer told Insider. "We get hundreds of inquiries every month and people are still really excited about them across demographics."

But Latimer doesn't peg this skyrocketing interest in tiny homes to some viral internet trend.

Instead, he believes current real estate trends like the hot housing market and rise in remote living and work have helped boost public interest in downsized living.

His company's lineup of luxury tiny homes currently ranges from a $95,000 unit that can sleep two people, to a $209,000 home that can sleep up to six. Both are less than 400 square feet.

The least expensive unit, the Luna, was first unveiled in early 2021 as one of the company's more "economical" tiny homes that can sleep two people, Latimer said.

This "more attainable price point" with Latimer's self-proclaimed "unique design" quickly made Luna one of New Frontier Design's most popular products.

If you have a difficult time seeing how a $95,000 256-square-foot trailer could be considered economical, just compare the Luna to New Frontier Design's other tiny homes.

The company's six-person Escher and four-person Orchid builds are also popular among its customers.

And both start at $209,000 and $195,000, respectively.

New Frontier Design also has another model that can accommodate up to two people …

... but that build, the Alpha, is about double the price of the Luna at $189,000.

Given the price tag of his tiny homes, Latimer says his clients are typically "higher net worth individuals [like] celebrities who have a remote piece of property."

"Tiny homes continue to have a stigma of having a DIY, crafty, crappy quality, but actually no, this product is 10 times better quality than your house," he said.

Let's take a look inside the most popular build, the "economical" asymmetrical Luna.

Luna stands at 25 feet long, 8.5 feet wide, and 13.5 feet tall.

It's mounted on a 25-foot double axle trailer and weighs 13,000 pounds.

The inside of the 256-square-foot Luna includes a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom …

… and a full wall of windows.

The interior is almost completely white, creating a brighter space to compliment the LED lights speckled throughout the home and the large windows that bring in plenty of natural light.

The glass entry door leads right into the living room ...

… which has enough space for a sofa, coffee table, and dining table.

The kitchen is right across from the living room.

The home may be small, but the kitchen includes more than the bare necessities.

It has a full sink, refrigerator …

… dual burner electric cooktop, and a convection oven that doubles as a microwave.

This cooking space also has ample shelves and cabinets ...

… and enough room to fit a washing machine, according to pictures of the interior.

Moving along. The bathroom is just beyond the kitchen past a barn door.

Similar to a typical bathroom in a full-sized home, Luna's bathroom has a vanity, shower, sink, toilet, and additional shelves.

Like many tiny home models, the Luna has storage units hidden in unique spaces.

Just take a closer look at Luna's staircase, which doubles as a series of cabinets.

This staircase leads right up to the loft.

The tiny home can sleep up to two people on a king bed in this little lofted area.

"[Luna] is really simple, functional, and open," Latimer said. "And I think people were definitely drawn to the price point. So people who have been wanting to buy one of my tiny homes for years now are like, 'oh, I can afford that.'"