Couple Downsize Into Dream Off-The-Grid Tiny House

when it comes to conventional housing it's not uncommon for people to ask themselves the question do I own my house or does my house own me and that's exactly the realization this next couple came to before they decided to break them all and build themselves a tiny house on wheels today we've traveled to Armstrong and British Columbia to check it out [Music] hey Sara how's it going good how are you good thank you lovely to meet you can i all of them great to meet you good to meet you as well this is such a charming looking tiny house you first of all can you tell me what it was that actually inspired both of you to built this yes it was a big life change for us we got married we bought the big house we were working so hard to pay the big bills on the big house and we just found we lost touch with what we really enjoyed in life which was hiking climbing and just getting outside and enjoying nature so we were looking for a change and the tiny house was the change Oliver had the building side of things and I had design skills so we went for it yeah the house design was sort of inspired by we wanted to create something that looked like an actual house so something that had the characteristics the feel sort of the character of sort of a heritage house or an old house that would have some of those elements in it and we sort of took those elements and brought him into the house and tried to create something that didn't look just like a square box it was you know had some depth to it and showed really well and I've always loved heritage homes with characters so I wanted to take that and just shrink it into the tiny home the style of the house is really lovely you've really nailed that heritage look especially the way that you've got these jewel dormers is really interesting can you talk to me about how you did all this yeah we obviously wanted to bring the roofline out where the loft is to sort of bring the ceiling height up in the loft this one up here we wanted to incorporate that again just to try to give it a little bit of character and try to give it that Heritage feel as well as it obviously takes the snow load and the rain and sheds it away from the front door so that was one thing that gave it some architectural detail as well as a feature that to keep snow and everything off of the front door now you've actually designed and built this tiny house together can you talk to me about what that process was like it was actually pretty easy working together there's some moments where you kind of had to trust me with my design ideas but then he found out in the end that it was for a good reason and it worked out and it was really handy having him being on the other side of things for the building because I could kind of tell them what to do yeah there's always those design details that I questioned throughout the build then I go I have no idea how this is gonna turn out but obviously through the process the color schemes everything sort of coincides together and and that's where serious strengths are really good and that's where I may be lacking a little bit you know I can put it together but putting it together in my mind on the design side of things can be challenging so Sierra's sort of took that by the horns and did a really good job at the same time it was great cuz Oliver was able to rein me in as well because I had some crazy design ideas and Oliver was like you know that's not exactly gonna work so I think that's where the teamwork really came in two things and before going tiny you were living in a larger home and the inspiration for the design of this tiny house was actually taken from your previous home wasn't it yes our house in town actually is a bigger version of this it has the gray siding the weight trim the cool shingle detailing and when we moved into the tiny house I loved our first house so much that I just wanted to take it and shrink it and to make it into a little mini version I think that's so special how you've taken your favorite aspects from your previous large house and you've downsized it all into this one yeah it's pretty unique we wanted to bring those elements from our big house into here to make it feel like it was home and I think that was executed really well before we take a look inside the house as well can we talk about this parking spot because you're in a very idyllic location here on you yes we got so lucky with this it's family land and we share it with family members of ours and we couldn't ask for a better spot it's private and it's all about the nature and quiet peaceful now I notice you've got some solar panels on the roof so is this house designed to be off the grid because I see you're also hooked into some services here so how does will that work yeah it is designed to be fully off-grid we sort of wanted to incorporate that into the initial build we do use the services when we have access to them but it's got three solar panels on the roof one panel on the ground for solar tracking and then all the heating inside is all propane so that really takes the electrical load off of the solar end of things we also incorporated tanks into this to be able to have some fresh water if that was ever something that we wanted to do we're obviously hooked up to services here but we wanted to sort of keep the options open and really explore the potential of what a tiny house could do for the off-grid and what size is this tiny house this house is 24 feet in length eight and a half feet wide by 13 foot six high and it's given that approximately 225 square feet so pretty compact I really love the look of this house the way that you've broken up the lines with the interesting window shapes and these jewel dilemmas is really nice and I am very intrigued to see what it's like on the inside can we take a look totally let's take a look thank you this is just so nice thank you I especially like the way that walking in here you just have this incredible view of the forest even from this lovely skylight you've got here in the center yeah it was super important the number one thing on my list was Windows on Windows and Windows I'm a big natural light person and for us we didn't really need much wall space to put things on it was more important to be able to look out and see the nature around us mainly because we have a pretty fantastic parking spot but I find that even if you're inside it feels like you're outside yeah the space with this amount of natural light brings just everything in we have 15 windows we've got 3 3 by 3 skylights so it really really opens up the space for sure when there's that much natural light coming in for a house this size 15 windows is almost ridiculous isn't it it is yeah there was definitely moments where during the framing stages I was like this too many can you have too many windows but I mean now we look at it and we're happy that we did every window has its purpose yeah and again that's sort of the trade-off with all the windows and the skylights it will gain some heat in in the summertime but you'll also get that gained in the wintertime as well so that can definitely help heating costs and just keeping the space warm having that Sun actually come in if it's out does definitely benefit the house for sure well with winters being super long and cold there's days where you're kind of held up and it gets dark early so I find having all the windows around you even though you're stuck inside seeing all the snowfall and the beautiful winter around you it doesn't make you feel as cooped up as you normally would feel well the style in here is an absolute dream you've done such a great job with all the decoration in here can you tell me what was the kind of inspiration that you were going for with all this I've always been a fan of white on white lots of white it's just very calming it's relaxing white never goes out of style and it makes the space feel bigger and brighter we did add some extra warmth with the hemlock touches on the flooring and the stair treads and shelves so I found it kind of gave it a good balance and we brought a little pop of color with the green gray cabinets one of the things that I really liked about the way that you've decorated the home as well as the use of plants in here because you've got this wonderful forest Vista and then it almost brings it inside with all of the plants that you've got in here so it didn't start off with a lot of plants I was always a big fan of fake plants because I could never keep them alive oh and no but then it started with one plant and he survived his name was I think Henry or something and then it started growing and now Oliver jokes he's like I'm just gonna come home one day and it's just gonna be like a jungle and I'm gonna have to move out because there's too many plants that would be such a banner she asked me one day she's like is there is there such thing as too many parts and it was like I'm starting to think that there maybe is at this point it's nice I mean it definitely brings the greenery in but it's yeah it's getting to the point where a tiny house definitely has only you know a certain amount of window sills and things that that things can get cluttered on so this is very true I still AM personally on the side that there is no such thing as too many points okay he's on my team men okay well I'm also very much not a fan of fake plants so I'm glad that you've definitely replaced those with real ones and it is really lovely in here now tell me about the living room because this is really lovely and it seems to be quite clever what you've done with the office to the side and in the TV here as well yeah so we we know we wanted a good size couch we're pretty active people but we do really enjoy our movie nights when we first moved in we thought we wouldn't need a TV that we could just wash things in our laptop but we're big movie TV buff so we added the TV that is under the window and it swivels so I can turn it while I'm doing dishes and watch the same show or if I'm got somebody sitting on the couch and they want to watch it which is like super handy in the small space as well and then we have our desk unit which is it's not a lot of storage but it's just enough if I want to answer emails when I get home and do a little bit of work and store the computer underneath and it's just what I need I do like the way that you've built that with the little cubby for the laptop as well but it's being able to get that off of the table and keep it clear during the day is really nice when we first we're designing the tiny house the biggest thing as Oliver said you know we don't really have any room for a official dining area and I kind of pointed out that even when we were living in a big house the dining table wasn't also just used to put stuff on so we compromised it the little desk that yeah some stuff gets put on but it's only so big so you can't really put much on it we wanted to make the living room feel as spacious as possible obviously only being in such a small space we wanted that relaxation space at the end of the day to sort of kick your feet up and take it easy one of the things we did to make the living room feel bigger because it was quite small is we added the bay window feature which makes it feel bigger than it actually is by reaching out with the windows and then underneath is the outside access to our propane storage very clear though I like how you've done that and now tell me about the kitchen this definitely has a very country homes did feel to it totally this is our dream kitchen in a very small size which I think it's actually pretty big for a tiny house we went with quartz countertops and then we want the custom cabinetry soft clothes so it's it's super easy to use you just if you're not arguing and you're mad you still can't slam it great we won't miss your classic white hex on the backsplash again I just love the white on white it may be tough to clean sometimes but I just love the crisp bright look of it and then we went with a 20 inch propane range here as well easy to clean I love it so you can just remove the grills and get in there because honestly I'm a pretty messy cook so yeah I mean the range is perfect for a compact space like this for two people I mean unless we're doing some sort of crazy Christmas turkey dinner or whatever it should never happen is more than enough for two people to cook with and then obviously it's got a little tiny oven with a broiler on the bottom and it's it's a perfect size for this size of house we wanted the kitchen to feel like it was large with lots of counter space and ample prep area but sacrificing a little bit on on maybe the appliances we went for a 24 inch farm sink here we did a built-in range hood over top as well and it looks like you've also been able to build a lot of storage here into your stairs as well I can see the washer/dryer there you've got the full fridge and a couple extra drawers as well yeah so our dog owns this space here she has a little kennel she luckily gets to go to work with us every day so that's only for the odd time we have to put her in there and then she has like a full drawer to herself not gonna lie she also has a couple drawers in the kitchen but we won't get into that very yeah we tuck the washer/dryer combo under there as well as the fridge and then we just have an extra drawer on top there for things like laundry detergent an extra toilet paper it's nice to be able to utilize the stairs for basically all of the appliance storage and yes in in terms of the big stuff and then have some extra storage for things like pets or what have you absolutely and then it looks like you've got some extra storage bag they tucked away what's in there yeah so there's a door on either side and we have a his-and-hers closet which is a big deal for me I wanted room for some clothing and have it separate from each other so mine is on the right and it just gives you enough hanging room and you've got storage shelves too full clothing and then just enough room for your little laundry basket yeah it's nice to be able to have like serious said that separate area you know we see see some tiny homes where that space is sort of combined and that can be sort of the make-it-or-break-it factor when it comes to living together in a tiny house oh yes here's got her space I have my space sometimes my space is neat sometimes her spaces not so neat some leaves he has more clothing than I do I swear yeah yes I am not gonna pick sides on this and then behind all of that is the bathroom I'm guessing yes it's actually our favorite room of the house I think it turned out so spacious and bigger than I thought it would and I must say I had to go with the clown foot that is adorable it does look like a mini cast-iron tub yes so my biggest thing is I always want to clawfoot my whole life and I never got one so even though we're tiny I told Oliver we're still getting the clawfoot and it's like okay it's gonna be small but we'll make it happen I can take bubble baths in here no problem but are you actually yeah do you want me to demonstrate I think you have to yeah I'm gonna show you how it works so this is me all right okay it's kind of a cross between a clawfoot tub and a Japanese everything Tom totally right Oliver just ends up taking showers in it it's just like a shower Basin and once you wrap the curtain around its fully enclosed which is nice have you ever tried taking a bath in that Oliver I have yeah there was about six inches in water at the bottom and it was overflowing it's a good use of water it's conservative you don't need much but you get in it kind of comes up nice and high that's definitely thinking on the bright side I like that then you've got the composting toilet here as well yes I was super hesitant about getting a compost toilet when we were designing the tiny house we'd stayed in a couple tiny ish homes with ones there were different units and they debt you definitely could notice some smell after a couple days but this one is totally worth it no smell and we just I couldn't imagine using anything else yeah for us the obviously the amount of water usage that a regular toilet uses it was a huge factor in in deciding to obviously go to the composting route we were blown away by the amount of water consumption that an actual you know a regular North American toilet uses as pretty substantial so when you calculate that out for a year with two people right it is a huge amount of water for really a time where we need to be taking a look at where our water is being used and literally flushing it down the toilet is not one of those ways and totally with you on that one good thinking on that and then your sleeping loft is upstairs yes can we take that out absolutely let's go check it out all right oh this is just so cozy I especially like how you've got the dual skylights up here yes it was very important to open up the space it is a little bit of a tighter loft so that's why we went with a window on each side as well as the skylights we love the windows on the sides because we can open the windows all the way and then at night you get just like this amazing cross breeze our biggest thing as we said with the skylights was it was you know we can watch the stars it but I swear every time we come up here and we're like okay let's look at the stars we ended just in a falling asleep like we don't actually ever get a chance to enjoy them or was too tired but the thought was there and another thing we did with the skylights was we did the solar shades so these closed and open which is great because I find if you if you have these skylights and the Sun is on the home it gets really toasty up here so it's really important to be able to close those definitely nice having that option and now what's this unit up here yeah so we just went with a plug-in a/c for us we don't use an AC enough to really justify like a built in unit so we just went with one that sits on the floor we don't use that corner space anyway it's doesn't really matter to us so it's just there when we need it so how long have you been living in the hood now we've been in the home for about two years now we haven't looked back since I mean it's been a pretty amazing experience for both of us just to be able to get back to the things that originally brought us together as a couple and and open up some more free time and to be able to enjoy the outdoors and and to be able to embrace you know where we live and what it has to offer I think the most common question we can ask now two years into tiny living is do you ever see yourself moving back into the big home and I I don't think so there's the only reason I'd go bigger would be maybe a little bit bigger of a tiny house in the future but other than that like just so happy with it yeah it's really simplified the way that we live and really we haven't sacrificed a whole lot to move from basically you know 2,500 square feet down to 225 so yeah this really gave us the opportunity for us to kind of go back to our roots and and establish what was important to us and it's been interesting though because before when we have the big house we worked opposite shifts I was a dance teacher and you were working landscaping so he was during the day I was during the night and we never saw each other so when we went tiny we went from never seeing each other to living in a tiny house and going to work the same job working together because we're on our business together so it went from like zero to 100 and we're still married so that's gotta be a good testimonial for it then right the tiny house in our life what it's brought to us is just a sense of kind of like relaxation and it's taken a bit of stress away when I home I'm excited when I get into the tiny also come in and I like take a deep breath and then it's home and when I go traveling I think about man I just want to get back to the tiny house no matter where we are so it must be pretty good home for us if yeah it's also brought for us it's brought a business I mean really at the end of the day we wouldn't have been able to to sustain the house that we were in and move into a new business venture so not only a tiny home business but it's also you know brought the opportunity of of having the financial freedom to be able to feel a little bit more confident moving into something like a business as young entrepreneurs that's the big challenges is they're still you know rent payments and mortgage payments and bills that are looming that that need to get paid and it's opened up the door for us to not dismiss those things but alleviate as much of those things as possible so that we can focus our attention on building the business and what was the budget for this tiny house we had sort of put out a budget at about seventy thousand that wasn't including any of our labor cost we probably hit more like eighty eighty five so we blew that budget a little bit but we were pretty confident in that money being well spent so things like the solar and and the finishes that we wanted on the house to really make it feel like home for us was really important so I think those numbers really made sense for us but I think at the end of the day it's money well spent for sure certainly being able to do all of the work yourselves will have saved a lot of money there and I think you can certainly see where the money has gone into this house there are very high-quality fittings and some really beautiful details that have gone into this so I completely agree with you money very well spent thank you appreciate it well I think you've done such a brilliant job with this home I love how you've taken some of those character elements of your past house and put them all into this one and I can see that this is a home which is really working absolutely beautifully for both of you thank you so much for sharing thanks guys appreciate it coming out thank you this tiny house really is just so beautiful and while they may not quite fit in this bathtub it's just filled with so many elements that really give it that feeling of home what I like most about this house though is the lifestyle that it's given to Oliver and Sarah this house has given them their weekends back the ability to venture into the outdoors doing things that they love and even start a new business and realistically there are very few home options that can do all of that for you [Music] you

Channel: Living Big In A Tiny House

Views: 1,727,056

Rating: 4.941534 out of 5

Keywords: living big in a tiny house, tiny house, tiny home, tiny house movement, tiny house on wheels, off the grid, off grid tiny home, tiny house tour, tiny house 2019, summit tiny homes, tiny house canada, tiny house bc, tiny house living, downsizing, minimalism, minimalist home, heritage style tiny home, home on wheels, solar powered tiny house, tiny house tours, tiny house design, tiny house style

Id: AqjRcQabs_c

Length: 21min 14sec (1274 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 21 2019