An Extraordinary Tiny Home & Enchanting Gardens

People's creativity never ceases to amaze me and here in Tasmania we're visiting a tiny house and garden that has left my jaw on the floor. Hey Rosie, it's so great to meet you. So nice to meet you, Bryce. G'day, Caleb. Great to meet you, mate. Nice to meet you, Bryce. This is such a cool place that you have here. Obviously, there is so much to talk about with the tiny house, but first, this property is absolutely ridiculous. You've got the cafe, the wellness centre, you're right by the river, you've got the animals, the gardens. I think I even spied a treehouse by the river. This place is absolutely amazing. Yeah, it's beautiful. It's like our little patch of paradise. Got it all going on here on nine acres that goes to the river. And yeah, like you said, just looking out over forest, it's beautiful. Yeah, we're pretty lucky. Yeah, I can't believe it. You've even got mazes and labyrinths here. This is ridiculous! Yeah, we're so lucky. This is Caleb's family's property, and yeah, they've been here for 20 years. Yeah, 20 years. It basically looks like the property next door, bare paddocks, and they've planted a thousand trees, and it's just so beautiful. And how did all of this come about? We moved here in 2000 as a family. My mum's from Holland. She missed, you know, European forests, and we've always had big gardens, so. My dad decided to plant her a European forest here, we all pitched in as kids. I kind of enjoyed it, but I'd rather be hanging out with my friends when I was younger, but now the payoff is like beautiful, so yeah. Yeah, I think the only time that I've ever seen a garden even comparable to like what you have here is probably when I was visiting castles in Europe or something, it's amazing. Yeah it is, it really is, we feel blessed, we feel lucky and it's credit to my mum and dad too. Yeah, a lot of hard work. A lot of hard work. They've had the vision and now we can kind of share in it and enjoy it too, so. Yeah. Nature brings in so much wildlife. We're always just looking out here and looking at the ducks and, yeah, we call it duck politics and we just laugh at it every day and, yeah, we've got Cedric the donkey and... Clover the cow and yeah it's just so nice to have all the animals close by and yeah so relaxing. Absolutely. I am absolutely fascinated especially by the maze. What was it like growing that thing? How did that even happen? I think you know it was one of dad's crazy ideas and yeah they got a whole heap of cuttings from somewhere and we planted them all out. He came up with the designs himself and we helped plant them all out. Yeah. I think what really fascinates me about it as well is obviously now it makes a lot of sense because you also have the cafe and the wellness center and the B&Bs and everything here. So this is something that a lot of people get to enjoy. And it is a very sort of exuberant park-like property. But originally, this was done just for your family as a private space. That amazes me. You know, it was just mum and dad's kind of ideas that just happened organically and kept expanding. That is so inspiring and walking around here as well I just see so many really cool little structures like you've got something else hidden in the forest right by the river don't you? Yeah we do. We've got a wood-fired sauna on a trailer as well. Oh perfect. It's just like a big playground really. Yeah and you've got the cafe and wellness clinic here as well and you actually work in the wellness clinic don't you? Rosie works in the cafe. I work in the health I work in a health clinic, so I do a Mix of natural therapies, massage and functional health testing and so it's perfect. It's, you know, a bit of a long commute up the hill, 50 metres, but yeah. Yeah, we don't leave much. Why would you? I heard you. Yeah, no, it's so beautiful. Yeah, and you've got your own veggie gardens down the hill as well? Yeah, yeah, I worked on an organic veggie farm in Canada for three summers, so I really wanted to get that veggie patch cranking when we got home. We're a bit late to start the season, but yeah, it's definitely very wild down there. But yeah, we absolutely love it. And now tell me about your journey into the tiny home. We've always lived in share houses, our whole relationship. And at the start of our relationship, it was the pandemic was happening. We were living in the share house and we're kind of just talking about having our own space. on this property somewhere and then we came across the idea of Tiny Houses and we started watching your channel actually. Oh cool. Got super inspired and... Yeah, one night I think we were just binge watching your channel and then the next day I saw this trailer pop up on Facebook and just made an impulse buy. Meant to be. Bought it and it was super cheap. Yeah, it was literally a few days after just absolutely binge watching your YouTube show. Yeah, thanks for the invite. Yeah, totally. You inspire so many of us. Oh, that's just so amazing. And what you've built here is just so beautiful. And you did all of this yourselves, didn't you? Yeah, we did. I've done a lot of building in my life. I've renovated houses and mum and dad have always renovated, so I've helped them. So we had a tight budget, so I wanted to do it all to keep the costs low. Even the wiring and the plumbing I did myself. Oh, wow. Had a mate come along and tick it off at the end, so yeah make sure it was all good. Good? Yeah. Windows were given to us by Caleb's dad. He's collected them over the years. Most of them are cedar windows. Gorgeous. It was a lot of work restoring them all, sanding them back and yeah we had also another window in the bathroom that was given to us like a hundred year old window from the Leith Inn, so yeah that was a lot of fun. Spent a lot of nights sanding windows. Yeah a lot of work but it's so worth it because you cannot beat beautiful reclaimed timber windows can you? Totally. We originally wanted to do The exterior, like the shou sugi ban, I don't know how to pronounce that, but yeah, the burnt wood, but we sort of felt like we were going to run out of time, so we ended up painting the exterior. Yeah, we went for like a board and batten kind of look, inspired largely by like the shacks in Tasmania, there's a big shack culture here. So that was the inspiration behind the black cladding. Yeah, the black cladding looks really good. And it really makes the windows pop as well and sort of accentuates those timber features of the home. Yeah. And this outdoor space that you've created is brilliant, too. I mean, what a view to soak in from your deck. Yeah, it's really lovely. We get the morning sun in the east. It comes up. So we sit out here and have our coffee or tea in the morning. Like, awesome way to wake up and, yeah, just watch the ducks go about their business and the nature. It's just great. Yeah, I bet. And an amazing spot for the bath too. Yeah, that was definitely a non-negotiable. We love, yeah, outdoor baths and, yeah, just taking in the view and another marketplace find, I think it was. Tried to pick everything up secondhand where we could. Yeah, we spent a lot of time in it. I love soaking in it. At night looking at the stars and bringing up new ideas. It is. Well, I am just absolutely blown away with everything that you've created here. This house just so perfectly fits into this beautiful property and I am so excited to see what you've done inside. Can we check it out? Yeah, let's go. All right, this is absolutely gorgeous. The moment that you step inside this home, that plant feature just hits you. Yeah it does it's like our nature telly but yeah we always love sitting on the couch and looking up at it and yeah. Yeah I think it was one of the first things we kind of decided on what we really wanted in the house was like yeah we want to play it well. Yeah yeah and I just love the vibe that you've created in here too this is such a cozy and welcoming home. Yeah, we really wanted, we went more for a feeling. I think our design direction was focused more on beauty than functionality. We just went with the one loft so we could have this kind of big open cathedral-like feeling when you walk in. Focus on the beautiful leadlight window there. But for more of a feeling, I think, and that's kind of why we call it Fika as well, because it's kind of that Swedish term of just having a warm, cosy coffee or having a break. That's what we're all about. That's the life, eh? Yeah, the simple life. Yeah. And one of the things that I really love about this home as well is the very natural aesthetic that you've created. Obviously with all the gorgeous timber, the plants, the natural fabrics in here, it all just comes together to just feel so harmonious. Yeah it all just evolved as we went I think. Like we really wanted the window to be the focal point and then everything just tie in with that and keep it really natural. green and lots of light yeah lots of light, natural light, yeah, one of the things that I especially love about lead light windows like this is just the way that they flood the home with this beautiful color too, yeah, beautiful best friend made that for us, so yeah, she was very patient with trying to figure out the color scheme but yeah, like she said, just tying everything into nature and green was just an easy choice, it was a very last minute choice, she was In the glass shop picking out glass and I called her and I'm like, actually just do it all green but we love it so much. This looks like a couch you could get lost in. Yeah, for sure, that was another big learning curve. We built that couch, we actually built it and really it was a first for me. We built the frame and got it upholstered and we made it to kind of fit perfectly and be really You know, it's our main seat, so we want it to be super comfortable and we can just relax on there and look out the window, enjoy the view. I actually built it to have storage underneath. I didn't get around to building a drawer. Um, that's on the gonna do list too. Yeah. Nice. And a perfect spot to enjoy your cozy fire here too. Yeah, I think it's perfect for this space and it's really nice to actually see your fire through the glass and yeah, that is another non-negotiable. I think for our Tassie climate, you do need good heating. Absolutely. Yeah. It gets pretty, pretty chilly here. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. And a great little book collection you've got there too. I really like some of those titles. Let's get to the battles. . Yeah, it's hard. We have a lot of books. . . We obviously can't fit them all in the house. . . . We've got a few in storage. . So we kind of just rotate them a little bit. But yes, we love reading. . And I absolutely love the design of this kitchen. That benchtop completely steals the show. Those metal slabs were gifted to me from my dad and kind of like the perfect size for this space. And I wanted to leave a bit of a light edge as a bit of a feature. And we just love the colour, the deep red colour of the myrtle timber. It's a bit of a theme throughout the house. The offcuts are made into steps, go upstairs. And we wanted a big kitchen. We both love cooking. So we want to... A big full-size kitchen with all the features, that was really important. Most things in our house are hand-built and unique or second-hand. We didn't really want to buy off-the-shelf things, but the kitchen shell is actually from Bunnings. And then the fronts I made myself and we routed the lines on them so it's a little bit different and got our point of difference that way a little bit. Yeah, you've done a great job of hiding that because I never thought that would have been a Bunnings kitchen. Yeah, the dimensions just worked. The cabinets they had, they kind of fit in that space. Obviously, the cabinets over the stairs are... Different, I made all those myself, but, yeah, it worked out well. Yeah. And the pull-out pantry too, that was another non-negotiable. It was one of the things we really wanted in the house. Yeah. Yeah, we priced up, you know, getting a kitchen made and... Especially this design it's like a British design I guess and yeah it was just so expensive and let's just try and replicate it and make it ourselves and yeah we're really happy with it. Mm-hmm. Stunning tapware and light fittings in the kitchen too. Yeah again it's like we tried to get kind of unique hardware and pieces we didn't want off the shelf things so yeah we love the brass and we Stripped the lacquer off a lot of the brass so it would tarnish naturally. We love that patina. Yes, look Yeah Those light fittings are so cool. Yeah, I discovered those on Pinterest one night Just scrolling Pinterest and really like the look of them I ended up finding the guy who made them, a Japanese woodworker and messaged him emailed him and he said yeah I can make you some so yeah, he wood carved those and sent them over. Gorgeous Beautiful window above the bench there too Yeah, that's actually a secondhand door which we renovated and turned on its side and it works really well with the breakfast bar. We open it up in the morning and it's beautiful. Yeah, great feature. And how cool is that retro fridge? Yeah, we love the fridge. That was another lucky marketplace find actually. Got it off an old guy in a town near us and he was restoring fridges and we love it and it's actually really efficient too. Yeah. Do you have any idea what year it is? I think it's from the 50s, but I'm not exactly sure what year. Yeah. And a great little nook that you've created under the loft there for the oven as well. Yeah, yeah. We just ordered the oven and just aligned the cupboards next to it. And, yeah, nice. We've got a lot of storage in the kitchen. Yeah, I can see that. Lots of storage in there. We're still running out. We try to make a lot of preserves and ferments. It's kind of hard to squeeze them in the cupboards everywhere, but an extra meter for a big pantry would be nice. Yeah, yeah. And you kind of brushed over that there, Caleb, but you're actually a bit of a fermentation master, aren't you? Yeah, I got into fermenting about 10 years ago and kind of ties into what I do for work with gut health and ended up turning it into a business, took over my life and ended up making a company called Love Your Guts. The same time as building this house. It was a very hectic, chaotic time. Rosie was helping me out at that stage. Some free labour. Maybe. That's so exciting to me that that's actually your company though because Love Your Guts, kimchi and the sauerkraut, that's actually one of our staples when we're travelling in Australia. So congratulations on a really cool product. Thank you, yeah, and thanks for supporting us, that's so great, it's great to find out that you've been purchasing that on the road. Yeah, yeah, thank you, I'm glad it's making your guts happy. Absolutely, absolutely, and next up we've got your bathroom, can we have a look in there? Yeah, definitely. Alrighty. Oh this is so nice. I love that basin and vanity. Thank you. The vanity is actually some leftover myrtle from the benchtops. And yeah Rosie actually made this. Talk about that a little bit. Yeah I was just doing some pottery with a lady in Tassie and I sort of hand built it and then she helped me bring up the walls of it and it was a bit tricky figuring out the plug and yeah. It's a challenging piece but I love it. Yeah looks fantastic and great tile work in here too. These are actually handmade Moroccan tiles that we ordered from a company in Australia but yeah they shipped them over from Morocco and we just love the colour differences in it's just such a nice organic look. We didn't factor in the weight of the thick tiles but that's all right we just love the look of it. I love the size of our shower too. It can, yeah, groove to some beats in there. Yeah, I do that every morning. I love it. Nice, nice. Yeah. Again, the brass tapware in here is so charming. Thank you. Yeah, again, that's, yeah, all, yeah, from Morocco, the tapware. And then I think we had a local guy in Tassie make the copper shower head for us. And composting toilet here? Yes, yeah, we love this composting toilet. We wouldn't go back to a regular toilet. It's just, yeah, smell free and... Yeah, it works really well in a tiny house. Yeah. Perfect. And such a cute window behind you as well. Thank you. Yeah, this is, I think, over 100 years old and took us weeks and weeks to restore that. Definitely a labour of love. It's actually from an old inn at Leith, which is a village down the road. One of our favourite swimming spots, so it kind of has a bit of meaning for us. Yeah, beautiful feature. And then your sleeping loft is upstairs. Can we check that out? Yeah, sure, let's go. Okay. I love that you've called this the Spoon Den. That is the best name for a sleeping loft ever. Thank you, yeah. It's our nightly ritual, spooning, so we thought, I don't know. But this is just such a cozy space that you've created up here. Thank you. Yeah, we just wanted it to be really soft and simple and just really cozy so we can nest. And yeah, we try and come up here of an evening when it's getting dark and we turn off all the lights and we have some blue light blocking light. So we just try and... Sleep with our circadian rhythm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's just really nice. In the morning, the sun kind of streams in here and wakes us up and we've got a view of the treetops. Yeah. It's beautiful. Yeah, it really is. Gorgeous curtains up here too. Thank you. Yeah, my mum and dad both made those together and the ones down in the living room too, which is super lovely. Just the generosity in the community that comes into building a space. It's so beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. The floating shelves are, again, little offcuts from the Myrtle. I guess Rosie's behind a lot of these little design features. She's got a good eye, so yeah. Yeah. That Myrtle timber has done a lot of work in this house, hasn't it? Yeah. We even built the top of the dresser as Myrtle as well. We just glued them all together and... And the cupboard, there's actually a vintage filing cabinet which I chopped down to size and fits really well there. Yeah, lovely. Really nice addition to the loft, this. And some of those plants peeking through again as well. Yeah, I just wanted to keep it nice and simple, but yet so nice having that greenery up here as well. Yeah, absolutely. So you built this tiny house, but then it was actually quite a while before you lived in it, wasn't it? Yeah that's right. I think our original time was six months to build this house which was very optimistic. Very optimistic. The whole thing was just way too optimistic. Yeah we had a deadline because we were leaving the country to go to Canada, live in Canada. To fulfil Rosie's residency kind of status. But, yeah, it was right down to the line on the last day. I was actually flying out. I was still grouting tiles. In the end, we just had to call it and drop tools and run. We literally packed for Canada in, like, an hour. And, yeah, it was really crazy. And Dad just kept making jokes about having... Taking off the toolkit before we go through airport security. There it is. Yeah, it was a hectic time. But we got there in the end and it's just so nice to come back now and actually enjoy the space, everything we've poured into it and really enjoy it now. So you were over in Canada for three years and then how long have you been back living in the tiny house now? So we've been back four months, so not long. Along with Steve O'Connor. adjusting a little bit figuring out the downsizing and getting ready to start but yeah really enjoying the space. Having poured so much of yourselves into this tiny house it must have been a small torture not getting to live in it before you left. Yeah absolutely it was hard we Airbnb'd it whilst we were away which was great and helped cover some of the costs and so many beautiful notes left in our guest book and really inspired lots of people who were Yeah, on their venture to build their tiny houses. So, yeah, we felt happy that we're inspiring others and, yeah, just offering this beautiful, you know, garden and just a space for people to relax. So, yeah. Yeah, this place just means so much to us, just being able to live a life Aligned with nature and getting to live in our own. Space that we've created, yeah, and like added so many elements of beauty. Things that are inspiring to us and it really just adds so much value. We do feel blessed and very lucky too to have this kind of property to park it on as well so very grateful yeah. And obviously this is a space that you built yourself, you were very thrifty with a lot of the materials. What was the final cost of building this house? Yeah again a bit ambitious with our budget. Originally I said I think I could do it for like twenty or thirty 30,000 dollars. It ended up costing around 65. I think that's all up with, yeah, everything. Wow. Yeah. Hey, that's still a great result. Yeah, I think so, yeah. Yeah, that's including, like, the couch, the furnishing, the oven. Wow. Yeah, that is very well done. Yeah. And so now you're getting more settled into your tiny house. What's next for you both? I'm always thinking of new designs and tiny house builds in my head. I'd love to build another one but also yeah I'd love to maybe get into more like natural buildings with natural materials like rammed earth. Lime plaster and that sort of thing. Cool. Yeah and then definitely wanting to make this one off-grid that was sort of the goal at the start and yeah we just ran out of time so put that on the to-do list. Yeah yeah I think you just enjoy the space for a fair while longer. Yep yeah it is hard though hey once you've been bit by the building bug. Yeah exactly yeah always just scheming up new ideas. Yep yeah I feel like I need that creative kind of outlet. Yeah. Using my hands and yeah. Yeah. Well this really is just such a brilliant house that you've created for yourself. I absolutely love not only the home but the whole environment that you and your family have crafted. This really is just such a special place. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful home with me. Thanks so much. Thanks for coming. Thanks for all your info. Thanks, though. You're very welcome. This house is amazing. Rosie and Caleb have built a tiny house that absolutely charms your socks off. Everywhere I look in this house, I find something new to fall in love with. And here, set amongst the most beautiful picturesque gardens, they really have crafted themselves a little bit of paradise.