Talented Maker's Plant-Filled Tiny Home ADU w/Design Studio Space

hello my name is denis byron welcome to my tiny house my little house is also my design studio where i make knitting and sewing patterns i also work with crochet and macrame we are currently in sunny oakland california my tiny house is actually an adu an additional dwelling unit behind a larger main house which for me was a draw because it provides privacy i also have a very quiet space and i don't get traffic noise street noise even though we're in the middle of a bustling city it's very peaceful back here my house is 280 square feet and it's actually on the footprint of the original garage the owner of the property is an architect and he knocked down the garage and built the little house in order to add to his rental income the reason that i feel most at home in a tiny home is because i was born and raised in new york city so living in small spaces was my normal growing up it's convenient because there's less to clean and i like keeping a clean home in terms of being a busy designer and a busy maker if i lived in a larger space that required a lot of maintenance that would be incongruent with my lifestyle also i like living tiny because it's cozy there's something really sweet about living in a space where everything is accessible and then the final leg of it i would say is budgetary it's a smart financial decision to live tiny in particular living in oakland where the price of housing is super high i'm blessed to live in a lovely neighborhood that's really safe and as a woman living alone of course i want to be in the best neighborhood that i possibly can afford and somehow magically this i manifested this house but um when i did find it i knew it was the right fit for me because it was also within my financial means and as my business grows and i'm able to afford more for the cost of living i'm still not inclined to spend my money that way because i can save more and still live a happy beautiful life in this little house welcome to my outdoor space this beautiful space was a big draw for me when i first came to see the property it initially had very few plants and one little table right here where we're standing in the middle but in my mind i could see it fully furnished and turned into an outdoor living space which now doubles my living space and it truly is an indoor outdoor living lifestyle recently i reached out to article which is a canadian furniture company modern furniture company and i told them that i was working on redoing my outdoor space and asked them if they would consider sponsoring and they did and i got the motherload of beautiful furnitures i got a sofa a lovely coffee table my lovely lounge chairs and a little stool to place your drinks on in the afternoon when i take my lunchtime break let me show you my my killer move i get to lay on the couch with my feet up in the shade and i feel like a little lady [Music] i wanted a surface where i could water my plants or repot them when they need it and my neighbor two doors down was throwing away this table uh as i was pulling up in front of his house he was rolling the table out and my light bulb turned on and i was like what is that and he said he was going to put a free sign on it but before he put the sign on it i just grabbed it and rolled it back here and now i've got a curbside find and a craigslist find put together to have a beautiful granite and cast iron potting bench and i love it i think it's really pretty it from that side it looks like a sofa table with pretty plants on top but back here it's actually a potting bench and i've got all my little tools and my watering can and it all works out and i love it [Music] you might notice that all of my plants are placed in white pots and that was an intentional choice number one they were white because i brought a few of them from my previous home and i started with white so i stuck with white but it's also a conscious choice because it allows me to move pots from inside to outside back and forth we were talking earlier about having an indoor outdoor lifestyle and so having all the inside pots match outside means that i can move them around freely with the seasons because sometimes they need to hibernate when it gets really cold [Music] well let's go inside endless amiga [Music] when we first come inside you'll see that i have divided my space into zones immediately to my left is my sleeping zone i created a little nook by using an ikea shelf on its side i think it's the kalax 4x2 and i use this multi for multiple purposes first it creates a pony wall which deters guests from sitting on my bed in every latino home you will see that the rule is no outside clothes on the bed so my friends know not to do that but it creates a physical barrier which uh kind of sends the message that's my private area but secondly it also is the home for all of my knitwear samples so these are all of the sweaters and scarves and shawls and hats and whatnot that i've designed and have made for myself but i'll show those to you a little later on top of the shelving unit i placed a lot of plants and obviously they're beautiful but it creates even further privacy in the bed area but it allows the light to go through and it's just really nice to wake up surrounded by the plants so i really enjoy that so i made sure when i moved into this house that i'd be able to separate my zones and this house allows me to have a sofa four guests to sit on and a at least a double bed uh another small space trick that i use is uh placing my hats up on the wall so it's a practical storage for my custom made hats they were all made specifically for the size of my head i have a kind of giant head and really thick hair so i had them made for me here in berkeley california but i'm only five two and when my friends come over they ask how i reach my hats as i'm going out the door and i'm gonna show you a little trick this is funny so i have my little key tray here with my sunglasses and my keys but i also keep a pencil in the tray and i use the pencil and i do a little hop and then i've got my hat and so it fits perfectly [Music] it's so goofy [Music] one tiny space trick that i used was placing this large mirror over the sofa one because it's beautiful it looks pretty in the space but it also reflects light in the space it also reflects all of the indoor plants which makes it feel more lush in here and it also reflects the light that's coming through the french doors and all of the surrounding windows including the outdoor plants so you really do get that indoor outdoor living feel probably my most favorite feature about this house when i walked in i knew this was going to be my house at least i was going to negotiate to get it was these internal windows and you'll remember that i said that this house was built by an architect he had the foresight to put in these internal windows which allow the light from the skylights to flood the bathroom which is on the other side of this wall and also the kitchen so i don't have to turn on powered lights during the day at all until about 8 pm because all of the rooms are getting natural light even though there's this wall separating the two spaces thanks to skillshare for sponsoring this video skillshare is an online learning community with thousands of inspiring classes for creative and curious people explore new skills develop existing interests and get lost in creativity i just tried the writing for self-discovery six journaling prompts for gratitude and growth by yasmin cheyenne i learned accessible day-to-day self-care techniques a simple but powerful practice of meditative journaling just 10 minutes a day leaves me feeling more grounded grateful and confident too now i'm excited to dig into art journaling classes and i'm going to do needle felting classes the first thousand people to use our link in the description below will get a free trial membership for skillshare premium that's super sweet and after that it's only around ten dollars a month i have been a maker my whole life i've dabbled in jewelry making and furniture making and painting murals and i worked in the fashion industry professionally for about 15 years i was the vice president of a fashion beauty and lifestyle pr agency so my entire career has been in making but later on in life i felt that i wanted to do fashion my way i wanted to align my love of fashion with my values those of sustainability and the fact the traditional fast fashion industry is really big on waste and turnover right where you buy something this season that's highly expensive and beautiful and maybe made in a mediocre way and then it's no longer cool the next season so now working in slow fashion where i have the benefit and the like pleasure of teaching people how to make their own clothes and how to make their own home decor now i feel like i'm in real alignment because i get to do something that i love and i get to feel good about doing it in the last several years under my own brand of viton handmade i make knitting patterns and sewing patterns and i'm currently writing a book the working title is handmade wardrobe but it will also include home decor patterns with other crafts including crochet and macrame so we've got four really cool handmade crafts to learn from and i'll be hand holding the maker through the process really helping someone recreate what i've made and do it for themselves in their home using the materials of their choice throughout the space you'll see little knitwear touches i knit the blanket that's on my bed about five years ago and it's still with me it's machine washable i just put it in the dryer and then put it at the foot of my bed and it's really cozy and warm and then i also made this pillow cover which is actually one of my pattern designs so if you really like it you can find the pattern for it on my website which is byron handmade.com and you could have this on your sofa too i'd love to show you one of my knitting patterns i called this one the everyday lined hat this one is knit also with a merino wool the yarn is by ritual dies what's special about this hat is that unlike most hat knitting patterns you start at the top and you knit down and my intention for designing it this way is to use a small pattern that teaches you all of the core skills for knitting a sweater so you start at the top as if it were the neckline and you make increases as if they were raglan increases for separating the chest from the sleeve and so that's the forest segments and then you end with ribbing the way you would at the waist of a sweater but there's something else that's special about this pattern unlike other hats is that it's both a knitting and sewing pattern and so being the everyday lined hat i put a lining on the inside of the hat and so i have video tutorials in all of my patterns but for this one specifically i teach you from beginning to end how to knit the hat if you've never sewn anything in your life on the machine i walk you through the steps of making the lining so you get three skills uh hand knitting machine sewing and also hand sewing the beauty of making a hat from the top down is that you can keep going until you reach the size of your head we talked earlier about me having a really big head so i make the size large in order to fit all of my hair but you could make this even child size by customizing it pre-measuring the recipient's head and then knitting it to their size and i show you how to do that in the pattern and then back here we have my closet and the bathroom i like you guys but i don't like you enough to show you my closet it's my only closet so while it is practical and very organized it's not beautiful i use the space as my design studio as well and that means that i have to store fabric so i'll give you a little sneak peek i have bolts of fabric oh there's a wait there's a bike helmet oh my god okay stuff's coming out now but i have another bolt of fabric back here you'll just have to take my word for it okay and then i also have a dresser in here which you don't need to see but that's where i keep all of my t-shirts and jeans folded and then this portion of the closet is hanging about 70 of my wardrobe i've made myself if we take two steps this way boom we're gonna land in the bathroom it's literally two steps away follow me even though this space is teeny tiny it really does hold everything that i need i have these built-in shelves where i have my like extra toiletries and prescription medicines in my upper basket then all of my towels extra tp and fragrances and all my little pretty things out these are my everyday reach for and grab things that i use i put up a little shelf for plants because plants make a bathroom feel good and then we talked earlier about the internal windows that allow light to uh flood the bathroom you could see that window really does make this a bright space even if the light were not on uh several people have asked me how i keep plants i have four plants in here how i keep plants in this space and what i did was i put a grow bulb in the light fixture above the sink and that supplements the natural light that is in this space when you leave the bathroom on the other side of the wall where the shelves were there's another set of shelves here in the kitchen and that makes space for all of my pantry items as well as electronics like my coffee grinder and blender and at the bottom i've got all of my dishes and essential oils and all of my groceries in canning jars now i will confess that this is my least favorite room in the house only because it's the only room that i haven't decorated yet the shelves were up when i first moved in and so i just put my stuff on the shelves i told myself that if i were still living here at the two-year mark i would renovate this kitchen and we're coming up on the two-year mark so i'm gonna have to live up to that promise i made to myself but for now it's practical it works it does the job it's really small but it has some features that i really like for example there is a gas range a two burner gas range and so i'm able to cook with real fire and not a stove top like pot warmer i wanted to separate the freezer from the fridge portion and so i've got this little whirlpool [Music] and now we've made it to the final zone in the house which is my work zone this complete area is my work zone uh you will see my desk is from west elm and as is the sofa but i didn't pay full price for either one of them because they were both craigslist finds i have an old beater honda crv that is spacious on purpose so that i can haul craigslist finds right uh then i also have a rolling desk chair which was a floor sample at cb2 also did not pay full price refused to pay full price for anything and i get this beautiful view outside my window so that i feel inspired as i'm working above my desk you will see this really expansive shelf you will remember i am a little human i am 5'2 so that means that i got up on a six-foot ladder with a shelf on my head and a drill in hand and put up these four shelves but before i could put them up i had to cut them to size with a handsaw which is a whole job and kind of funny to watch but i got it done i put up the shelf immediately when i moved in i knew that i wanted to make use of the vertical space and that i wanted to have a plant collection up there but more importantly the baskets hold my yarn stash so because this is a workspace a studio space that's where i store the bulk of my yarn i intentionally don't buy too much of it i acquire it as i'm using it being in a small house i had mentioned that it's cozy and it's sweet and there's um less to clean but when i'm in work mode and my sewing table is open or i'm winding balls of yarn all of the materials create a lot of waste and a lot of fluff and dust and so at the end of the day i've had to build in a routine where i start and end every day with cleaning my house whether or not i'm in work mode or just living mode but especially when i'm cutting fabric or ripping fabric and winding yarn it creates a hot mess especially if i'm drafting i have paper cut and spread on the table and spread on the desk and spread on the bed and the sofa and it's just spread everywhere so the challenge is that if i lived in a larger home i'd be able to close the door to my workspace and then i'd have a separation between life real life and work life and here there is no separation so i have to be mindful about creating boundaries with time like now i'm relaxing now i'm you know it's not work time uh and then i have to create boundaries with cutting off work time and cleaning up or else i'd just be living in a cluttered messy space nobody wants that i'd love to be able to afford you know price being a factor to be able to afford a separate workspace but i'm certainly grateful that even within 280 square feet i've been able to build a business i've lived in this home almost two years and my business continues to grow so it certainly hasn't been a hindrance in any way just last week i was on a film shoot where i was teaching a sewing class on skillshare and this is an outfit a skirt and a blouse that i made for myself to wear in the shoot but i also teach the skills that you need to make a basic garment [Music] one might think that fashion is superficial and that it's all about presenting an image but for me making clothing is empowering as a woman i've had the experience of trying on ready to wear clothing that doesn't fit my body and the internal message is there's something wrong with my body instead of this garment was made to fit multiple bodies for me making your own clothing so that it's custom fitted to your body is a way of building your self-confidence feeling good in your body and having control over how other people see you in the world [Music] thank you for watching our video and for stopping by tiny house expedition i'm alexis and i'm christian don't forget to like comment and subscribe and for more tiny home tours and stories click the videos below and join us on patreon for bonus content including face-to-face conversations with us we hope to see you there all right thanks guys have a good one

Channel: Tiny House Expedition

Views: 474,499

Keywords: tiny house, tiny home, adu, tiny house tour, adu tour, accessory dwelling unit california, accessory dwelling unit, tiny studio, tiny house design, tiny house on foundation, maker, designer, bayron handmade, patternmaker, tiny house plants, tiny house full of plants, minimalist, minimalist living, dwell, apartment therapy small spaces, living big in a tiny house, tiny house living, oakland tiny house, small space decorating, tiny studio design, studio apartment, knitting patterns

Id: mjCs76Lztg8

Length: 23min 50sec (1430 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 04 2021