I Bought a Tiny House Instead of Paying Dorm Rent

Hi, I'm John. I'm going to show you in this tour how I built my own tiny house at 19, how this gave me freedom, and how I skipped dorm life. I'm going to give you a quick rundown of the layout real quick. So right here you have the living room when you first walk in, then it goes into the kitchen, you have a loft right up there in that top center, and then you have a bedroom in the back and a bathroom right on the right. This specific model is the Gala from Champion Homes that I bought via Recreation Resort Cottages. The dimensions are 12 by 36 and then you have an additional 8 foot porch which makes it 12 by 42. It has a monoslope roof. It has a black and white kind of modern appeal to it which I really loved personally. Some people, you know, might not like that look. They want something that's more rustic and that's also an option as well. So as a college student this has been an amazing alternative as opposed to a dorm. Dorm life is really small. You never see that money again someday. So this has given me the opportunity to have my own unique space for myself where I can decorate it, but I also have a launching pad when I move on to the next phase of my life beyond this. So to make the most of storage when it comes to a tiny house, I've definitely utilized shelves. So I put them up everywhere where I could. So I didn't have any sacrifices personally going from a bedroom to this being my next space. However, I will say as far as advice goes for someone else who wants to live tiny is to not try to downsize a large house into a tiny home. You should be buying furniture that's specific for the space and that's what's helped me a lot especially because this layout has so much space for storage. So I found furniture that works specifically for this space and that's what's made it flow so well. I'm able to just put, you know, a coffee table here, a small couch, but still be able to host as many people as I want and really just have a space that works for me. I went ahead and I took the liberty to go thrift a lot of the items and then aside from thrifting, I went ahead on Urban Outfitters to find the table, some pillows, things like that. I would say for small tiny home specific furniture Wayfair is a good option. It's pretty affordable and a lot of their furniture is pretty small so it fits the space really well. Opposite of the couch you have the entertainment center. I like to pull the tv out a lot and you can kind of watch football, you can turn on games, you could turn on YouTube videos. Sometimes I flip it around and I actually cook at the kitchen using a tutorial from the tv. And then I have a lot of storage so it allows for, you know, books, whatever else I need. So that makes it pretty easy. One moment that made this space really feel lived in and like home was when I had everything decorated and I had a housewarming party. And when I had people over and I had food out and everything I just knew this was the space for me. Living in a dorm or an apartment you wouldn't be able to do those types of things and I was able to host a lot of people and you know everybody kind of got a peek into my life and where I'm living now and it really just felt like a special moment for me. So for this specific model of the gala I was able to get a island counter and it's become my favorite part of the house. I'm able to get work done on here if I'm ever hosting events. I'm able to put enough friends at the bar and I'm able to put snacks and food right up here. It's been really amazing for me personally. I'm able to get homework done, study, read a book, drink my coffee in the morning and everything else. The only downside to having this bar is it does cut into the space for sure. You have to walk either in front or behind it. Personally for me I don't really see that as an issue but if you're someone who wants a little bit more space, you know, in wider hallways and less narrow then you know it wouldn't make sense for you. When I purchased this model from Champion Homes through Recreational Resort Cottages I wanted to specifically find a model that had a half loft because for me that allowed a space for a guest to stay over when needed but I had taller ceilings in the kitchen and more storage space and I also have taller ceilings in the bedroom as well. Just because you're living tiny doesn't mean you have to have tiny appliances. I have a Texas size sink here and I have full size appliances when it comes to the stove. This space is perfect for my day-to-day. As far as everything that I need to do when it comes to cooking, I have plenty of space especially as one person but even as four, you know, this space is plenty big enough to host, to cook when I'm, you know, having an event or people over. It's been amazing for me. When it comes to doing things like meal prep for the week, I have so much counter space and I have plenty of storage so I'm able to kind of, you know, get out my glass bowls. I'm able to make the food that I need to whether it be on the stove or right here right in front of me and I just box it up and then that's my food for the week. I find myself cooking more now that I've moved into a tiny home just because I think compared to cooking in a dorm or an apartment, it's just not the same. Everything's downsized so despite the fact that I'm in a tiny home, I feel like I have more space when it comes to cooking. I have more countertop space and I have an even bigger sink. So me personally, I prefer an electric stove and so this has been great for me. It's very easy to keep clean. I know a lot of people out there, they prefer gas stove and that is an option when you're ordering from a tiny house, especially Champion Homes. They do make that accommodation. The build quality from Champion Homes is amazing and I'm really happy I went with them. This is perfect for me. I've never had any issues so far and, you know, everything just looks so top-notch. I think the favorite part of the kitchen for me would definitely be the sink. This thing is massive, you know, so I can cook. I can do everything that I need to do and I can clean up all in one plus the countertops on the top of it. Cleaning up is pretty easy especially with the countertops. I literally just grab a wipe and I clean it right off, you know, there's really no issues. Like I said, the build quality is pretty amazing. I don't really have food staining on here. As far as the stainless steel sink, you know, it's in the name, like it's perfect. So cleanup is super easy in here. Storage hacks for me would be to utilize what's in front of you. Instead of having 40 different pans, you know, I really only need six and that does everything, you know, that I need it to. I would say to utilize the cabinets as much as possible. If you need to have shelves inside the cabinets that really allow you to stack up on things, you can. Putting glasses and buying bowls that are specifically stackable, those are all things that I would suggest when you move into a tiny home. I haven't really thought too much about it because I furnished the space and bought, you know, things when it comes to cups and kitchen ware for the space. And so for me, everything kind of flew together because it was intentionally for the space. I wasn't trying to cram a full-size house down to a tiny home. As a first-time college student, I wanted to find something that was a space for me. So as opposed to a dorm or an apartment, you know, where every time I put rent into it, I'm throwing that out the window and I'll never see it again someday, I got this, which is essentially an asset or at the very least something, you know, where I'm going to see the money that I put into it every single month. And by the time that I leave, I'll also have something to take with me for the next stage of my life. So I felt like it was a smart decision. If you're just starting out and you're moving out either for college or if you're in your early 20s, I think this is a lot better opposed to renting. You know, you're not making a huge commitment of a mortgage payment or, you know, a large-size house obviously, but at the same time, you're not throwing your money away with rent every day. And then that way, when you do move on to a mortgage payment on a house, if you decide to go that route, you have something to go off of and you have a trading card. When I decided to go tiny, I went through Recreation Resort Cottages. They're a dealership with a couple different locations here in Texas, and you can go to them and you can look through the different models and find what's right for you and they'll even walk you through and help you custom order a house for yourself as well. I decided to go with the Gala model from Champion and I've really built a home here. I've made so many memories and it's been amazing. Recreation Resort Cottages was amazing in helping me through the financing process. For their tiny homes specifically, the RV park models, you're able to put about 10% down minimum and then for any larger house, it's about 5%. As far as the monthly expenses, these houses range from $70,000 to $120,000 depending on the amount of options that you have and the full plan that you chose. Specifically for me, my monthly payment is a little over $600 a month and then I also have the lot rent, which is about $500 to $700 for most places. For Hidden Forest Lake specifically, it covers just about everything except electricity and for me that's about maybe $50 to $70 depending on the month, so those are all my bills for the month and works perfect for me. I love living in a tiny home community specifically. It's kind of away from all the hustle and bustle that I find in the city and aside from that, it's just so peaceful. I walk outside and I feel such a sense of serenity because I'm seeing the ducks go by and all my neighbors are so nice and so kind and it's a much better option definitely compared to a dorm or even an apartment complex. It's my own space and I'm really happy with it. What I love about my bathroom specifically is the walk-in tile shower. That's been amazing. I have no issues. It doesn't look bad at all and by any means, I think that was a big thing for me when picking out a tiny home. I didn't want anything that looked kind of tacky. I think this has been great when it comes to utilizing storage. I definitely put in my own shelves. That has allowed me to put in so much more stuff when it comes to the bathroom. I have other storage options and then I have more storage below the sink as well. Even though this is a tiny home, the bathroom itself really isn't that tiny. The space works great for me. It has more than enough storage and the countertops are great as well, so I just come in here. I'm able to shave, wash my face every morning and then go out and start my day. Personally, I opted for a washer dryer unit that was complete. I don't have a two in one. I don't have anything that's kind of small where I have to find myself going to the laundromat. This way, I've never had any issues. I literally put my clothes in the washer, throw them in the dryer and that's it. It's really been perfect for me living in a tiny home. You're able to put a queen size in this house and with a lot of other tiny home layouts, you're able to put a king size as well. But at that point, it becomes a bed room and so I wanted more space. I opted specifically for a full-size bed so I could have a small nightstand. Usually when I see people furnishing their tiny homes, they always lay the bedroom out kind of like this. You know, so the bed's going right here. They have two nightstands and they have to kind of shimmy around everything. I didn't want to do that here, so I went ahead and I put my bed up against the wall in the corner. It has plenty of space but then I also have plenty of space to get ready in between. Putting the bed in this position allows me to put the tv on the wall exactly where I want it to be. So I opted for a much larger tv. If I changed it the other way, I'd have to kind of fit and cram a little small tv into that little nook there. I noticed a lot of people doing that and I just didn't want to do that and I definitely didn't want to have to shimmy around my bed every morning. So that's what works for me. As far as the storage goes, there's plenty of space when it comes to this console right here. I kind of have about two rows of different things that you could utilize. You could put more if you wanted to. I have storage under the bed as well, so that's where I keep, you know, all my different clothes and then I can throw them in the washer if I need to. I just have bins under there. As far as the decor goes, I kind of took liberty here. You know, I made it very maximalist. I made this my own space by adding as much as I possibly could. So I put stuff, you know, right up along the nooks here. I also fully decked out the center console and then I got some unique, you know, color into the bedroom as well and that really just filled up the space, but the windows open it at the same time. So that's what's really made this feel like home for me. So for this layout specifically, I opted for the center console option where I have about four different drawers full of clothes. I also have double racks in the closet and that allows for me to put so many clothes in there as well as keep my shoes above them on the shelves inside. And then I also have a nook above the closet and that's where I keep things like suitcases and other large items. So this space is pretty perfect for me. It has the monoslope roof from this model, so it's kind of taller in the back and then it gets shorter once it goes down to the bed. So over here, you can host, you know, if you have someone staying over, you're able to kind of stay here. You can even put a larger bed if you wanted to, but I also wanted an oversized chair so I can kind of curl up and I can get work done up here if I needed. I also have a record player, you know, a cute guitar, some other stuff that I want to, you know, use every now and then. And then I have my grandfather's clock from his first apartment when he was about like in his early 20s and so that was kind of important for me to keep in my house because it's a keepsake. When I was shopping with Recreation Resort Cottages, I wanted a loft personally, but it's not for everybody. If you're thinking if you should get a loft or not or if you're older, I would say it's still a space for your grandkids to come over and they have a place to stay. Otherwise, you can get the same exact model without a loft and that way you're able to have even more space from where the stairs would be and you'd have higher ceilings as well. I love living tiny. If I were to have a little bit more space in my house, it would definitely be the bedroom just so I could have maybe a little bit more closet space or a bigger bed and still have space for a nightstand. But everything works perfect for me and I overall love living tiny. Thank you so much for watching. My own personal social media is johnmichael.xo on Instagram and then as far as Recreation Resort Cottages, the company that I thought through, it would be RRC Rockwall, RRC Athens, RRC Homeco, and then Tiny Home Supercenter and you can find that on Facebook and on Instagram. The community specifically is Hidden Forest Lake and you can look that up and you can find their social media channels and it should also be tagged on Instagram and on Facebook as well.