Woman's INCREDIBLE Tiny Floating House with STUNNING Interior Design – FULL TOUR

This is the Red Float House. It was a boat shed that I purchased 15 years ago and converted it into a house. I lived in it till 2019, so quite a long time, and then now I'm here whenever I'm in the city. Most people thought I was crazy at what I was buying. It was a boat shed and what I saw when I came in was the potential to create a really beautiful home. The person that I bought it from had started that process, which was really cool because, like many folks, I hadn't really thought about float homes as an alternative. So I've lived on sailboats and I've spent a lot of time on the ocean, and so to me it was just this beautiful blend of having the amenities of a home and being on the water. And so as I, you know, spent more time and gathered more funds, I grew into building it into what it is today. I did get a mortgage for it, so that helped. It is a house that floats. So when I purchased the boat shed, it was on PVC foam floats on the outside of the footprint, and I needed to fill in the parts in the middle when the floors went in and it turned into a house. So I've added big heavy-duty PVC plastic barrels filled with air, and then the newest additions are these big barrels that have valves on them. And so what's great is you can get a diver to put more air in or take more air out and level the house, so it gives you a little bit more flexibility. The outside was tin, and I ended up residing everything in red metal instead of just the tin, so that kind of makes it unique. And when you came inside, it was quite dark, and so when I started the renovations, I really wanted to add more lightness, so that's why there's a lot of white. And then it didn't have the floors that it has now, which I put in, and then putting the bathroom and the loft, you know, those are big projects, and it's got the things that make it cozy. I love that my connections and friendships have been part of this place and was built by such an awesome contractor and friend. So when we look at the size of the house, it's about 22 by 40 feet, and the ceiling at its peak is 15 feet. As you come up to the house, you're going to see a ramp that allows you to bridge from the marina to the house itself, and a beautiful wooden door that was here when I got here, and it was one of my favourite features that I wanted to keep because it's such a unique door that was custom fit, and I just love the the look and the shape of it. The Red Float house is fairly nondescript on the outside, and when you open the door, you really step into a different world. I think the first thing that really catches most people's attention is the French doors at the end of the house, because you're able to see the ocean and this deck. It's so rare to have a deck that's like floating a couple of inches from the water. The other thing that you're going to see right away is this really tall round wall. It's one of the only dividing features of the house, and it goes from the floor all the way to the ceiling. To me, it was the look of a big tree. It's a peaked roof, so you have this really amazing aesthetic where your eye goes from the floor all the way to the ceiling. You realize you're floating when you come into the kitchen and you see the pendant lights, and they're just lightly swaying. People ask all the time, like, oh, do you ever get seasick, or is there any sort of movement? And I'd say, no, it's a really stable home, but it is still floating. It's important when you come into the house that there's a place for everything, and so, you know, you've got a place to take off your shoes, put your keys, and then just a little nook to hang your coat, and underneath it is where we have a bunch of extra wood and kindling. It's also got a really small little European-style heater, which is great, so that sort of pumps heat right into the kitchen and hallway, and then the rolling cart. It's been really handy to have to bring your stuff back and forth to the car if you've got groceries or you've got a wood load. The beautiful thing about this kitchen is that it is open concept. Having just a really simple kitchen was important to me with lots of storage. I don't like to see a lot of stuff, so the one place that made sense to have the most cabinets was in the kitchen, whether it's for pots and pans or whether it's for your food supply. So that multi-purpose aspect of the house is really important, and so the island is a big part of that because it's a gathering spot, but it's also where you do all your cooking. And then I have these covers so that the stove could be covered when it wasn't in use and kind of turned into a great place to have tapas. Behind that space you have obviously a sink and lots of storage, and it's all woodblock countertops, which is awesome because you can just sand them down and re-oil them, and it's such a beautiful look. When I was thinking about a dining room, I was looking for something where there was a live edge table, but it wasn't all live edge because I wanted it to be able to be pushed up against the wall so that it didn't take up as much space if you didn't need it to take up space. You could easily have eight people at this table, and it's really beautiful for two. One of my favorite places in the house is the bathroom, and it definitely was the last big reno that I did. So the reason I think I love it so much is because it has so many of the things I've always wanted to have in a bathroom, and so being able to have a big tub, a floating vanity, and an open concept shower is just wonderful. The tub has the feel of like a cast iron type tub, but it's actually fiberglass and it comes in two pieces, so it's actually really light. I didn't have a ton of space, but I wanted it to feel really spacious, and so by creating a shower that was open on one side and opened to the bathtub, it allows that feeling of space but at the same time function of two completely separate things. Everything is designed to be wet, so that's why I've got the stone tile floor and the wood has all been painted in the marine enamel. So it's really cool that everything in the space can be wet, and then was able to put in a window so you can open the window and get fresh air. The washer and dryer is facing into the bathroom, so it's hidden, which is really convenient. I'm connected to city water, so that makes it easy to live, right? I have water that comes in when I turn on the tap, and I have electricity that I plug in to the marina, which is great. The living room is one of my favorite places to just sit, enjoying a view facing the ocean, looking at the sunset. It's really nice. I wanted to find a way to have a really comfy space that was cozy for two people to sit and hang out by the fire. It's got a big long leather sofa and then a really simple rocking chair that's by the wood stove. The wood stove is a really important feature, I think, for living on the water because of the type of heat that you get from it. It's a dry heat, so I do have two electric baseboards, and they are predominantly what I use for heat because I have power. But when it's really, really cold, there is nothing better than the warmth from a wood stove. And then what's great behind in the living room is it just sort of looks like a door with a mirror on it, but behind that door is also the closet space. So there's the opposite side of the washer dryer, and it just has shelves and lots of storage for clothes, vacuums, any of that kind of stuff that you might want to hide and have accessible. To get to the upstairs part, this was a steep enough angle that it didn't take up a ton of room, but it wasn't so steep that it was a ladder. So this was a nice in-between that you can still get up and down pretty easily. So when you come up the stairs, you're gonna see the loft overlooking most of the float house and outside to the marina and the ocean. It has a slanted roof. It's a cozy little nook to sleep two people. It definitely is a smaller space up there, but it feels more spacious by not having any walls. And it does have a queen-size bed up there. The house has a second bedroom up there. That room actually does have a door. It's just a super little cozy nook, great reading room, great place to take a nap, and a lovely place to have someone come and stay. We got a queen-size foam and just had it cut so that it fit flush against the round wall. And then also, it's just great storage. So it's a wonderful place to be able to put a ton of stuff and nobody has to see it. People ask a lot about, you know, is it damp? Is it moldy? Does it get wet? And the combination of single-pane windows and the wood stove, the house is bone dry. It's insulated by marine insulation, which is really thin. The walls are a combination of a bunch of different woods. One of the reasons that you don't want to use drywall is that it's heavy and it absorbs water. This float home is in a city and in a marina that has made a decision to have people that want to be able to live on their float homes. Most marinas, from my experience, you're getting a contract a year at a time. So I have a yearly contract and I have for 15 years. Living on the water, it's been such a gift for these last 15 years. But I also firmly believe that change is the only constant. And I'd like to do some other things. So I'm excited to see what the next chapter of my life looks like. I think one of the cool things about putting the float house for sale is that it creates an opportunity for someone who is interested in this kind of life and I would love to hear and see what they do next. Subscribe to Exploring Alternatives and please share this video if you liked it. If you want to find out more about the Red Float House, we'll put a link in the description below. Thanks for watching!