Nature Inspired Architecture In Twin Airbnb Tiny Houses On The Beach

the wild west coast of new zealand south island is home to some of the most rugged and beautiful landscape in the country and today we're about to meet a couple who have built not just one but two tiny homes perfectly designed to take full advantage of this incredible environment and best of all they decided to become airbnb host so they can share all of this with you [Music] g'day kevin how's it going very well bryce how are you today i am excellent it's great to meet you oh same to you surprise and mate what an absolutely incredible place you've got here thank you for that we've got it all really on the west coast south island new zealand just great certainly is i mean they call this the wild west coast for a very good reason i mean it almost feels like stepping back into a prehistoric world when you come to the west coast doesn't it oh it does it's unspoiled we haven't got the population to spoil is amazing and this section that you have i mean this is just something else you're only 100 meters from the beach and it's a great surf beach you've got the seal colony right on your doorstep what an amazing location is that it is there's a few locations on the coast like that but they're getting hard to get now first of all i've got to ask how did you find this incredible section well i've waited 40 odd years to get the section at the bay and they didn't seem to come up but suddenly there was three sections come up here and three on the hill there and i just want to live my dream being an old surfy and what have you so i just wanted to be part of it being a surfer back in one of the original bulla board riders members i had a passion about living out by the ocean out here we intended building a house on it first but circumstances changed because the market was not there to sell our house but now there is a market so we we would like to build out here that's our goal i want to live my dream and that's one of the dreams is to live out here by the ocean by the environment so until that happened our best option was to build the tiny house to start off and use it we thought well we could make some money on this and it's a beautiful place beautiful view so we turned it into an airbnb and you actually grew up here you're a westport local aren't you yes i am yes most of life here always a bullet person and this really is such a magical special place and what's also really special about it is that you are now sharing this with the world as an airbnb host can you tell me a little bit about what inspired you to become an airbnb host it's kind of gaining a lot of groundswell the airbnb and this as a as a scenic spot is really unique and it's how i feel that i can share it with them to come here and enjoy the sea and stay right on the beach i think it was to just show what was out here it's just such a beautiful place and we wanted to share it with so many different people so that's what started it off also for our family as well because we could block it out if we needed to and we could bring the family out and spend the weekend we had the best of both worlds actually and in addition to the incredible location that you've provided here you've also built two really unique and very special tiny homes first of all can you tell me a little bit about what inspired you to build tiny one of the reasons is it was this ground swell starting with tiny buildings i thought that's quite unique i'll try and do something like that so i got a trailer built and it's seven by three and i built it at another house in town which is about 19 kms away towed it out here and then finished it out here it started getting a wee bit heavy by the time you put tiles and what have you in yeah and this is the end result now you actually have uh background and construction don't you uh yes when i was younger i was a builder but uh seven years and then the economy really slowed down so i worked for wholesome cement for a number of years and then they closed about four years ago so i'm kind of semi-retired and i thought well age was catching up on me and i wanted to do something so i decided at home to build a tiny house i've actually used a lot of pre-loved materials that have been used before the deck and the boards there's actually a coal box around there and that's got me gas and the water pump in it so it's all hidden away so there's a lot of things you can use secondhand materials to make it look really nice excellent well the exterior of the home looks great i am absolutely blown away by the view out here and i cannot wait to see how you've capitalized on that inside can we take a look come on in alrighty make yourself at home [Music] oh this is absolutely stunning and you can really see the way that the whole design of this tiny house is focused on really taking advantage of that stunning view and the first thing that you do when you walk in here is just focus immediately on that big picture window yes and that's the whole thing to me it's like a picture it's changing every second and that keeps you occupied what's out there and the way that you've done this is really clever as well because you've got a perfectly comfortable space to sleep but it's so nice having that big open space which has been turned into quite a luxurious looking lounge yes it is another one was not to box it off so to separate the room so that's why the wires are there for protection if you did happen to lose your balance and fall down that's protecting it but it's also made the whole ambience all airy and opened up i had to juggle the bed and the mezzanine floor and get enough headroom on both of them that was part of the design process so what the building is three metres wide by seven metres long and that little another 500 from a road legal sense makes a whole difference it makes it nice and wide instead of narrow and high and that gives you the feeling of space so with the bed you can actually sit up in bed without hitting your head and then when you've slept in it we've made the bed on little rollers and you can pull the bed out make it and push it back in what a great idea and then down here as well you've got a great size kitchen yes we've made it so that if we had permanent people here we can put a washing machine dryer in that little opening there so that's just an afterthought for later on in life someone might want to put a washing machine there and i see through the window there you've got the water tank is that collecting rainwater yes that's water off this roof is collected so uh 30 000 liter plastic tank and it's all self supplied good amount of storage in here yes there's heaps of storage in there even up above there there's heaps of room to put stuff under the stairs is the same place there's little cubby holes you can put quite a large amount of stuff in them it's quite surprising and then you've got this great looking recycled table over here this is a cool design yes that's part of a door there's a an old native timber door and it's been cut in half and half it's here and a half it's in the table outside there so it gives a bit of character to the old native timber and then what do we have behind the big orange door well in here we've got our bathroom area and we've got everything here the tiles normally are laid long ways but to give the whole building a bit of height i laid them long ways and it does it gives you that little bit of height to not make it look like the ceiling's coming down on you which is a really clever idea especially when this is sort of at the lower edge of that wedge shape it does help to give a perception of height in here it does it doesn't it's achieved it quite well i i thought it did and the whole bathroom this is very tidy i really like the way that you've blended the tiles in with all these nice modern fixtures yes it serves its purpose really well good sized shower and it's nice to see the flushing toilet there as well yes yes it's not a compost it's a flushing one definitely makes your life easier as an airbnb host doesn't it oh it does that yes it's no maintenance on it exactly very very nicely done mate you have done such an exceptional job on this tiny house i love the way that it feels really open spacious modern and then just completely capitalizes on that incredible natural vista and i am super excited to see what you've done on the second tiny house can we check it out oh certainly after you cheers again the design of this house is just really nice mirrors the other one perfectly blending into this wonderful natural landscape and again really really unique shapes in this house oh it is when i first walked on the property was the beer land i went like this to the island that's just offshore here and i've kind of replicated it over here with the sharp edges and the angle on that island so it's all work the same environment you look out there and you can look in here and see little angles that are in here and i really love that because for me the best architecture and the best house design really is when we draw that inspiration from the natural landscape yes well that's what i tried to do is go more natural and this house looks a bit bigger than the last one what size is this yeah this is just over 50 squares you've got little bits like the laundry part that adds on to it it's 4.6 wide by 9 metres long and then you've got a mezzanine floor above that if you like to have a look inside great size well yeah let's go take a look inside oh now immediately i love what you've done with this epic entrance doorway oh thank you for that they're a semi-commercial door on a good day you can open it up so it opens the whole area up and it makes the tiny place look and feel bigger i'm sure it does yes but most importantly what it does is it really connects the house and makes it feel that even though you're inside you're still really out here in this wonderful wild landscape yes that's exactly what i tried to achieve is to get the bush and the sea and you're a part of that magical great well let's take a look inside thank you oh wow again this whole home just feels really open really spacious and standing right here thanks to that huge door i really do just feel like i'm completely immersed in nature still yes that's correct yes love to see the surfboard up there as well that looks like a real classic yeah that's back in the 60s here that's a local board that washed up on the beach and a guy gave it to me and i just sanded it up so it brings back memories of the old wooden boards so that's the theme of the building is it's a batchy sea creation definitely has that surface paradise vibe there's no question about that well thank you again and with the style of this house i really like what you've done here because this really is a very open design isn't it yes very open then again there's wires up on the mezzanine floor instead of being boxed in it's all open so it makes the feeling look quite big than what it is great then over here we've got the bed and again a really nice comfortable looking space and i really like the way that you've combined it with this entertainment area yeah the entertaining cabinet is actually on wheels so it serves not only an entertaining cabinet it's a privacy thing that you can roll out in front of the bed and you've got your private bed away from your dining area what a great idea so someone can be watching tally in bed and someone can be chilling out here with a book and you've got those nice separate spaces exactly that's the idea behind it and then over here another comfortable couch and i love the way that this home is also connected with the second sort of more sheltered and private outdoor area of the other side yes that's the idea of it in the morning you could go out there and read the newspaper or whatever a book and have your breakfast out there it's really sheltered even if it's blowing a gale out on the other side it's nice and sheltered there good thinking and then over here we have the kitchen and i think it's really nice the way that you've sort of created this nice elongated kitchen design that fits snugly against the wall here yes i've tried to incorporate most things in a kitchen in this area you can be at the sink in one part you can be at the stove someone else on the other side and it's everything there in a short distance you're not actually coming back into the main building shall i say to do your cooking or servicing it's all done here and then over here we've got the bathroom very clear the way that this entranceway is done i like how this is also the access for the loft above and then you walk in here and you've got this lovely kind of almost monolithic feel with floor-to-ceiling tiles yes it's more of a natural finish tile and that's what i tried to achieve because out on the island is raw rock really because we're a rugged coast it's really raw and that's why i kept it a natural stone tile all throughout this home i can see that you've chosen color palettes and materials that really complement the landscape and that really just goes so far towards connecting the homes with this really special place yes exactly i'm not following any color patterns i'm just following what i've already got there absolutely and this was the outcome and it's a great sized bathroom as well really nice size shower i love the way that the tiles continue through and then you've got the separation with the glass door and again you've got a nice basin good sized vanity absolutely everything you need yes it serves its purpose really well so how long have you been hosting on airbnb now this year it would be three years since we started operating great and how are you finding the whole process of being an airbnb host quite rewarding especially when you meet the guests that are booked in because i can tell what's on in the baller to them and make them explore the bullet and spend money in the bullet and that's one of the reasons we like the airbnb because they can actually help the community so that's a is really good one thing about using airbnb is we can concentrate on running our side of the business and looking after the gifts and have no worries about airbnb looking after their side of the booking fees and that this is one of the beautiful places of the world and to be able to open it up to people to come and see what's in our backyard is amazing we love this place so much and we really want to share it with others and open it up to so many people and airbnb has done that for us and i really love that about what you've done here that for you this experience is really just about sharing your favorite place in the world oh definitely i like other people to share it too and know what the coast's about i want to attract people to the coast because i was born here i want to see the coast thrive and one of the ways is curate people to come here and stay longer and bring the next generation next generation after that with both of these homes you've done such a great job on the build and obviously a lot of your labor has been poured into making these a reality but can you talk to me a little bit about the cost that was involved in building the tiny house and then this home here yeah the tiny house from the trailer stage and that probably worked out about 65 000 for my part of it so a rule of a farm is you double it for labour so you're looking at say 120 130 000 and then this one here this one here is probably 150 because i had to go more amenities like the septic tank and power yeah i had a vision and this is the vision i had from the day i drew it on the scene down on the beach here and this is the end result and i tell young people to live their dream now if you have a goal you aim to you certainly can get there sometime in life he's always got an idea always shall we do this shall we do that but this is beautiful this is peaceful it's a beautiful place to come to very peaceful and you did a great job of it it's worked really well so we did a great job we did do a great job with it here kevin you can definitely see how much attention to detail you've put into both of these houses there's a lot of really great materials that you've put into it and some really innovative design thinking thank you so much for sharing both of these homes with me it's been a real pleasure thank you for that the design of both of these tiny homes is really something very unique and very special i love the way that they've really thought about how they can make the space work within this really spectacular environment both kevin and trish have such a wonderful and beautiful connection to the landscape here and i love how through airbnb they're able not only to enjoy it for themselves but also share it with the rest of the world i want to say a big thank you to airbnb for partnering with us on this story and helping to make what we do possible as you've just heard from kevin and trish there are so many wonderful benefits to becoming an airbnb host from increased financial freedom to getting to meet incredible people from all over the world and getting to share your magical place so if you're interested in sharing your little piece of paradise with the world and would like to find out more about becoming an airbnb host click the link in the description of this video

Channel: Living Big In A Tiny House

Views: 730,525

Rating: 4.9639893 out of 5

Keywords: living big in a tiny house, tiny house, tiny home, airbnb, airbnb host, tiny house bnb, tiny house accomodation, tiny house design, architecture, nature inspired architecture, home design, tiny house tour, tiny house 2020, small space design, small home tour, bryce langston, living big, alternative living, small home, small home design, natural design

Id: chbEQxE--Go

Length: 18min 22sec (1102 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 08 2021