[WRITTEN ON 11/1/2014]
We are Robert and Samantha and are both 28 years old. We met at Plattsburgh State University in 2005 and then completed our graduate studies in Buffalo, NY where we lived until 2012. We have been married for two years and currently live in a 665 square foot apt. in Yakima, WA with our live-in cat, Tobey.
We are both young professionals with full time careers. Samantha is a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and I am an architectural designer. We travel (recreationally) as much as possible regionally, nationally and internationally. I am also a co-founder of our local Maker Space here in Yakima and am working towards architectural licensure. I bring all of this up to say that this project will be a primarily evening and weekend affair. As we write this on November 1st, 2014 we do not have a trailer. We do not have a place to build a tiny home. We do not have a truck to tow a tiny home or a place to put a tiny home and our combined construction experience is relatively miniscule. Yet, here we are, about to spend the next 12-14 months building a tiny home!
While I sometimes wish that we had an amazing epiphany that led us here, our reasoning for taking on the design, construction and occupation of a tiny home is a rather diverse list:
- The Dream: Who wouldn’t want the opportunity to design and build their own home!? And we want to be neighbors with all of our friends for a month at a time! Ok, so this reason may be a bit shortsighted but seriously, that would be pretty cool.
- The Money: The up front cost in just materials & equipment for a tiny home may seem surprisingly high at first ($10,000-$30,000) but the dramatically reduced expenses of living in a tiny home and the saved rent money means after 1-3 years it has already paid for itself completely. We are tired of renting. We are tired of lengthy leases. We are afraid of a mortgage (on top of school loans!?).
- The Education & Experience: The tiny home movement takes the “less is more” mantra to great lengths and my architectural interests align with smaller scale, sustainable residential design and construction. I can’t think of a better way to practice what I intend to preach. This project will be a great design exercise incorporating sustainability, material selection, spatial efficiency and flexibility as well as weight distribution and severe force resistance (taking a tiny home down the road at 60mph is like having your home be effected by an earthquake and hurricane at the same time). Add to that the necessity to know and understand local D.O.T regulations and zoning codes when considering transportation and placement and you have enough lessons to consider us full time students during this project. We are also brainstorming ways to turn this project into an educational experience for others, not only through the documentation on this website but also through presentations, open houses and hands on workshops for our community. A project like this also becomes an amazing exercise in ergonomics that has already started to make us hyper aware of our day to day environment. I carry a tape measure in my back pack to better understand the different dimensions of everyday objects and spaces. When you remove traditional standards and requirements, you are then able to design to your (bare) necessities, resulting in an incredibly intimate experience between body and architecture.
- The philosophy: Samantha and I have always said we will never own a king size bed because we don’t want the potential for more space to make its way between us. And we feel the same about the spaces we inhabit. Call it encouraged interaction if you will, and luckily, we really like being around each other!
- The challenge? We spent 30 days in 2008 living out of a Honda Civic and a tent as we traveled the United States, coast to coast and back. In 2010, we spent 30 days (legally) hopping trains from country to country in Europe with nothing more than what could fit in our 60 liter backpacks. We spent 6 weeks in 2012 navigating the rural towns, crowded cities and rugged landscape of the Patagonia region of South America, carrying all of our belongings over 1400 miles in those same backpacks. And in 2013 we packed up everything we owned into a 16’ U-haul and drove west from our roots in Western NY to Yakima, WA. One of us had a job, we did not have a place to live and we kept our mattress on top of our belongings in the box truck in case we had to spend a few nights in the back while we looked for a place to call home. Sooo…we really expected the decision to live in a fully functioning and furnished sub-200 square foot space would come easy, yet it turned out to be a more serious and lengthy internal debate than expected. This is new territory. It pushes its occupants to question traditional standards of habitation. It re-evaluates our notion of home. It tests traditional methods of construction and it questions archaic zoning ordinances. With that said, we have yet to dive into an experience we are unsure about and not come out on the other side thankful that we took the leap.
This marks the beginning of our tiny home journey…
Cheers!
-Robert & Samantha
P.S. Check out our Adventures Before SHED & Adventures While Building SHED & Adventures while living in SHEDAdventures while living in SHED to learn a little more about us and our interests other than tiny living!
Fantastic. Can’t wait to follow your adventure.
Wow. You have definitely led an adventurous life. It will be fun to follow along on your TH journey.
Love your project….would like to tag-along.
What a great experience you two have had and the results are fantastic..I am looking into downsizing myself so I might someday retire to something I own….Beautiful job, great tiny home you have built…Here’s to the HAPPY LIFE YOU SO DERSEVE….KAREN
Only found you at the end, so missed the ‘journey’. But impressed with where you are now.
Building was just the beginning!:) Now the real adventure begins, thanks for stopping by!
Stunning Scandinavian design. Love the minimalist feel , clean lines and great color choices. Best tiny home so far. You should start designing these!
Can share the final weight of the project? I’m curious if a tiny house can be built under 5,000lbs (tow limit of current vehicle). House looks great and appreciate the aerodynamic design.
Craig
Hey Craig,
Our 24′ THOW is just shy of 10,000 Lbs. It would be tough to get a THOW down to that weight (5000) but it has been done. I would guess a 12-14′ tiny house on wheels with out a loft could pull it off if you were very conscious of weight while choosing materials. The big difference between a Tiny House and a Recreational vehicle (which many people also live full time in) is the aesthetic and the things that make a tiny house feel more like a ‘normal house’ happen to be the things and construction methods that add a lot of weight.
Hi Samantha & Robert, Thank you for sharing your home. Your home is nicely designed and so well organized. You have a place for everything!! You have lots of storage both in your home and in your shed. I love all your windows it makes everything bright and airy. You both did an awesome job designing and building your tiny home. I wish you both a lot of happiness in your future endeavors and a wonderful life together!! Carol🌹🌻🌷🌼
Hi Samantha and Robert,
I have looked at man tiny houses and it always brought a feeling up inside me that corners were cut here and there. Maybe because the building took longer than expected or a plan was missing to solve a problem or maybe the ideas were just running out. But your tiny house is awesome. We are both outdoor people and love to hike and connect to nature just like you. We have the same idea to build our own tiny house and travel around. But the problem is to accommodate all the equipment. But you had this great idea with the shed. Awesome! Although we are no longer as young as you are I do believe that we can do it just like you. Two questions I would like to ask. What do we have to watch out for when it comes to doors and windows? Are those special windows? With traveling don’t they need extra cushioning? The second thing is, living in a very cold area is your heating system enough? Or would it be better to consider a wood stove?
You have done a magnificent job. An inspiration!
Cheers,
Debora and Todd
Would be great if you had an email or address to write to as well ask a few questions please. Great story! Blessings Upon All Your Journeys~
Hey Beth,
There is a ‘contact us’ firm in the little drop down menu under the ‘about us’ tab that sends your inquiries directly to our personal e-nails. Hope this helps!
Cheers,
R+S
I am from south india (kerela state) i am realyy impressed this tiny house can u prepare house here india for me i am 25 year old and electronics engineer i hope ur good replay
Not to be a weirdo, but the video of you assembling this tiny house…did that take place in Moxee wa? Like Walters/ Desmarais Rd?
Sure did! Good eye, and a local I presume…?
Yes, I’ve lived on Desmarais for 27 years!
Hello! I just have to tell you what great taste you both have. I love Scandinavian design and clean lines. You’ve managed to make your home modern yet cosy. I also really love the shape of the house- I used to watch The Little House on the Prairie and the shape was similar.
Beautiful!
Looks like hops country.
I simply love your home and I love that you’ve shared the building process from start to finish. I’m a graphic designer, I love creating things and I could never see myself doing anything else other than making something with my hands. I’ve been renting apartments for the past 20 years and I’ve grown tired of it. I’m also thinking about the future and where to spend it. You see I’m from Houston, Texas, I’m writing this after seeing how Harvey has affected my community so I’ve been turned off from buying a home of my own. I don’t see the point of buying property that will eventually get flooded. But luckily our city does not have any zoning laws so we can build anything we want. I always loved looking at tiny homes but I could never imagine myself building one until I came across your video. Those 8 minutes of magic brightened up my hopes for the future. To me it seemed like a feasible fun project but I’m sure it was quite a challenge for you guys. You started without any construction experience or a big truck or the tools to cut and measure all the materials. So I just want to say thanks for igniting a fire inside me. You’ve inspired me to get off my butt, start design one and eventually build it once I have the funds. And I feel positive that all the banged up fingers and scrapes will be worth it. I just have one question, where does Tobey (your live-in cat) go to the bathroom? Is there a secret compartment hidden somewhere?
Hi, It looks amazing and congratulations on determining your own path in this life. You say you had little construction experience… Is there a resource or book you can recommend that guided you the process? I’m interested in doing something similar myself, but aside from basic wood and metal shop I know little to none about building a home.
thanks,
Adam
We just utilized the internet, google searching one task at a time while also conferring with friends and local professionals as well as the large Facebook group ‘tiny house people’
Absolutely fantastic design. Your future is assured. I have bounced a similar design around in my head for some time. Now you have made it easy for me to go forward with the reality. Thanks for the freebies. I will also want the ebook before I get started with construction. I will save your website address ’til then. Just fantastic.