The Conker is a new tiny home designed by Jag Virdie, a former Rolls-Royce and Lotus automotive engineer.
Virdie came up with the idea when he was building a tree house for his kids. According to a report from the Daily Mail, the first Conker actually hung from a tree. Virdie then built the second Conker, which he uses as a home office. He quickly realized that he was on to something big.
The Conker is designed and manufactured in England, and it comes in two sizes:
- A semi-sphere that is about 10 feet tall (3 m), and about 12.5 feet wide (3.85 m).
- A full sphere that is about 13 feet tall (3.95 m) and about 12.5 feet wide (3.85 m).
The structure has 10 square meters of floor space and it only takes one day to install. According to the company, one of the structure's benefits is that you don't need any specialist tradesmen to do the install/construction.
Given his background in automotive design, Virdie believes that everything, including homes, should be "designed and manufactured with solid engineering foundations." When he first envisioned the Conker concept in 2015, he thought it should be a contemporary, state-of-the-art environment that could be adapted and personalized.
According to a report from New Atlas, the Conker is mostly made of aluminum and recycled plastic with a wooden floor.
If not a tiny home for the ambitious minimalist, the Conker could make for an interesting home office, mother-in-law's suite, or simply another family room. Features like a bathroom and kitchenette are available, as are solar panel arrays and water tanks. Virdie told the Daily Mail that some customers plan to use their Conkers as an additional room that will be attached to the house.
According to New Atlas, the semi-sphere model starts at $32,500, and the full sphere will cost $38,000.
I have a young millennial brother who is currently in the market for a tiny home and this seems right up his alley — and it's way better than the canvas options he's currently looking at. Some tiny homes just look like kitschy death traps.
