Owners of tiny homes show small is not a compromise
LOS ANGELES: Owners of the four best tiny homes of 2022 show that small is not a compromise.
These houses stood out because they are perfectly tailored to their owners, all of who have downsized hugely, yet are loving their new lives.
First up is octogenarian Brian McNeill’s tiny home. The playwright, actor and writer swapped his 100-year-old harbourside cottage on the Otago Peninsula for a tiny house on a beautiful plot of land near a river outside Tauranga, which is owned by his brother.
McNeill said he undertook a lot of research before making the move to a tiny home: “There was much to like, and as I was now of an age where possessions meant little, and making an impression on others meant nothing at all.”
He had the house built by Build Tiny in Katikati to his requirements, which included a woodburner and a generous desk for his computer and printer. Altogether he has three rooms – a studio, a galley kitchen and a bathroom with a bath and shower combo, and there is a composting toilet. He plans to add a deck.
He said he never gets “cabin fever”, and maintenance costs are minimal. But he does pay high insurance premiums, as the house on a trailer is classed as vehicle. However, these will reduce over time with depreciation.
Two tree houses craned in place
Next up is Carolyn Ann Aish’s new tiny home in New Plymouth. Aish, a grandmother, had her tiny house craned into position at the rear of her son and daughter-in-law’s family home, along with a second tiny house to use as a guest suite.
Both houses are on poles – one is 6m above the ground: “I’m in the treetops, almost, looking out on native bush with ponga, kōwhai and rimu,” Aish said. “I like to write, and this is such a creative setting.”
The second tiny house provides an additional large living room and a guest suite. It can be used by “Oma” as she is known, and also the rest of the family.
Aish had moved from a large family home in Inglewood, where she had lived for 37 years. Her son Edward Aish said putting up a home for his mother on the back section is an echo of what happened in the previous generation: “My father did something similar for his parents – he put a little unit on the section. So I guess it’s something the family does.”
Her new home measures 3m x 10m (30m²), as does the second tiny home, and she said while she found it “traumatising” sorting out her belongings, she just loves her new home. She made special mention of the large window in the kitchen, with a large timber countertop that opens up to the deck.
The two tiny homes were built by local firm NZ Tiny Homes, which has since gone into liquidation.
Miniature super energy-efficient home
The third tiny home we are featuring is a completely off-grid tiny built by Craig Jones, who wanted the ability to move south to Dunedin with his job. He built a miniature version of his large, super energy-efficient house that he was selling in Kaiapoi, Canterbury.
Jones’ new tiny house is a mere 22m², and measures 6m by 3m. The house was built with pre-fabricated SIPs (structural insulated panels) which can be used in place of timber or steel framing. It features a 10-panel solar array, Lunos heat transfer system, heat pump water heating, composting toilet and chamber, and a fireplace, and has been designed to be totally off-grid.
He said is main driver with the new build was to achieve off-grid sustainability. “I went to (builder) Ecospace, and said, ‘I basically want what I have now, but in small form. I have so many innovations in my current home which I was able to miniaturise.”
Despite the numerous features in the house, including two 100-litre water tanks, space inside the house is not impacted.
Jones says the tiny home cost him $200,000. He estimates that, if he’d had it built it in the same form but without all the extra energy-efficient features, it would have cost $135,000.
He’s delighted with the outcome. “Everyone that walks into it goes: ‘How can this possibly have a full-size kitchen with bench, fridge and cabinetry.”
Our fourth pick is a tiny house built for Auckland mother-of-five Nicole Marsh who traded down from a much larger Dannevirke home. With her three daughters who are still at home – Quinn, 12, Bo, 14, and Lili, 16 – Marsh is now living in a 3m by 10m tiny home in rural north Auckland – on Marsh’s brother and sister-in-law’s lifestyle block.
She says marae-style sleeping “is a cultural thing”, and it’s definitely how her family lives: “We’re so close, and it doesn’t bother us that we’re always together.”
Built by The Little Big Tiny House Co, the house features one fully glazed wall, ply walls with negative black detailing.