We’ve been busy adjusting to tiny home life in a tiny home community in a town that we previously had only briefly visited. It’s a good thing I always quickly forget how much energy, flexibility, and fortitude it takes to make radical life changes.
Moving Into A Tiny House Rental
On May 8th, we moved into a tiny home in the community where we’re building our home. It’s cute and clean. And it feels really small. Uh-oh.
Living in this house is giving us some good ideas about what we do and don’t want. We are not going to have a loft, which will make our living area feel more spacious. Some people love having a loft, but we decided we prefer having high ceilings. We’ve chosen light interior finishes, which we think will also add to the feeling of spaciousness. (Who are we kidding? This is a tiny house!)
Mostly, this tiny house is a fine rental. But after four months of Airbnbs, I’m growing weary. As with any rental, there are some slightly annoying things about this tiny house, including poor lighting in the kitchen. Most egregious is the refrigerator that makes a constant loud ticking noise.
When I told the owners about it, their response was, “Oh, the last two long-term renters complained about that. The sound is coming from the defunct ice maker, and we aren’t going to have it fixed. We’re going to wait until the refrigerator dies.”
The screened porch overlooking the pond is absolutely delightful, though. Magnolia is thrilled to have a porch again, as you can imagine.
I spent some time plotting the refrigerator’s demise, but haven’t figured out a way where I wouldn’t be the prime suspect. Instead of engaging in criminal behavior, I spend a lot of time on the porch.
A Rocky Beginning
We were originally told that our house would close on June 15th. One week after we arrived in Flat Rock, we were informed that we wouldn’t be closing until the end of July, at earliest. We spent several anxious days wondering where we were going to live for the month of July. Believe me, it is not easy to find a rental in North Carolina in the summer. Fortunately, the owners of our current rental kindly extended our lease to the middle of August. I need to make peace with the stupid refrigerator.
As far as our build, the main portion of our home was constructed in Alabama and trucked here. (The opening photo is of our home arriving in Flat Rock at the end of April.)
That big wide-ass load traveled unscathed for hundreds of miles, including along twisty mountain roads. Upon arrival, just one-quarter mile from our homesite, the trucker cut the corner short and ripped off the back corner of our house on a stone entry column.
Oops
We were assured the damage was merely cosmetic and easily fixed. And we were promised that they weren’t just going to slap on a big duct tape bandaid (I asked).
Construction Begins
Despite the fact that the major part of our house was built off-site, there’s still a lot of construction that will be done on-site.
Our tiny house on-site
We’re having a second bedroom (which we will use as an office/library/art room) and a covered, screened deck added. That extra space will add enormously to our enjoyment of tiny house living. We’re also screening the front porch. In total, we will have 500 square feet of living space, plus the two screened porches. We should be fine with that, right? After all, we co-existed happily for seven-and-a-half years in just over 200 square feet in our RV.
As of last week, a crew started work on the construction.
Construction begins
Starting on the second bedroom
Suddenly, two walls are up!
Our Outside Space
We are closer to our neighbors on one side than we would prefer. I remind myself that this is a tiny home community, and that many large homes are built closer together than our tiny houses.
Fortunately, that’s the side of the house that only has the kitchen window and a privacy bath window, plus several high transom windows that look out at the sky. On the front screened porch, we’re adding decorative privacy panels on one side and will be landscaping with privacy in mind.
The non-private side of the house
Nonetheless, this is going to be an adjustment. After all, we’re coming from two acres on the bay with no neighbors in sight.
We are very lucky that on the opposite side, where we have large banks of windows, we have a good amount of space. The dirt road in the photo will not be there—it will go away after construction.
The lot next door starts close to the sign, so we’ll have a nice large side yard
We are delighted that our front porch looks out onto two large oak trees and a horse pasture. Behind our house is a seasonal creek, and our closest neighbor in the back will be about 150 feet away.
Inside Projects
Although we’re generally happy with the quality of the construction and the layout of the house, we’re doing a lot of custom work on the interior.
For example, we had the choice of quartz countertops, but wanted to do something different. The house arrived with “placeholder” formica countertops, which we are replacing with quartzite. We’re also doing our own tile work, kitchen and bath fixtures, lighting, appliances, and window treatments. We’re replacing the ceiling fans with sleeker models. Anything that we remove we will donate to Habitat for Humanity.
We didn’t plan to do our own flooring, but the house arrived with the wrong flooring, which worked in our favor. We’ve chosen flooring that will look much better with the furniture that we’re having made.
Looking toward the front porch
We have to wait until after closing to do all of the custom work, which is why we are staying in our rental until mid-August. Can you imagine trying to live in a tiny house with construction going on? No way! We’ve been spending a lot of time figuring out details and scheduling sub-contractors—and hoping that everything will proceed as planned. (Don’t remind us how unlikely that is—we need to be delusional for a while.) To help things along, we are checking on our home daily and plying the construction crew with cookies and muffins. We are grateful for the hard work they are doing in building our house.
Meanwhile, we’re settling into life in our new community, finding our way around, making friends in our new neighborhood, and enjoying visits from long-time friends. Despite how disruptive it is to make yet another enormous life change, we’re delighted that we made the decision to uproot ourselves and move here!
Very nice! On that darn ice maker, is there no metal rod you can lift up to stop it from attempting to make ice? Or a combination of press able buttons to turn it off entirely?
Looking forward to seeing your progression photos. Best wishes and onward by all means.
Hi Laurel!!!
Exciting to see the house come together but I can imagine you are getting worn slick with change!
It will feel good to have all the construction done and to settle in. I suspect you’ll adjust just fine to the small loving space.. think how easy it will be to clean! Also, it’s NEW.. so no more big projects or repairs going forward.
Looking forward to hearing more about your new community. Xxoo!!
Hey Brenda! We’re alternating between excitement and exhaustion, LOL. The tiny house really is easy to clean, but just like in the RV (or on a boat, as you know) we need to be vigilant about keeping stuff put away or it quickly becomes a disaster zone. I’m putting serious thought into organization and storage! Thanks so much for your good wishes. ❤️
Sigh, all good suggestions, but apparently it’s some crazy electronic thing on that stupid refrigerator that requires major surgery. ☹️ Thanks for the encouragement, Sharyn!
I know how handy Eric is–Mike said just unplug the wires to the icemaker usually located in the back or remove it entirely–not hard or so Mike said! :)
I need Mike! I know he could fix it!! Eric has skills, but he’s leery of getting into something that “might have other consequences,” as he told me. We had an appliance repairman here for a gas stove leak, and asked him about the refrigerator. He said it was a major, expensive fix, even to just disconnect it. :-((
Laurel and Eric, congratulations! Your home looks beautiful. Someday we too plan to stop traveling full-time and find a place to settle down. So glad you two have found such a place. Jim
Thanks, Jim! Honestly, I wasn’t quite ready to stop full-time traveling, but after seven-and-a-half years, Eric was done. Our tiny home seems like a good compromise—we can keep traveling for part of the year, but have a comfortable home base that’s easy to take care of. We love Western North Carolina!
Yes, quite an adjustment from your Florida’s home!!! I’m going thru the exact things you are! You can follow my slow progress at my blogsite La Lair On Wheels, click the ProMaster Garage/Apt tab. I update that tab about every 2 weeks. No comments allowed, but you can email me with questions about my decisions/purchases. I’m going with the white trim also, like yours. And yes, finish date was June, hahaha, now it’s August :)
I’m so glad to hear that you’re making good progress on your home, Terri. I wish builders/contractors would overestimate instead of underestimating completion dates! I hope all goes well with your build this summer. Fingers crossed that all of us will be settled into our respective tiny homes in August!
Looks great. You’re almost at the finish line. Looking forward to seeing the furniture that you’re having made. Going to reply to your last note in email now.
Thanks, Kathryn. There is a very long list of things to do before we can move in, but we’re very excited that construction has begun! I’m looking forward to seeing our furniture in place, too. I hope it all fits, haha.
You’ve got a busy few months ahead of you but I bet by the end of the year you will be nicely settled into your new home! Fingers crossed that things go as smoothly as possible for you two…
Hi Lisa, thanks so much for your good wishes! Now that we’re here in Flat Rock and construction is actually happening, we’re feeling very excited about our new home. I hope everything is going well for you and Hans and Rosie!
I’m staying in East Flat Rock, about 2 miles from your community. Ann invited me over to see Adawehi in Columbia in July. I’ll email then to see if you’re available to meet
Ann had no idea a tiny community was close.
Have been to Adawehi yet?
It would be great to meet up with you, Kathryn. I haven’t heard of Adawehi. You can tell us about it!
Oooooooooohhhh it’s the TINY HOUSE!!!! Your hopes and dreams are coming true! It’s so darn cute and you will have so many wonderful memories there! We are happy for you!!!
Thanks, Tessa! We are sooooo excited about our tiny house! It’s really fun to be living in the neighborhood. We walk over every day (at least a couple of times a day!) to admire the progress being made. We hope you and Philip and Finn and Spreckles/Sprinkles will come to visit us! 😻
You’ve made a great choice. The beautiful pasture land in front and the wooded creek behind will provide such a restful view. After the dust settles and you can let down, I know you’ll be happy here in this beautiful little corner of the world. The house is perfect for you and your careful choices will pay off. We’re enjoying our time here and watching this new adventure unfold.
Sue, we are thrilled that you and Dave have come to visit us here! It means a lot to us that you really “get” why we’ve made this choice. And it’s been fun talking through ideas with you (like where to place that door to the deck). We feel so fortunate to have found a place that feels just right for us at this time in life. Thanks for all of your encouragement as we navigate this big change! ❤️
I have no doubt you will enjoy this new chapter. We almost bought a tiny home (looks like the same model we considered) in a 55+ community near Phx. For us, we knew we wanted a garage and more space since we decided not to travel much, but if we had decided to continue traveling, the tiny home would’ve worked perfectly. Love the addition idea and your planned finishes.
Ingrid, that’s so interesting that you almost bought a tiny home! I can certainly understand why you would want a bit more space than 500 square feet. We’re hoping that we’ll be able to make this work by maximizing our storage space and continuing to pare down. The second bedroom is going to make all the difference!
Mike had some suggestions for the ice maker but would leave you looking suspect. Good idea on the loft. It looks like a great plan.
Deb, I’ll bet I had some of the same ideas Mike had for that refrigerator! 😂 We’re hoping we made good decisions in planning our tiny house. We’ll know soon!
Your tiny house is going to be beautiful. Good idea on the second bedroom and no loft. I am really looking forward to seeing the furniture – how cool is custom furniture??
We’re having fun planning the details of our tiny home, Allison. Honestly, I don’t think we would be doing this if we couldn’t add the additional room and deck. Fingers crossed we’ve made good decisions on our furniture! We’re tripping over some of the furniture in this rental because it’s too big for the space.
500 square feet PLUS 2 sizeable outdoor spaces should be plenty! We’re in 1,000 sq feet now and it feels enormous. Between the designers of the original home, and all your thoughtful custom finishes, it’s gonna be perfect!
Just keep that wide load truck driver away. I mean, really… come on, man!
Laura, we *think* we’re going to be fine living in 500 square feet. The only thing I wish we had is a dedicated indoor dining area. We’ll have a dining table on the porch, and that will be good for three seasons (with a fire pit in the fall). I think we’re going to love those porches, and I know for sure Magnolia will be happy!
Seriously, can you believe that truck driver? I was so tired I couldn’t even muster being upset, haha.
Too bad Jodee wasn’t your driver…she negotiated our curvy hill with her motorhome and toad, without a scratch! You know how crazy our driveway is! Your house looks great!
Haha, I’m sure Jodee would have gotten our home here without a scratch, Jim! Hope you and Diana are enjoying your beautiful completed Michigan home!
Laurel,
Your 500 square feet is only 100 feet smaller than my son’s home in California, and he coughed up a boatload of money for it. I’ll bet he would trade even right now. I love your ideas and additions and am certain you will too. Remember–patience, patience, patience. Has Magnolia met any tomcats yet? Have a great week! Joe
Joe, I know that prices in California (in certain areas) are insane! I’m quite certain our tiny home has a tiny price tag compared to California. We’re trying very hard to cultivate patience. We’re reminding ourselves that although our home is here and construction has begun, all of the interior work is going to take months of work. Pets are not allowed to roam free here (thankfully!) but Magnolia is having a great time watching squirrels and birds in the back yard. :-)
I am sooo excited that you and Eric can finally see the finish line! Your tiny home looks completely adorable and I am sure you will finish it off to perfection! I sure wish there were communities like this in Washington state, but I haven’t found any. :(
Thanks so much, Linda! We’re very excited about our tiny home, and we love Flat Rock and this community. So far, we think we’ve made a very good decision. We looked for tiny house communities in Port Townsend years ago but only found a couple of co-housing communities. I know that works wonderfully for some people, but consensus decision-making drives me crazy, LOL.
How exciting (well, except for the uh-oh caused by the driver)!! Adding on the bedroom and choosing items that will make the three of you more comfortable was a wise idea. Screened porches will help too. Those of us who have lived for extended time in a RV know how to live in small spaces–you guys have got this!
Janna, I agree with you. Our many years of full-time RVing prepared us well for the unique challenges of tiny home living. We already know that we get along well in a small space, and our tiny home is going to be so much bigger than our RV. Plus, we get to have our own outdoor space and gardens, which I’m thrilled about! It’s going to be fun to see it all come together.
Having the main part of the house appear onsite in one piece certainly helps speed the construction along and provides an immediate sense of how the house will be when done. So exciting! From your pictures you can already see that the absence of a loft in your place gives you nice high ceilings and much more openness in the kitchen and main area. Not having a close neighbor on the side with most of the windows is a huge win. And as Laura said, your outdoor space is going to be key to making the place feel uncrowded. I am excited to see it all come together, but it looks great so far!
Thanks, Shannon! We’re very happy with our tiny house so far. It’s going to be an adjustment from our spacious home on the bay, but we’re going to make the most of those two porches, and we’re going to landscape our tiny piece of property to the max! It’s definitely a good dose of immediate gratification to see the house suddenly appear. Now we just have to practice patience for the next couple of months as the work is completed. You know all about that. 😁
Those dumbasses crunched your house! Good thing it’s just a cosmetic fix, but dammit, no one gets anything right the first time anymore, I swear. I agree with Shannon in that having the house arrive nearly-whole is a big deal! That extra room is probably already finished as I type, and those porches will give you lots of spreading-out room. Like everyone, it’s fun to see it take shape, and we’re all looking forward (not as much as you two, obviously) to seeing the pieces you ordered get put into place. So exciting!
I know, can you believe they crunched our house?! I remind myself it could have been far worse…but still…
Joodie, we were so excited to see our house suddenly appear (even with the boo-boo). Knowing what you guys went through with your build, this seems really easy. They’re making great progress on the extra room, and today the crew will probably finish the roof. Thanks for your encouragement and for accompanying us in this new life adventure! We hope someday you will come see it (and us) in person. 😍
Laurel, so far your tiny house looks like everything I’d imagined – light and inviting. And, that is without furniture or finishing touches. The addition of the bedroom and covered porch were very smart choices. Will there be another house where the road is, or is that going to stay vacant? Wishing you a smooth path to the finish line…
Hi Suzanne, the dirt road is just providing access for the workers. As soon as our house is finished, it will go away. There’s another lot where the road currently is, but it will be a one-bedroom home only, and will be reasonably far away from our house. We should have a nice side garden area. Thanks for your good wishes! You must be settling into your new place now. I look forward to updates.
Hi Guys!
Wow! Your place looks lovely. I can’t wait to see all your creativity fill the space. It’s going to be so beautiful! In the meantime I’ll put my thinking cap on and come up with some devious ideas about that bad boy refrigerator. Looking forward to seeing your progress and visiting you one of these days. Wishing all things go well for you. Big Hugs and Love
Judy!!! I’m so glad to hear from you! We’re hoping that you and John will come to visit us in North Carolina. We need to have more adventures with you two! Thanks for checking in on us. We love you and miss you! (Don’t come while we’re in this rental…this refrigerator would drive you crazy, 😂.)
Hard to look at the house arriving to a level lot and thinking it will take another two months to complete. Glad you’re plying the crew with baked bribery! How sweet of Jim to suggest I could have done better {I’m sure he’s right:-)}
After two previous renters complaining about the ice maker noise you’d think the owners would fix it. At least you have a lovely porch to share with Magnolia.
Love the high ceilings and all your planned upgrades. I’m sure it will be another stunning home. SO much bigger than the trailer!
Jodee, I have a hard time thinking that it’s going to take another two months to finish the work on our tiny house, too. Especially because there’s a crew steadily working on it every day! We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll actually close at the end of July so that we can get in and do all of our custom work. As far as size, our tiny house is at least twice as big as our trailer was, LOL. We think we’ll be fine?
And yes, you definitely could have done better a better job of delivering our tiny home!
My apologies for such a long list of random comments, Laurel, but this post generated a whole bunch of thoughts. Thanks for sharing so many pics of your new home. I am now completely invested in your success. Not that I wasn’t all in before, but these photos highlight the reality of your big decision, and make me feel like I’m right there watching the process unfold. I, too, prefer the look of the “no loft” option. It makes a huge difference in how big the space feels. The transom windows are very appealing, and they serve a fine purpose. Love, love, love the front porch, and the view sounds amazing! Just be careful how you screen it in, since it appears that it’s your only access to the interior. It would be awful if YOUR refrigerator started ticking and you couldn’t get it out or a new one in without dismantling the screening. Framing work always seems to go quickly. It’s the inside work like plumbing, electric and finishing that seems to take forever. Don’t let it frustrate you. I’m remembering the post in which you announced your decision to sell your family home, and realizing how far you’ve come since then. Do not ever underestimate the impact of kindness and cookies on a work crew; both go a long way. I would volunteer to split the cost of a new refrigerator with the owners. Seriously. This from someone who hears a rattle in the truck and has to crawl all over to find it while Alan’s trying to drive. I sense the concern that you may have gone too small. Don’t forget, you’ve endured a number of housing changes over the past six months, and you might just be feeling off balance because of it. As you pointed out, you happily traveled for years in your AF, and you may just need time to adjust. That being said, there are some decisions in life that are permanent; this is not one of them. And last, but not least . . . “I spend a lot of time on the porch.” That’s a wise and valuable solution to many of life’s problems, not just a ticking refrigerator. We’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that all goes smoothly for you over the summer!
Mary, I enjoyed reading your list of random comments! My mind works much the same way that yours does…I actually expressed the same concern to Eric about getting our new appliances into the house through the screened front porch. He assures me that the door to the porch is definitely wide enough. There are so many details…I have a notebook of lists and plans and measurements. Planning a house is more consuming than planning cross-country travel, and you know how consuming that is!
I often reflect on how far we’ve come since last October when we made the hard decision to sell our home in Florida. I appreciate so much your encouragement and support as we make this exciting but challenging transition to a new home, new community, and new lifestyle. Your advice to spend more time on the porch is a very good one! I’m looking forward to hearing all about your summer trip to Maine. :-)
Thanks for the update. We are thinking about you and your joys and challenges. Love the pics and love you guys.
Aww, thanks, Beth! We hope you and Perry are doing well and enjoying the beginning of summer. We miss you and love you and hope that you’ll be coming to visit soon!
You two are amazing. I feel like it was last week you were dealing with all the renovations to your folks home. I swear I would be tempted to rent a refrigerator for the 2 months but where to put the old one? A storage space? Seems very inconsiderate of the owners. That noise must drive you crazy. NowI know another reason I have never wanted or had an ice maker.
Oh gawd, it feels to me like we were just renovating my folks’ home, too. It’s been a wild ride for us since January 2020. We are seriously ready for a big, relaxing break, Sherry. Like you, I hate noisy ice makers. We didn’t hook up the ice maker in the fridge we bought for our Florida home. We’ll see how well-behaved our new fridge is in our new tiny home!
How absolutely exciting!! You are finally in Flat Rock watching your new home come together. Too bad the closing was pushed back. But looks like you have a nice spot to stay while you watch the progress. Your new home is beautiful. I love that you are adding a second screen porch and screening the front. Bugs!!! Sounds like you have really thought this whole thing through in detail. Can’t wait to see the finished house.
Pam, we’re so excited about our new little house! It’s fun watching the day-to-day progress and we’re delighted that we’re in the neighborhood to see it all come together. We’re thrilled that we were able to add a covered screened deck in the back in addition to the screened front porch. Interestingly, we haven’t experienced any bug problems in this area (including our entire summer in Western North Carolina in 2021). But we know from experience that we’ll use our porch and deck a lot more if they’re covered and screened. We’re shopping for outdoor furniture now! :-)
I might have cried if that were my house and it showed up damaged! Argh. But in the end, it will all look wonderful and you’ll quickly forget about any of the problems once you’re settled. I like the idea of a second bedroom/office, plus the screened rooms. I thnk it will feel quite comfortable once your make it your own.
We are wrapping up our second of 5+ weeks in Canada and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. Waterton Park was just wonderful and we’ve enjoyed the Harvest Host spots in between campgrounds. We’re currently in Bow River CG, heading to Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court in Banff (for 5 days) tomorrow. We spent the day in Canmore today and it reminded me a bit of Telluride and La Jolla. Lots of nice shops and plenty of restaurants. Gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains. We’ve been to two breweries (Harvest Hosts) – one in Walla Walla that we loved, and another in Black Diamond (Alberta), which was pretty nice. We stayed at a winery in Columbia Falls (MT) which had some wonderful wines. I’m tempted to order a case to have delivered once we get home.
Current blog posts are of last year’s trip to Glacier. I’ll probably post about our current trip later in the fall or winter. I’m always so far behind!
Hope you’re enjoying some good books! Send me your recs anytime!
Take good care.
Hi Les, your Canadian trip sounds fabulous! That’s a big trip that’s still on our wish-list. I’m looking forward to reading your posts about your adventures to help with our planning.
We’re so immersed in our tiny house project right now that I haven’t had much time to think about future travel, but I’m sure once we’re settled that our wanderlust will kick in again. :-)
I’ve just finished a couple of great novels, but I think I got my recommendations from you, LOL. You always seem to stay ahead of me! Happy travels!
Pretty nice that you could actually rent a tiny home while building your own. Lots to learn in this new lifestyle, for sure. Looking forward to seeing more as the project progresses. As usual, I am sure you will eat well, make good friends, and enjoy your sweet kitty. Hugs to you. And, just in case you noticed, I have been on the quiet side lately. Hoping to get back into a groove again before long, but it has been a blur lately for me. Not writing much and reading even less.
Sue, we’re very happy that we were able to rent a tiny home to oversee the building of our home. We’ve been pretty immersed in this project…you know how consuming it is to build a house (even a tiny house, LOL). In between making decisions about designing closets and a million other things, we’ve been loving exploring our surroundings and making new friends. And of course, snuggling with Magnolia. 😻 I hope all is well in your life, thanks for checking in on us.
Oh, my gosh, I read every word, and then read it again and again. I’m vicariously living through you with this house build, it’s exciting and nerve-racking, and it will be so cool when it’s all done and you’re settled in. I can’t wait to see your choices in place and also the furniture, etc. (For someone who lives in a 17-foot trailer, I really do love decorating and seeing what choices people make and how they work out!)
Hi Annie, thanks for vicariously accompanying us on this tiny house adventure! It’s crazy how time-consuming it is to figure out all of the details. Like you, I love decorating, and a tiny house presents unique challenges, especially when it comes to designing spaces for best use. So yes, it’s exciting, and also can be anxiety-provoking, just as you said. I hope you’ll come see it (and us) in person!
Since you are starting from a blank slate, your tiny home will look and feel just the way you wanted it. Im sure the 500 sq ft feels like a mansion compared to your trailer, oops you did use to live in a 2 acre property. You will be too busy once construction ends that you wont want to travel for a while.
Enjoy your piece of paradise and let us enjoy watching you feeling happy of your choices.
Awww, thank you so much, MonaLiza! It’s fun to have a blank slate, although sometimes a bit overwhelming. You’re right, we’re not really in travel mode at the moment, but we do have plans for our winter trip to Florida already made! :-)