This SUPERSIZED Tiny House Will Make You Rethink Tiny Living!

You can always tell when a space has been designed with uncompromising passion and this next beautiful country tiny home is a perfect example of just that. Hi Barbara, it's so nice to see you. Hi Bryce, it's lovely to have you. This is an exceptional tiny house that you've built here isn't it? Thank you, yeah we're really proud of it. I can see you have not done anything by halves here have you? Well all the people that have been engaged in working for it have done such a great job. We're so thrilled with it, it's just lovely and every little piece has had somebody's fingerprint on it, not mine, but it's been great. Well I'm sure there's a lot of your design and your influence in all of this anyway. Can you tell me about what it was that actually inspired you to do all of this? I spent some time, I've been over in Brisbane for the past five years and while I was over there obviously COVID hit, we had lockdown, I couldn't get back home and I really got engaged in YouTube and Living Big in a Tiny House and so I watched them and watched them and watched them and I was really envious and then suddenly I thought, hold on, actually this could work. I knew that we had the property here and it all just fell into place and so I took all of the best bits that I could and I got home and moved into thinking about go mode, let's get the tiny house and in between time my long-suffering husband persuaded him that this was a great deal, he should be buying into this with me. So we've had a bit of a journey but it's been lovely. I love it. Now you don't live in the tiny house now but this is part of your retirement plan isn't it? Yeah, so we've got a reasonably large property, so five acres here, but what we wanted was something that actually we could have on the property that when we felt like we weren't going to be able to get up onto the lawnmowers anymore and do the lawn mowing that we'd be able to pick it up and take it and maybe go and live by the sea. That's the ultimate option but actually it was all about having somewhere that we could use as a place that was a joy really. We originally thought about putting it up as a B&B but actually what happened was the interest in the tiny and then friends and family, we had some illness in family and things happened that actually we haven't needed to do that. So it's been a really interesting time. Yeah, well until you're ready to move it by the ocean somewhere, what a phenomenal place for your friends and family to enjoy. Thank you. Yeah and this is actually quite a big tiny house isn't it? What size is it? It's 11.2 meters long, three meters wide and just over four meters high I think. Wow. So it's not considered tiny in any way but actually it's just a great size, it's a perfect size and there's the two of us and two wee dogs and they all sort of make themselves at home and then we've got the grandkids coming, we've got full house so yeah it's a good size. And the thing around this design was the downstairs bedroom because it's got the two locks but we never intended to use those as bedrooms but the downstairs bedroom was a big draw for us. Yeah, I can really understand why. And then you've significantly increased your living area with this amazing outdoor space as well, this is impressive. We supersized in our world, we thought how big do we go and then we thought no, let's go the full monty, we're going to do the three meter out so we've actually doubled the size and you know we had such a great time in thinking about how it was going to look and the other thing that I found was that when we talked with people that were helping us you know to do things like Ian and Hannah helped us with doing the deck and they had such great ideas like how to put the roof on so that you know it was a going to get too much shade or too much light and how we got the guttering done, all of those things that you don't necessarily think of but are actually really important. And you've got the bath there as well, that looks so good. Yeah I know, it's the ultimate sort of cliche luxury isn't it, but I'd have to say it's a big draw card, I don't have to worry about the grandkids never wanting to come, it's like it's a bath. I'll say, and again you have just done absolutely nothing by halves here, the landscaping is exquisite. We couldn't have asked for more you know, we were really fortunate we had a glass house that we'd had from a previous place and it was getting a little bit worn and torn in its place and I'd have to say a bit neglected and it just seemed perfect and so things really came together, we were really fortunate and so really pleased with it and it's such a joy to look out on it now and it's not a great upkeep which is great. Yeah and this house is very stylish as well, you've got that beautiful slick black exterior with the pops of timber coming through. Yeah it was pretty deliberate, I mean again just absolutely exploiting the YouTube experience of the people that had already gone before in tinies and I know it's quite popular, the black and the wood and we knew that it would weather and it has a little bit at the top but this probably won't with the deck on it. No. But we're really pleased with it and it fits right into this landscape, it doesn't stand out and I guess I'm a lot like some of the other people I've seen on your episodes, I'd get tired of colour really quickly so the black was just a no-brainer for us. Yeah I think there's something about the black particularly in a natural landscape like this as well that also makes the colours around it pop so much more, like it makes the greens that much more vibrant and the red and the flowers that much more vibrant. Yeah I agree, I think it really makes it stand out but it's really nice when you stand back and you can see when the flowers are out and it really just looks like it's always been here which is lovely. Yeah and you've done such a tidy job with all of the install, the way that you've got the water tank situated, the grey water, all of that it just looks like it's meant to be here. I guess I am a little obsessive about the planning but you know that's a good thing I think about you project manage everything. Yes. So I did have all the steps done so when it came to putting it all together and clicking it together it just worked. We've got the grey water system which was really clever just a trap that they can put in and the plumbers came you know from locally we tried to do as much locally as we could so yeah we really benefited from all of that. Yeah wonderful. Well already from the outside I can see this is a very impressive tiny home and I cannot wait to see what you've done on the interior, can we have a look? Come on in Bryce. Thank you. This is absolutely stunning. What a spacious feeling home. Yeah it's really good. I think the ceiling really helps because there's nothing in between you and getting that ceiling height so you don't feel enclosed in here which is lovely it's a really nice feel. Yeah and the way that you've got the high shutters all of the glazing on the banisters and everything I think just really adds to that sensation of spaciousness. Yeah and again you know absolutely stealing from people's ideas. I think it was love them. The only worry I have is when I have my grandkids here we do have to zip lock them together so they won't open because they're a bit adventurous so it's not unusual to walk in the door and having someone yelling at you from up there going look I can jump from here which is not where we want to be so we do do that. The glazing was really interesting because there was originally banister rails and then it was a bit open but because we've got the two wee dogs and grandchildren I shouldn't put them out of priority, grandchildren first, I didn't want anybody falling through or coming through so that was a great solution and it works really well and because you can see through it the light comes through which is really nice so it keeps it really nice and light. Such a lovely position for the couch as well to just be able to sit there open up the bifolds and just take in that view. Well it was one of the little luxuries really. My daughter-in-law and I went shopping one afternoon and it's always a mistake to go shopping with no real sense of where is all this going to fit and we saw this couch and because I've got the tv up on the wall it made sense to get a reclining, well it made sense to us to get a reclining couch so we did. Well between the big television and the recliner it's like having your own cinema isn't it? Yeah it's perfect. I have no shame in saying I often have a cinema for one so more than happy there's just enough room on the couch for a glass of wine and sit and watch whatever show I want to watch on TV. I don't watch nothing and you can just open it all up and you open the doors and if you want to watch tv you can and if you don't you watch the rabbits and curse silently that the rabbits are all jumping around outside. Eating all your veggies. Yeah eating everything. And then of course for the colder days we've got the wonderful wood stove. Again another non-negotiable and I've seen a couple of versions I know a lot of people have the sparks as well but there's something about the roaring egg I just as soon as I saw it it was like I just have to have it. I've been so pleased with it it's such a great wee fire. And there's just nothing cozier than being by the fire is there? No I know it seems like a bit excessive because a lot of people when the fire went to go in you know it's like but Barb it's going to take 10 minutes and the whole house is going to be like overly heated but actually it's not. There's a fan on the ceiling and that helps move it around and then by the time the fire's on even just keeping it banked down low it's just a really nice thing and you don't always have to have the tv on so it's nice. Oh absolutely and then there's the two lofts up there as well what's happening up there? Right so the design had two lofts and obviously you could use them for bedrooms if you wanted to but we made a decision pretty early on that you know this is about us really primarily and so I wanted a space for work but I also wanted another place for reading and just having a bit of space that's not down here. It is a bit like a thoroughfare sometimes when you've got people here so it's nice to have a place where you can go and just lie and read the books and get the view from up there and get the sun and it's really good and the working space works well and yeah it just seems to be pretty seamless. I think that's some really smart design especially with having a place to separate the work because you don't want to always have to look at that there's something about like if you're looking at a desk and a bunch of work that needs to be done it makes it that much harder to relax so being able to tuck that away I think is really nice and then also just having a space where you can close yourself off retreat from the world read a good book I think that's a really great idea. Yeah and I think it's really nice to have one space where you're not connected where it's just books. And this kitchen is palatial you are not wanting for anything in this kitchen are you? No I really enjoy cooking and I really it's something that I just take a lot of pleasure from and I wanted the kitchen to be really useful and functional and it is it's a really functional kitchen it's actually got a really good space for working and it's got a nice flow from you know we've got the dishwasher the fridge the stove and it works really well and by the time you've opened up the bifolds and that's all open it's just in and out it's really easy I've been really pleased with it yeah it's really good. Beautiful styling in this kitchen as well I think you've really nailed that sort of farmhouse country aesthetic. Yeah I really wanted that white look and I think it's worked really well it's not too precious because I think that's one of the things that you know you can get a little bit over the top with it and it's not meant to be precious it's meant to be worked and lifted so. Very true kitchen needs to be usable doesn't it? Yeah. And no shortage of storage in here either? Lots of storage and really carefully thought out the cupboards go back quite a long way and you've got the swing cupboard that comes out and you can put everything there and I filled it completely it didn't take much I filled it completely and so everything that I could possibly need I have here and the view is pretty it's pretty good really yeah all the way around so really lucky. Absolutely and can we have a look at the bathroom next? Yes come and have a look. All right this is a really nice design I love the way that you've tucked the shower in there and that's a lovely vanity with a big mirror. Yeah it's one of those things isn't it you know bathrooms are always the smallest rooms in the house but they're actually really tricky to make sure you can fit everything in and so I didn't want to compromise too much on the shower because I think it's really important that you've got enough room in a shower I don't think there's anything worse than cold baths and the shower as you're trying to move around it's not grey yeah so I think that works really well and the mirror was just such a good size in terms of I bought it back I actually bought it back from Brisbane I purchased it and then just kept my fingers crossed that we're going to fit it in and I think we got it in within millimeters because it is a really big mirror but it works really well there and it does make the space seem a little bit bigger when you're inside so it's worked really well. Yeah it's nice having the back door in there as well. That was a bit of future proofing really because I needed a dog door for the boys to get out and so that worked really well but also for later we thought we might if we ever wanted to do a pod or I have a back porch and I know people talk about having two ways of exiting so it all just seemed to be a sensible thing to do so it's fine we actually haven't used it because it's a bit of a drop the dogs couldn't get up and then if they went out they'd fall a bit of a way down so that we haven't fitted it for that right now but it's ready for when we want to. Yeah and you've chosen to go with the incinerating toilet here. Yeah we did it was a bit of a no-brainer for me really I guess I had a probably a very unnecessary fear of composting toilets and what that meant and a lot of I guess accessory things that you would have to do and the incinerator toilet just seemed like a really clean tidy option that was easily installed and I don't think it causes people too much stress around it it's pretty simple rules you do have to convince people that flames will not be coming up but once people get past that I think it's been a really good option for us. Yeah nice to have a warm seat on a winter's day. I wasn't going to mention that but yes it is a bit of a novelty to have a warm toilet seat. And what do we have tucked away in here? So we've got one cupboard in there and I really wanted to have room for a washing machine I've got half linen cupboard and half washing machine and it seems to work really well in terms of that and you know there's there's us here and you just turn it on and it's fine. Yeah excellent and next up we've got your bedroom can we have a look at that? Come and have a look. I just love this design there is something about having the full ceiling height in the bedroom that just feels like such a luxury in a tiny house. Yeah it doesn't feel like you're in a house does it? No. No I feel like that too. It was such a great height and also the windows were really well placed I think. Yes. We actually took one window out because I wanted to put the artwork on the wall. Right. And so we took one window out and I don't think we lost anything. I think it's made it really good. We've got the doors and obviously you know you can open the doors right up and it is just lovely to be here and be able to be in bed and look out. It's great how you've accentuated the height using the feature light as well. Yeah it was one of those things I thought what do you put as a light coming down and it's probably not hugely practical because it doesn't shed a lot of light into the room but we've got the lights on either side of the bed so if you want to read in bed that's fine. Nice design with the bedside tables and the wardrobes as well. It's one of those things that when you see it on the paper it sort of doesn't quite make sense until you see it all in place but it has worked really well and the nice thing about the cupboards is that you can actually reach underneath through and it gives you a space that you can put things like charging for phones and things like that. I think in the early days of tiny homes one of the things that put a lot of people off of the idea of living in a tiny home was the idea of crawling into a sleeping loft at night and this is the absolute antidote to that and you're absolutely right I think I did look at that and thought there's no way you're going to get up there and then crawl in and crawl out and let alone someone with height and you certainly have got that and it is it's just a great feature and it makes a difference I think for the tiny house and I think the thing that I really like about this particular design as well is that the bedroom very much feels like a sanctuary right at the end of the home sort of like this very private corner of the home that is tucked away you've got the view out onto your private bath area and everything as well it really does have that kind of sanctuary feeling to it you're right it does feel a bit like it's a wraparound in here you can be here and be quite separate and even if the rest of the house you've got other people whatever you do feel like this is really private and it's really nice it's nice to have that feel of being able to and that was the whole purpose of the tiny was to actually have that bit of retreat I can really see how much thought and effort you have poured into the design of this home having the house all set up here now and it being sort of just a short walking distance from the main house how do you feel about the future potential transition to living in this home now after having it sort of here and being able to experience the space now the thing about it is it feels really different from being in a full-size house there's something really freeing about it yeah there's something that you walk into this house and it feels like yay I can just sit down and relax yeah what do you think the biggest challenge to downsizing will be for you my books it'll be my books I understand that that will be the I think the hardest so we'll come back in a few years and there'll just be two sleeping lofts absolutely jam-packed with books and hopefully in order and all tidily arranged so there won't be any mess but it'll be it'll be tidily arranged but no it'll be the books fair enough too I guess the tiny is just a really safe place for me to come and it's a really nice place there's a feeling about it that I like to be able to share with people so whether that's my family or friends I really I really like that ability for people to come and say oh I hope you enjoy your time here and it feels really good and I hope you feel like that you've had the space here and universally everybody that stayed has said that that it's it's been a place of just a nice place to come and spend time people have really enjoyed the space and that's entirely what it was aimed to do this is a tiny house where I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it looks like you have spared no expense can we talk about the cost that was involved in building this home my husband would totally agree with you about that look the house just as it as it stood without any of the added bits in I think there's around 250 something 259 now yeah and you know it's a lot of money would I change anything is probably more important and no I wouldn't and I completely agree with that sentiment as well I think especially in your case where you are looking at this as a future home for your retirement I think spending the money to get things so that you're absolutely happy with them is undoubtedly the right way to approach it it's so important to make sure that that smaller home is exactly to your taste and liking and I think people don't regret by quality they don't know and it is something you don't want to be looking at something and think oh if only I'd have spent another you know 10 20 30 dollars and got that in I wouldn't even think about it and I wouldn't change anything yeah and your husband PK who had to be gently encouraged into this process what are his impressions of the tiny home now he does occasionally refer to it as the she shed which is a bit challenging but I think he really enjoys it I think for the same reasons that we always intended that you know it's when you come down here and we spend way more time down here than we ever thought we would far too much time down here and you have a couple of glasses of wine and you're sitting out on the deck and it's like this is just great I think he really enjoys it his passion is the gardens so he spends a lot of time thinking about how the gardens are looking the landscaping and you know the plants and things like that so I think yeah that brings him a lot of joy yeah well I just think you have created a truly magical home here the quality of this build speaks for itself and I think whether you move into this space one day or whether it remains a very special place for friends or family regardless you have constructed a wonderful home that you can be immensely proud of thank you so much for sharing it with us my pleasure this is a luxury tiny home executed entirely without compromise I can really tell that Barbara has thought obsessively about this space and she's obviously had a fantastic time in bringing this dream and vision to life this is a home where regardless of its future use it is perfectly executed and right now I know what I'm doing tonight