She Lost Her Apartment Then Built This Stunning Tiny House For Her and Her Daughter!

The dream of living in a tiny house is often not even so much about the house itself. It's more about living an intentional life, the simplicity, moving out into a beautiful location and ultimately it comes down to living a life that is of your choosing. And this next exceptional story is a wonderful example of that. Hi Kat, how are you? I'm good, how are you? Very well thank you, it's so nice to meet you. And what a dream spot you have for your tiny home. Thank you. This is absolutely stunning here. First of all, can you just talk to me about how it was that you came to be living in a tiny house? Well, it was basically the rental market in Brisbane. So they just sold our apartment and they gave us about eight weeks to find somewhere to stay. Right. And this was the final trigger for me. I was like, right, this is the time. And yeah, just we're lucky to be able to come here, have friends who live here and they have all the property. And yeah, and they offered us this spot. Perfect. And what a great parking spot this is as well. You've just got gorgeous views, you're sort of beautifully nestled into the bush here. It's lovely. It's just so peaceful and you can hear all the animals in the morning and you see all the wildlife hopping around. It's just very peaceful and we love it. Yeah. And can you talk to me about the design of your home? Yeah, I just designed it from scratch and based on other models I had seen in the past. So for me, it was important that it blends into the environment. I wanted it to be one with nature and that's why I chose the pale eucalypt cladding. Yeah, popular option here in Australia, especially in Queensland, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. And I just think from the day we put it here, it just blended in beautifully. Yeah, it does. And then the timber feature at the front, just to break up the colour bond. So while I was designing the house, it was really important for me to have a lot of big windows facing the beautiful view. And so while I'm standing in the kitchen preparing dinner, for example, I can just look at the sunset and that was really important to me. Fair enough too. Take it all in. Yes. And I see you're collecting rainwater here as well. Yes, it was important to me. So my goal is to be fully off the grid. We are not quite there yet. We're still plugged into the main house for electricity. But yeah, collecting rainwater and yeah, just loving it. Fresh water. Beautiful. And what size is the tiny home? So it's about 8.4 long. It's two and a half wide and 4.3 high. And you live here together with your daughter, don't you? Yes. And our dog, Summer. Yeah. And it's so great that you've got such a nice section with the tiny house. Space for the dog to run around. Wonderful little playground that you've got set up there for Remy. And I love the fire pit too. Thank you, yeah. It's all fallen into place really because when we moved the tiny house in here, we had to cut down a big gum tree. So all these wood chunks are from that tree. And I thought, you know, I would really like to put them to use. So yeah, we did the fireplace and then our friend created this beautiful horse over there as well for Remy. So yeah. Brilliant. And what was it that really made you fall in love with the idea of building a tiny home? I was raised in the country and I always wanted to come back to the country. And I just love the nature around here. I love the simplicity of tiny house living and just live on the land, live in a beautiful area. And it was really satisfying to declutter my life and just get rid of anything that you don't really need because, you know, you just like collect all these things and you don't really need it. So yeah, the simplicity, the nature, owning my own house. Well, from the outside, your home is beautiful. Your parking spot is magical and I cannot wait to see inside. Can we take a look? Yeah, let's go. This is absolutely gorgeous. Immediately upon entering this home, it's just so light and spacious. Thank you. Yeah, that was important to me that we have a lot of light in here and that we can enjoy the view and yeah. And having all of this height right in the entrance way and the way that you've even put glass in the walkway really all just adds to that sense of spaciousness. Yeah, exactly. It was important to me to not feel like boxed in. So I wanted all this space and yeah, the perspex and the louvers as well so that the lofts feel open and it creates some airflow as well. Yeah, and I really can see what you mean about the way that the whole house is just oriented out onto that view. And it does just work so well, especially having this lovely breakfast bar, which just really lets you sit there and take it all in. Yeah, exactly. This is the breakfast bar, which also doubles as my workspace. So yeah, I sit here and then just look outside procrastinating. I understand. And then the couch here as well, also perfectly situated to soak in that view. Yeah, exactly. It was important to me that the couch is going to be the center because yeah, we spend a lot of time there just, you know, reading or we're watching something. We have like a projector to watch on the screen there. Yeah, perfect. I'll say. And it looks like you've got some storage in the couch as well. Yeah, exactly. So this is toy drawers, really. We store all of Remy's toys in there and we store some other linen and stuff in there. And also really cool when we have visitors, we can pull the whole thing out and it's just two single beds. Yeah, where our guests can sleep. Excellent. Nice addition. And look at the shoe storage there. I've never seen that done before. Yeah, because I've got a lot of shoes. So I was like, well, I'm going to put them. I needed them accessible. And yeah, it just turned out to be the perfect spot for it. What a great idea. And your home is just so beautifully styled as well, which, of course, makes perfect sense because you are a graphic designer by trade. So you've got that eye for design. Yeah, I don't actually know what you call this style. I just call it the home style. It's just a bit of a mix of everything, I think. Yeah, well, just little features here as well, like these really cool lampshades. And I really like your clock. That clock actually came over with me from Germany. So I've owned it for many, many years. And this was one thing I wanted in my home. It makes a beautiful feature there. And the kitchen, that is also just so nicely done. Yeah, for me, it was really important to have a full size kitchen with lots of storage. But I'm not a fan of the hanging storage. So I wanted to make sure that we can store everything in the bottom part. We still have a few gaps in the kitchen because I haven't decided whether or not I want a dishwasher yet and an oven. We use an air fryer a lot, which works perfectly. Most of the cooking I do is with the air fryer. Fair enough, too. And I think that's such a great decision as well. Keeping all of the storage low helps to make the space feel so much more spacious because the more stuff that we put up at head height, the more we enclose our spaces. Yeah, exactly. And it also helps Remy to prepare her own stuff when she wants to. She's very independent, so she loves to prepare her breakfast and she loves to help me set the table and all that kind of stuff. Yeah, it's really kid friendly for her to be able to help me, which she loves, absolutely. That's so great. It's a really nice color scheme in here as well. Beautiful green, which really also connects it to all the plants in here. Yeah, I know. So when I designed it, I was like, I really want it to blend in with everything, with the nature, with the outside and have earthy tones and just make it look homely and warm. Yeah, and you have certainly achieved that in this space. Thank you. And above us here is Remy's bedroom, is it? Yes, that's it. So when I was planning the home, I wanted her to have her own piece of heaven really and her own little nook and she absolutely loves it. So just those little steps, she walks up there and she loves to sit up there and read her books and it's perfect for her. And all her friends, when they come over, they just always want to play in her room. Kids always love sleeping lofts, don't they? Yeah, yeah, her little nook feeling, yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And it's such a nice design that you've created for the both of you as well, because it's lovely the way that you've both got your own private space, but it's also nicely connected into the same space. And you've got the louvres, which obviously really help as well to sort of add that connection when you want to open up the rooms to the home, but then also shut it for privacy when needed too. Yeah, absolutely. And that was also what was really important to me, that we can have our privacy, but we can also like see each other. So sometimes when she wakes up and I'm still in bed, she opens her little louvres and goes, Hey mum, you know, are you up yet? And yeah, it's beautiful the way that, yeah, she loves them. She likes to look down on, you know, when I'm sitting down here on the couch, you just go, Hey mum. And then she plays a little game with them. Oh, that's really cute. And she's got a lot of storage in there too. Oh yeah, absolutely. This child has so many toys and she loves them all, of course. So she didn't want to get rid of any toys. So you downsized, she didn't. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, so we just had to find a way to fit it all in. And yeah, I also added a macrame gate, which is an extra safety feature. So when Remy comes out of her room and walks across to me, I just wanted to make sure she doesn't actually accidentally stumble down the stairs. That is such a cool feature too. And I love the way that you've done that, because it's actually turned it into quite a beautiful element of the home. Normally the child gates are quite ugly, but that's such a pretty way of doing it. Yeah, exactly. I spent a few hours with my sister on the phone and she taught me how to do it. And then I was sitting there doing it, making it myself. And yeah, I think it turned out pretty good. What a good idea. And behind me is the bathroom. Can we take a look in there? Yes, absolutely. All right. Wow. Again, the bathroom in here is actually super spacious. Yeah, that was really important to me. A big bathroom to have enough room just to, you know, maneuver around each other. And yeah, have a big mirror and have space for the washing machine. That was really important to me. Open shower. I decided against glass because obviously also with a small person in the house, I don't really want all that glass around. And yeah, so we just try to keep it as open as possible. Yeah, I think keeping the shower open like this and not having glass is actually one of the things that has just made this room feel so incredibly spacious. And normally I'm not a huge fan of shower curtains, but when the shower is that large, you can really get away with it. Yeah, that's true. Neither am I. And sometimes the curtain tries to hug you. Yeah. But we found some ways to avoid that. So actually, when you turn the fan on while you're in the shower, the curtain doesn't hug you. Good hack. Yeah. My absolute favorite feature of your bathroom, though, is the guitar. Yes. So living in a tiny house, you've got to get creative where you store things. So yeah, that's where it ended up. And it's a constant reminder that I need to get back into it. Good placement as well. And you know, downtime on the loo. What better thing to do than just pick up the guitar and strum a song? Absolutely. That is probably the biggest shell I've ever seen. Yeah, it's actually a helmet shell. I picked it up in a random secondhand shop. I can't remember where, but I was like, this shell needs to come with me because it's such a lovely, cool feature. I'll say. Cool retro radio next to it, too. That came over with me from Germany as well. So it's been a companion for many, many years. Fair enough. And it's great to see the washing machine in here, too. Yes, absolutely. I love having it in here. However, sometimes when it's in full spin, it shakes the house a little bit. But it's definitely super convenient. And then, yeah, we just hang our stuff out outside and off we go. Yeah, perfect. Nice and simple. Yeah. Composting toilet here as well. Yes, it's my first experience with a composting toilet. It took some time to get used to it, but I must say I'm fine with it now. And it's nice and easy. Yeah. And upstairs is your sleeping loft. Can we have a look at that? Yeah, sure. Let's go. All righty. Oh, this is so cozy. And it's brilliant the way that you have built this walkway to be the exact perfect height for you. Yeah, it absolutely is. So I'm sorry. You had to duck down. But yeah, it's 170 high. So it fits perfectly for me. And what was really important for me in my bedroom was that I still have a lot of storage without having the clutter. Yeah. So I've got this wardrobe and then I've added this little shelf here. And what was also important is that I can have privacy when I wanted to have it. So I've got this door here that we can close as well. Very nice. Again, from up here, just beautiful views. Thank you. Yeah, I love it. So first thing in the morning, I just, you know, roll up the blinds and I just go, beautiful. And you really just have created such a cozy space for yourself up here. Yeah, we really love it. And when Remy comes over for a cuddle, we just sit here. We look outside the window. Sometimes the dog joins as well. Yeah. Beautiful. So how long have you been living in the tiny house now? We've been in here about nine months now. Great. How's it all working out for you? Absolutely loving it. It was the best move I did. And it's the best way to raise a child, I think. Because she can just be outside, running around. And the dog loves it too. So yeah, we're absolutely happy here. Yeah. I think there's something really to that as well, because there's something about tiny homes, especially with children. I know that idea is not for everybody, but it has this way of keeping you so beautifully connected. Yeah, absolutely agree. And we are such a good team. And Remy loves to help me with everything in the garden. And plays with Summer in the garden. And we started planting our own food as well. So we want to get more into being more self-sufficient. So yeah, and Remy absolutely loves that. I needed to get back into nature because I have been living in the city for about seven years prior to moving here. And it's just always so hectic. And you're just caught in this hectic, stressful life. And I just totally thought, I'm going to be a better person. I'm going to be a better parent if I come here and if we do this. And it's absolutely been that way. And I feel so much more balanced and relaxed and patient, creative, productive. I could keep going. It's just been the best move, really. And can we talk about the cost of your home? Yeah, so I think in total it was about $128,000. Now on top of that was the groundwork. So concrete slab, retainer wall that I initially paid for. And then we treated it as like a rent in advance with my landlord. Yeah, so now that is all paid off. That is such a clever way of doing it. Because of course, there is a bit of investment that goes into setting up a spot for a tiny house. And that's not something that you can take with you. And it is an investment in the land that you're on. So what a great way of doing it to just sort of consider that investment rent in advance. Yeah, that's true. And that was what my landlord said as well. Because for her property, it's now an asset. So if we ever would decide to move on, which we probably never will because we love it here. Fair enough. But it's like it's all set for any tiny house, really. Perfect. And now that you're beautifully established here, what does the future hold for you now? Well, I think our next project is going to be a deck. Nice. So this is something that we've noticed a lot with a lot of rain recently. We need more space. So this is going to be hopefully before the end of the year. We're going to add a beautiful deck around the front and a bit around the side. And then after that, it's going to be solar. Both great ideas that are going to really add to your home, I think. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, I think so, too. And I can't wait to get started. Yeah. Well, Kat, I just think you have created the most beautiful home, both for you and your daughter. Thank you so much for sharing it with me. Thanks, Bryce. My pleasure. Pleasure's all mine. This is a tiny house with a big personality. But as much as I love the home itself, what's really special here is the lifestyle that it's created for Kat and Remy. Here they get to share so many wonderful experiences together and just have the freedom to live a life that's so in alignment with their choosing. And it is such a beautiful gift that this home has given them.