being a solo parent is no easy task add
to that the fast rising cost of housing
and sometimes I'm sure it really can
feel a little bit too much today though
we've traveled to the Bay Area to meet
one young mother who with a lot of
ingenuity has come up with a great
solution and built a beautiful home for
her and her daughter
[Music]
- Lina hi lovely to meet you you too
what a beautiful home you've built here
thank you now you actually live here
together with your daughter don't you
yes and how old is she she's 15 15 so
what's it like living in a tiny house
with a teenage daughter
it's great we have no issues and we
really love it and how did you actually
get inspired to build a tiny house I
suppose it was a mix of things seeing it
online
and TV shows and things like that before
deciding to go tiny I actually was
living in the Bay Area with my daughter
it's a lot more expensive in the Bay
Area and the rents just kept going up
and up and I also really always had a
dream to build my own house
and so when I came across the tiny house
movement it just kind of clicked and it
made sense for me the opportunity came
up for my daughter and I actually to
move to my dad's property in Sacramento
and he's got a 1 acre property and so we
were able to actually do the build there
and that way I actually was able to use
my dad's tools he's a contractor so it
was really convenient to be able to use
some of his tools it took two years to
do the full build and by the time the
two years was up it was actually really
exciting to move in it's a lot nicer and
there's a lot more light and it's it
just feels a bit more luxurious than
what we were living in before and the
whole looks like a really great size how
big is it it is built on an 8 and a half
foot by 32 foot trailer and the square
footage is about 350 and can you talk to
me about the design of the home and some
of the materials that you've used in its
construction I mean I kept the outside
pretty basic I did want like the two
tones I used two different types of
siding I did get my siding from a
discount place where it's maybe not
perfect I did a lot of recycling
actually and discount materials on this
bill they actually kept the cost down a
lot the windows and everything were all
things that I found that restore and so
I saved
there too and can you talk to me about
this parking spot that you found for the
home we were looking for a nice town
near where we were already living that
has a really good high school actually
some friends of ours live in this park
and they had said really good things
about it and this spot here specifically
became available and it was actually the
perfect spot a lot of the other ones
would be hard to pull into so yeah we
were able to park here and we've added
the fence and the deck since we've been
here and a shed actually out back as
well well the home is beautiful from the
exterior thank you and I would love to
see what you've done on the inside can
we check it out yeah come on all right
this is absolutely lovely I really like
how in this design you're actually
walking immediately into your kitchen
space I chose this layout because I
wanted to actually have more space in
the living room a lot of people will put
their door on the side of their house or
something like that and so I figured
this is kind of a perfect spot for a
door also I do have a back door as well
it creates actually a really nice flow
through the house just to have this door
open in that door open you can walk
right through and the design of this
kitchen is really lovely as well can you
talk to me about how you've laid
everything out in here sure I wanted to
have basically everything that would be
in a normal kitchen so I've got a 20
inch stove and oven here and then I've
also got an 18 inch dishwasher which is
actually a perfect size for my daughter
and I I do have a almost full size
refrigerator over here as well it's just
a little shorter than an average
frigerator but it's pretty big and then
I've built a lot of storage space into
this kitchen I've got these drop-down
cabinets up here and also I have some
roll out storage here which I can show
you oh wow that is a lot of storage yeah
so this time and then I also have
storage here for things like TV trays
and things like that so that is super
impressive because you really can never
have too much storage in a tiny house
Carrie and I
how you've used all of these cavities
because normally the space under the
loft is just completely wasted but
you've really used every little engineer
haven't you yes as much as possible now
I love how many really beautiful little
decorative elements that you have built
into this home as well like what you've
done here with the feature window and
even things like this little insane over
here
yeah the octagon window was another one
of those finds it's like when you find
things it kind of helps you make the
design I wanted something big and maybe
circular here anyways and so that's how
this happened and then the porthole
window was actually find at a garage
sale and it was in very bad shape I
redid the wood and also buffed out all
the metal and it really turned out nice
absolutely little touches like that can
make all the difference yeah sure well
can I check out the living space and see
what you've done there yeah of course
I love how coming into this living space
it's just immediately opened up the
whole home isn't it yeah it feels really
big in here with the high ceilings
definitely does and again storage
everywhere yeah I actually have storage
built into under the couches you can
lift each seat up and there's a bunch of
storage under there and then over here I
have the storage built in along the
floor and that was actually a way for me
to camouflage the wheel well a lot of
times that's an issue in building a tiny
house is like what do you do where
there's the wheel well because it takes
up space one of my wheel wells is
actually under the couch and then the
other one is built in to these storage
spaces down here it just kind of looks
like one big long step and it actually
leads into the bedrooms as well very
clever design I love how you've kind of
the office into the corner there as well
yeah I actually work from home four days
a week and so it helps to have somewhere
where I can set up and work from it's
quite nice as well how you've built it
in with sort of multi functionality in
this office space as well because it's
quite important to have that ability to
both sit and stand on the desk isn't it
it is that's something that I really
wanted I've had standing desks before at
my jobs and I really really enjoyed the
options
be able to either sit or stand yeah very
nice you can just see how much love has
gone into all of the design in here yeah
I'm actually a collector I really like
to go out to thrift stores and estate
sales and flea markets and things like
that and look for unique items and one
of the things that my daughter and I
collect is it's called curiosities and
we've got our cabinet of curiosities in
here as well there's one thing I didn't
want to leave out I also have my rock
collection built in as well it's here I
really wanted to keep my rock collection
but I of course didn't want to have it
out somewhere so I made sure it was
something that could be pushed away and
put back it's such an unusual hobby for
a tiny house person to be a collector
yeah and it actually really enhances the
space doesn't it for me actually it
makes it feel like home as much as I
have learned about downsizing and
minimalism I've also found that finding
the things that you really really love
and surrounding yourself with it
can really make a space feel like your
home I could not agree more and is that
your bathroom through there yes it is
can we check that one out sure like all
of the other areas of this house it's
quite strange because the home really
doesn't look that big from the exterior
but all of the rooms in here seem to be
a really good size and the bathroom is
no exception
yeah actually I was able to fit a lot
into this bathroom I've got a full-size
tub it's actually bigger than a
full-size tub it's a soaking tub also
the laundry room as well so that's which
is behind the door right so you've got a
full washer dryer there I do it's a
little bit smaller than a full they're
actually apartment size washer/dryer we
don't really need a full size dryer
because we tend to hang dry our clothes
outside flushing toilet that's another
tiny house luxury right there it is very
much a luxury and again it looks like
you've got a lot of storage in this room
yes actually a lot of the storage here
that's in this bathroom is built into
the staircase it's actually next door
and leads up to my bedroom which is
actually above the bathroom right can we
check that out sure and the design of
this is just really unique and it works
so well I love how the stairs are just
packed full of storage and then it
transitions into your wardrobe here in
the corner yeah I wanted to have my
closet in a space where I could stand to
get into it I actually built the drawers
into the stairs that help get you up
into the bed that way it was like double
tasking and then I also always for some
reason wanted a glass door on my my
closet so I added this in as well it
does give you that extra bit of
motivation to keep it tidy yes it does
actually and then I really like the way
that you've set up the bed up here so I
think having the standing space next to
it it sort of eliminates the problem of
not having enough head height in a
sleeping area in a tiny house doesn't it
yes it does and also it's nice to have
this area for like getting dressed and I
can close my door and it feels like a
private bedroom and really it's just
kind of like standing next to your bed
and should we see what's happening over
the other side in your daughter's room
sure okay one of the things that is just
so clever about how you've done this
design as well is that both of the
bedrooms actually have closing doors so
you really can both have your private
space in this home can't you yeah it was
kind of one of those deal-breakers for
me I really wanted to make sure we had
our private spaces I really like to be
able to you know have my own time and my
daughter is a teenager and so it
actually works perfectly for her to be
able to have her own space to go and
escape and listen to her music and
things like that a lot of people think
that living in a tiny house with a
teenager might be a little difficult but
actually we find the space to be really
comfortable being in close quarters is
actually kind of nice because we you
know we interact a lot more so actually
living in the tiny house has been really
good for our relationship and this is
Katie's room I actually built this room
a lot bigger just because she is a
teenager and she's gonna spend a lot
more time in her bed
so yeah her when her friends come over
and things she can come up here and
close the door and hang out and talk and
things and not feel like I'm in the same
room with them
my friends are obsessed with my house my
best friend when she first found out
that I lived in a tiny house
she literally flipped out like she was
like I need to immediately come to your
house and see it and she like looked at
all these pictures and I actually have a
few friends that are coming over in like
two days
coming over to hang out because they
like freaked out also that I lived in a
tiny house and they were like that's so
cool it's so nice so my friends loved it
she's decorated her room beautifully as
well you can see a lot of her
personality shining through in here I
actually really loved that about this
room is that I feel like it's very
unique and she's got actually her own
rock collection over here as well she's
been collecting since she was little and
she's got her pictures up of her friends
and a lot of activities that we've done
she really likes certain TV shows and
has gotten autographs and things like
that so she has that up and then of
course the pop tells she loves us did
she actually have a hand in designing us
home together with you she did try to
help I asked her a lot of questions
about what she wanted for her bedroom
she specifically asked for a vanity area
and I actually built that in behind her
closet over here which she can sit
cross-legged and she's got a mirror and
everything to do her makeup in her hair
and things like that my vanity it's so
nice like I've always wanted that for a
vanity to have like a really nice place
to put all my makeup and then have
cubbies and stuff and then the lights
above like a makeup set for like in the
movies and stuff and I just love doing
their makeup up there it's really fun
and so how long have you both actually
been living in the hood now we've been
living here about a year and a half and
how are you finding tiny house living oh
we love it it's actually a really
comfortable amount of space for the two
of us and what about rent to be here
how's that it's actually really
affordable for the area we came from the
Bay Area and so we were paying a really
high amount for rent that was part of
one of my reasons for doing this and
also moving to this area's a little
cheaper but not that much so it comes
out to about 650 per month for my last
base what did this one actually cost you
to build so total I spent about 35,000
Wow and actually that's partially
because of reused materials a lot of
using maybe discounting materials that
aren't as nice just so I could save
money and then also I did the labor
myself so that cuts out a huge amount of
the cost for $35,000 this is an
incredible result thank you
so waking up in this home which you've
built with your own hands must just be
such a special feeling it is it is a
great feeling actually it's a huge
accomplishment really and that feels
really good over the two years of the
build I actually feel like I've grown a
lot as a person I challenged myself a
lot a lot of things that I maybe would
have been really particular about I was
able to let go by the end of the build
and realize what really matters what
really doesn't I got over a lot of fears
throughout the process I mean even down
to my fear of spiders there was a lot of
spiders on this build now that the
project is done I actually feel really
accomplished I feel like it was a
project that I completed all the way to
the end I'm really proud of the space
and I really enjoy waking up here every
day for me living in a tiny house has
been like really a really cool
experience because it's just so much
different than any place that I've ever
lived before it's like so comfortable
and I just love going to bed at night
and it's just so so nice and just feels
so much like home like even more than
all the other places that would one of
the things that I really have to
congratulate you on is just the design
in this home there are so many original
features you can walk into so many tiny
houses and see where those ideas have
been borrowed from but there are so many
features that are in this tiny house
that I've just never seen anywhere else
you've done such a good job with it
thank you so much for sharing it with me
yeah I really am just so taken with this
home
selena has tackled a truly monumental
build project and done it with such
style Flair originality and ingenuity
this really is a house that both her and
her daughter can be very proud of
[Music]
you