Yes, you can buy a small wooden house kit online, and in 2019 Amazon listings for kits from the retailer Allwood Outlet caught the internet's attention with a simple promise: two people could put one together in about two days. The kits ranged from a 113-square-foot cabin listed at around $5,350 to loft-bedroom models near $20,000. That headline is true as far as it goes, but the kit is only one part of turning a pile of timber into somewhere you can actually live.
This guide explains what these kits are, what the best-known model includes, what it leaves out, and the questions worth answering before you order a house in a box.
What Allwood sells and where
Allwood Outlet is an online seller of solid-wood buildings, from garden sheds and saunas to cabins with sleeping lofts. Its kits are sold through its own website and, at the time they went viral, through Amazon listings as well. Prices and availability on Amazon have changed over the years, so the figures from 2019 should be treated as a snapshot rather than today's price list. You can still search for the 113-square-foot Lillevilla Escape kit or the larger Ranger cabin with a loft to compare current offers.
The model most people shared was the Lillevilla Getaway, a gabled cabin with French doors and a small front terrace. Some of the Amazon listings for the Getaway carried the two-people, two-days claim.
The manufacturer's rendering of the Getaway shows the basic shape: a steep roof, a glazed double door, and an optional half-covered terrace across the front.
The Lillevilla Getaway in numbers
According to Allwood's product page, the Getaway offers about 292 square feet of floor space on the ground level. The sleeping loft above is not included in that figure because its headroom is limited. The outside footprint is about 19 feet 8 inches by 25 feet 3 inches, the peak of the roof is about 12 feet 4 inches high, and the walls stand about 7 feet 9 inches.
- Walls: solid tongue-and-groove Nordic spruce, about 1¾ inches (44 mm) thick.
- Doors and windows: a French door, two interior doors and five windows, supplied pre-hung and glazed.
- Weight: roughly 8,600 pounds, delivered on three pallets.
- Price: Allwood's own site lists it at $16,985 before tax, with free shipping advertised.
- Build time: the company says two to three days for two adults with basic tools.
The plan drawings show the cabin from each side, the terrace depth and the overall dimensions, which help when you are checking the size against local rules and the plot itself.
The whole Getaway kit ships as three pallets of pre-cut, numbered timber, roof boards and hardware, so you need a flat, accessible spot for unloading.
Inside the cabin
The ground floor is split into a main room and a smaller back room, with a ladder rising through the middle to the loft. The ladder saves space compared with a staircase, but it does take a bite out of the living area and is not ideal for everyone.
This cut-away view shows the downstairs layout and the loft above, which sits under the roof pitch and is best used for sleeping or storage.
The interior is plain spruce, with the ladder to the loft hatch dominating the main room. Many owners finish the wood with a protective stain or oil.
Two single beds fit snugly under the eaves of the loft, with a gable window at the end for light and air.
An overhead rendering shows one way to furnish the cabin, with beds at the back, a kitchenette and table in the main room, and the terrace at the front.
Is it really a two-day build?
For the timber shell, the two-day claim is plausible for two capable adults with clear instructions. The walls are built by stacking interlocking boards, a little like a large construction toy, and the doors and windows arrive ready to fit. What the claim does not cover is everything before and after.
A sample set-up from the manufacturer shows the first rows of wall boards rising on a grid of timber floor beams, laid over a simple level base.
A customer photo shows the shell nearly complete, with walls and roof boards up but no shingles yet, which is where many owners pause before finishing the roof.
Things that take extra time and money include:
- Foundation: the kit does not include foundation materials. A gravel pad, concrete piers or a slab gives the cabin a stable, level base and keeps the timber off damp ground. Allwood estimates the materials alone at around $270, but labour and site work can cost far more.
- Roofing: shingles are not included either, at roughly $250 by the company's estimate.
- Insulation: 44 mm solid timber is fine for summer use, but for year-round living in a cold climate Allwood recommends extra insulation.
- Utilities: electricity, water, sewage and internet are not part of the kit and usually need licensed trades.
- Finishing: wood treatment, flooring, furniture and a kitchen or bathroom all add to the budget.
Is it a "tiny house"?
There is no single legal definition, but the most widely used one in the United States comes from Appendix Q of the 2018 International Residential Code, which describes a tiny house as a dwelling of 400 square feet or less, not counting lofts. By that measure the Getaway and the smaller Escape qualify. Some larger kit homes sold online, listed at tens of thousands of dollars, are well beyond that size and are really small houses rather than tiny ones.
The appeal is easy to see. The modern tiny-house movement grew in the late 1990s and 2000s, and gained popularity after the 2007 to 2009 recession, as people looked for cheaper, simpler homes with smaller energy bills. Tiny houses typically cost a fraction of a standard home, though a finished, legal, connected tiny house usually costs considerably more than a bare kit.
A finished Getaway with a stained exterior, painted doors and a small front deck shows how much the look changes once the timber is treated and the roof is shingled.
The optional covered terrace adds sheltered outdoor living space, which makes a big difference in a cabin this size.
Before you buy: a short checklist
- Check zoning and building rules first. Many towns set minimum home sizes or require permits for any permanent structure. A cabin that is fine as a garden building may not be approved as a home.
- Decide how you will use it. Guest room, studio, holiday cabin or full-time home each need very different levels of insulation, plumbing and approval.
- Plan the site. Delivery trucks need access, and the ground must be level and well drained before the first board goes down.
- Budget beyond the kit. Add foundation, roofing, finishing, utilities, permits and any help you hire. A realistic total is often well above the sticker price.
- Read recent reviews and the latest product page. Specifications, delivery times and prices change, and only the current listing is binding.
Handled with that kind of planning, a kit cabin can be a satisfying project and a genuinely affordable small space. Treated as a weekend miracle, it is more likely to become an expensive shed.
Sources: photos, plans and specifications courtesy of Allwood Outlet: Lillevilla Getaway kit cabin; Wikipedia: Tiny-house movement.
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