Superyacht Captain Builds Jaw-Dropping Tiny Home Paradise in the Australian Rainforest

I think we all dream of having a place that we can truly escape to. A place that makes us feel connected to nature and everything that's around us. And also a place that allows us to escape from the hectic world outside. And here in the beautiful Australian rainforest, we have found exactly that place. G'day Johnny, how's it going mate? Really good thanks, nice to meet you. It is such a pleasure to meet you. And dude, this has got to be one of the most stunning sections I think I've ever seen. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it. So it's a pretty magic little place. Right in the heart of the rainforest, beautiful creek, right by the house and so close to the beach. It does not get better than this. I know right, ticks all the boxes really. Very quiet little secluded area, so it's perfect for me. Yeah, other than the construction going on next to the bay. Yeah, we can't win everything can we, yeah. But mate, this just could not get any better, eh? This is absolutely spectacular. How did you find this place? I actually had a bit of a search parameter between Brisbane and Sydney. And my ideal boxes to tick were a larger property near the beach, somewhere that I could go fishing, diving, surfing. You can actually just drive over the hill and drive straight onto the beach here as well, which is very cool. And yeah, a large block. It already had a pre-existing structure on the property. So something I could work with there. And it basically just, as soon as I came up here and I had a bit of a look around, I went over to Gap Beach, which is the beach just behind the rainforest here. I absolutely fell in love with it. It's really, really cool. It's a special spot. Yeah, absolutely. And you've got four acres here. There is, it's just under four acres. So the property is basically all out in front of us here now. And then it terraces up a little bit up the hill. And then there's a main house, which is basically a little bit higher. And then I've got another little property right at the top of the end of the property as well. So it's quite cool how it's terraced down. And then right at the bottom of the area, you've got this creek that wraps right through the rainforest. So it's good from floods as well. Nice and high up. So yeah, it's really a magic little spot. It certainly is. And when you're not here on the property, you are a yacht captain. I am actually, yeah. So I've been doing that for quite a while, most of my life. Travelling around the world, flying, sailing, cruising around all over the place. It's pretty cool. It's a pretty good way to travel the world, get paid, be able to save some money and be able to do things like this. So yeah, it's a pretty good way to do it. And what an amazing balance as well, getting to sail. And then when you're in between jobs, having this place to retreat to. Yeah, well, that's kind of polar opposite, isn't it? Yeah. I think it's the best of both worlds. Yeah, it sure is. And the house here just looks absolutely fantastic. But first, I want to talk about the landscaping, because what you've done here is just next level. Yeah, my back knows exactly what's going on there. But I just wanted to try and blend the landscaping in to the surrounds, the property as much as possible and not really have a too obvious sort of looking garden and keep it really low maintenance as well. That was one of the main things. So not too much grass anywhere, which, you know, no one really loves to mow grass. These gardens will just all take care of themselves. It almost looks like a manicured garden, but that's exactly how it is and how it was. And it does its own thing. Yeah. So everything is made with timber off the property too. A lot of logs that were fallen down, some that I've taken down that are obviously a bit of a fire hazard and whatnot, but had a mill on site, milled our own timber. Then the decks, the stairs, a lot of the timber in the tiny and around the property, there's decks and all sorts of things going on everywhere that being able to utilise the timber off the property is really good. Absolutely, yeah. And you milled it all yourself too, didn't you? Well, yeah, I part and part with one of the local guys. So he had a small mobile mill and just brings it on site. And then we basically spend a couple of days every six months or whenever we need timber. And you can see down here, there's some more supplies to go through. It's a really good way to do it. Obviously, timber is so expensive. Yes. And I just love being able to utilise materials off the land as well. And especially on a property like this, where you've got all these gorgeous towering trees around you. I mean, it's just such a beautiful, tranquil space. And it's lovely that you're able to take some of those trees that had to be cleared and incorporate them into all of the landscaping. Exactly, yeah. Well, otherwise, it's either landfill or it goes to waste. To be able to use it is perfect. Can you swim in the creek? Not yet. That's a bit of a project, actually. We recently had a pretty big rain and the creek was really flowing. And then the water was magic. But now when it sits a bit still, I need to work out a way to maybe filter the water a little bit and try and clean it up a bit more. So when you've got a pristine beach right there, I think I'll jump in the beach. Easy choice. And what was it that inspired the tiny house? Well, I actually always come up with some pretty random sporadic buys. And I was trawling on the auction sites and spotted the trailer, which sort of struck my interest. And I had the room down here to put a big trailer and I knew I'd use it for something. And it was basically a stage trailer. So somewhere they'd set up a band or something like that on. So very heavy duty build, really thick, strong sections of steel. So I picked it up for really cheap and I just thought, you know what, I'll take it up to Arrokin, put it on the property and kind of had the intention to maybe build something on it. But I got a little carried away when I did this. It was initially going to be a really, really cheap build. And I just thought I'll throw something together. Super easy, minimal, you know, no nice interior features. And then, you know, obviously once you start and it just escalates. So yeah, it's turned into a really, really cool tiny. Yeah. And this tiny house just has such a stark modern look. And I love the way that the dark colours just beautifully blend in with the surrounding landscape. Yeah, I think with that colour and the really dark green of the rainforest, it contrasts so well, it really works. Especially if you're standing far away and you're looking back into it, it really blends in. I sort of obviously had a look at a few colour options and this just kept coming back to me and sort of was the number one choice. So it's worked out really well and it ties in well with the natural timber as well. So you've got the nice soft hardwood timbers and then the dark of that and then the green. So for me anyway, those three colours really tie in nicely. Yeah, it certainly does. And then obviously everything is designed to take full advantage of the landscape surrounding it. I love the way that the home has these big doors that just opens out onto this incredible deck that just looks out over the forest. Yeah, that's the showstopper right there, isn't it? The view. All the windows are facing this way. Right now we're getting that nice morning sun coming. So trying to take full advantage of this view coming out. Yeah. Every time you come out here, you see something new, you know. There's so much going on in a view like this with the rainforest. You've got birds and kangaroos and we actually had a resident koala here for a little while. Oh, cool. Yeah, it is really quite a magic spot. Yeah, and I think that is my favourite thing about Australia as well is just how alive this place is. The wildlife here is like no place I've ever visited. Yeah, exactly. Even if we head over to Gap Beach in the mornings, I go there for sunrise sometimes and kangaroos are jumping on the beach going for a swim, which I've never seen before. Kangaroos swimming in the morning. That is so cool. And what size is the tiny house? It is a good question. It's 13 metres by just under three metres. Great. So it's got a decent width. If it needs to be moved now, it's going to have to go the wide load and a bit more expensive operation. But it was just to have that little bit of extra width made a big difference. Yeah, it sure does. Well, already, I'm just so impressed with what you've created here and I cannot wait to see what you've done inside the house. Can we take a look? Let's do it. This is absolutely fantastic. And standing inside the home, one of the things that I immediately love about what you've done here is just how connected you still feel to the forest. Yeah, well, thanks Bryce. I think the main thing was a lot of windows and really try and keep it as open as possible in that sense. The big sliding door, the big windows in the bedroom and really try and capture as much of the rainforest as possible inside. Yeah, and you've certainly done that. It's really nice the way that the whole house is kind of orientated towards this big window, including the way that the monopitched roof all slopes towards it and it just makes this side of the home feel so expansive. Exactly. Yeah, well, that was the goal. You constantly sort of feel like you're in the rainforest. Yeah, and great position for the couch. It is. It's a good little outlook. Nice morning bit of sun there. You can have a coffee and a read and you're looking out onto the rainforest. We've actually got a resident mating pair of kookaburras and they've got a giant nest just in front of us here in the ant's nest and they've dug it out and hollowed it all out. And now there's some little baby kookaburras and in the morning I wake up, go out for breakfast and just watch the little birds come out with their little heads out and then mum and dad will come down and it's really cool. That is magic. And the kitchen, so nicely done. Really good sized kitchen as well, especially with this addition of the island. The island was a bit of a maybe at one stage and then I thought, well, there is actually enough room. It makes it a little bit tight in here, but it doesn't affect the performance or the flow of the kitchen, I find. Everything is pretty much recycled. All this marble, everything is old tables and things like that. So I tried to utilise as much secondhand stuff in there as possible, which again, save a few dollars and there's no need with marble and things like that. You can just get from anywhere. Yeah, absolutely. There's a good amount of storage in here and all the necessary appliances. There is enough storage. I haven't really spent too much time living in here permanently. So maybe that will change and I might need to do a few modifications or additions. But for now, I find it's perfect. There's not much more I really need. And I think that's the right way to go about things as well, because obviously you're splitting time between being here and then being on the yachts. And so you don't want to sort of overcook a space and end up with too much stuff that just never gets used. You really have to build for how you're going to use the space. Yeah, well, I think that comes from working and living on boats for a long time too. You prioritise what you need and it kind of flows quite well from the yachting industry into the tiny home industry. Yeah, great colour choices in here as well. You've got the white walls, you've got the beautiful marble bench tops and then it's sort of connected to the outdoors with the lovely forest greens and the tans and all of the timber. Yeah, thanks Bryce. It's come together quite well. I tried to incorporate a little bit of the rainforest, as you can see in some of the greens, the green in the kitchen, the scattered green throughout the house, which it flows quite well and it's really tied in quite nicely. The natural timbers, the travertine in the stone, in the bathroom, in some of the coffee table and it's that mix of natural materials and nice sort of soft green and pastelly kind of colours. Yeah, and then you've got these great feature rafters on the ceiling too. Yeah, so they're actually Douglas fir out of an old demolition in Sydney. So with this property, I'm always on the lookout for random little bits and pieces and obviously struck a good deal on them and it worked out really well. Yeah, beautiful. And behind us there, we've got your bathroom. Can we check that out? Yeah, let's do it. Let's do it. This is fantastic. As far as tiny house bathrooms go, this is palatial, isn't it? It is, it's a good size. I probably could have taken it in a little bit. It's always hard until you actually get everything in place and figure it all out, but it works. You know, everyone always spends a lot of time in the bathroom, so you may as well make it a nice, comfortable, open space. We've got the laundry, there's plenty of room to sort of do whatever you need to do with the laundry. The feel of the bathroom, I really love. Yeah, I completely agree. The use of the micro cement in here is on point. I really like the look of this. Yeah, I didn't really plan to do it. I was a bit, I don't know, hesitant, I guess, to give it a go. It was my first time doing it and I saw a lot of negative sort of sides of it in terms of application and the overall finish, but I really love the finish. I love the look of it and the application and doing it was actually quite simple. So I think I was a bit scared initially of tackling it and it worked out quite well and relatively easy to do. Yeah, absolutely. And it really also just helps to keep the whole space open as well because obviously it's waterproof as well, so you're able to incorporate the shower into the natural design of the walls and then it just all goes towards making the space feel more open and more spacious. True. It helps with the flow and overall look of the whole bathroom, I guess. And don't think I didn't notice these heated tiles. Yeah, it's a nice touch. Obviously, the travertine gets quite cold in winter and being able to heat the flooring is a nice little bonus. Absolutely. Really nice vanity as well. In fact, I love the way that you've done that whole part of the bathroom with the feature mirror there as well. I just made that all up actually. I found the old cupboard, restored it. That tied in nice with the timber look. The Carrera is a little bit of a leftover and then everything else has just sort of flowed in quite nicely. Yeah, the tile work in the shower alcove looks really good too. Yeah, that was probably to try and impress my girlfriend that one, I think. I bet it worked. Yeah, well, she hasn't seen it yet. So a lot of the decks she hasn't seen. It's a bit of a surprise. So the next time she comes up with me, she'll hopefully like the place. I'm sure she will. And a great amount of space dedicated to the laundry too. It's certainly not a pokey laundry. You've got lots of space here to do whatever you need to do. Yeah, it's all you need. I guess the washer, the dryer, plenty of big rollout drawers. So it all works quite well. Yeah. And you've got the flushing toilet here as well. So I'm guessing there's a septic system. Yeah, that's right, Bryce. Just a standard flushing toilet. Everything from the tiny is plumbed into a main pit under the tiny. And in the main pit there, there's a sump pump. From there, everything gets pumped to the main house's septic system. Nicely done. And then over the other end of the home, we've got your bedroom. Can we have a look at that? We do. Let's go have a look. All right. Wow, this is stunning. These two feature windows just absolutely make this room. They do. Yeah, it's a pretty special place to wake up and see the sunrise with this backdrop of a rainforest view. It's really incredible. Yeah. And just having such large windows as well just makes that experience so immersive. It does. These two windows are actually what inspired the whole tiny. I picked them up in Sydney at the same demolition as the timber and double glazed windows that came out of a big old mansion that had these giant big sliding doors. Wow. So I just thought, you know what? Perfect bedroom windows. And that's sort of where it all evolved from. Yeah. And it's great that you've also incorporated the little sitting nook into this one. Yeah, that was the guy that helped me build this. It was my idea, but he worked out how to do it and it was beyond me. I just didn't really know the cantilever and the mechanics of it. So that's off to him for doing that because it's a nice addition. And to have that little bit of extra space just it actually gives a lot more volume in the room too, which gives a bigger feel and it really flows quite well. It certainly does. And then again, really great choice of nice natural colours in here and features that sort of really tie the house beautifully into the forest. That wonderful wallpaper and all of the colour choices in here, these neat light fittings. I might have gone a little bit overboard. It's very rainforesty in here. Hey, it works. I think it works. I think it's quite cool. This is a nice French textured wallpaper. We've got a lot of the greens, the colours in the cushions and my little designer is coming out of me in here. Yeah, yeah. Hey, you've got to have fun with a place when you're building it, right? Yeah. And I think this is such a special section as well that you had to build something here that was really going to honour that. Yeah, exactly. Just to try and incorporate that view and I almost wanted it to feel as though you're inside the rainforest. That's why we're basically hanging out over into the rainforest. So that was my main aim to try and almost make it feel as though you're waking up in amongst the canopy of the trees. Yeah, almost like a treehouse vibe. Yeah, exactly. And then again, practically you've got a good amount of storage in here. Nice sized wardrobe. Yeah, and here I've really gone big with the storage. So you've got all these overhead cupboards, the big double wardrobe. I really tried to incorporate as much storage in here as possible because quite limited with how much storage you could get in the other rooms. Yeah. So this, it makes it a nice little sleeping nook as well and it sort of encapsulates that whole little corner. Yeah, does that beautifully. And then of course, you've got the lovely natural curtains as well. So you can also close it all off for sleeping when you want as well. Yeah, they don't get closed too much because I just love the view. And even at night with the moon coming through the trees. It is very cool. My favourite place that I've ever spent the night is right here. Yeah, I can see why. And so how long have you been here now? I have been on the property for five years. Well, just under five. I bought it just through the scare of the pandemic. Everyone was kind of freaking out a little bit and I just thought, you know what? I might jump on this opportunity and look into a property now. It's probably a good time and it worked out quite well for me. Yeah, fantastic. It is such a stunning bit of land and what you've accomplished here is really great. I love the way that it fits so well into your lifestyle. Sort of this balance between working on the yachts, having this as a place to escape to, but also being able to tenant out the main house. This is just such a great balance. Yeah, exactly. It's given me the opportunity to really not have to stress out too much about owning a property with obviously the main house being up there. Then I've got this nice little corner of the property that I can just come and go as I get a break from work and I can walk in. It's always going to be as I left it and it's just the perfect little spot to escape to. I've lived and worked on boats for most of my life now. I'm travelling, I'm flying around, driving boats, doing long hours at sea. Then the one thing I'm always sort of craving for is a bit of alone time that I can just zen out and chill out. So being able to build something that encaptures a view like this and a serene little corner of the rainforest is just perfect. That's really what I wanted. Somewhere I can just go to chill out, just be in a really nice, quiet, serene spot, go surfing, go fishing and do all those things that I'm really passionate about. Now, you did so much of the work on this place yourself. Obviously, a lot of the materials are reclaimed from other projects and a lot of it taken from the land itself. What was the budget in building this? It's kind of a little bit scattered because there's landscaping costs that come into it, which I guess just for this area of the property with the landscaping was probably around $30,000. And then the build on the tiny itself was probably under $100,000. Great. I could have done it obviously a little bit cheaper if I hadn't have gone, you know, the higher end appliances and things like that. But I had a bit of a budget of $100,000 and it turned out pretty good, I think. It sure did. And it's worth spending that money for the long run as well and getting a place that you really like and really can enjoy. Exactly. And what are your future plans for the place? Future plans? My plans are always changing, Bryce. I never really make too many plans and mainly because of work. I'm sort of always here, there and everywhere all over the world. Yeah. But plans for the property are just ever changing because I'll walk down into a new little area and just think, you know what? This is a perfect spot for a bungalow, just something stupid. And everyone's just like, no, stop. You know, like I'm always coming up with crazy ideas. So I would not tell you to stop. I will just wholeheartedly encourage that. If this is what you build, then just keep on building. Yeah, yeah. Well, Johnny, I just think that what you've created here is absolute magic. You called this place paradise and you are 100% right about that. This is a really special place and you have wonderfully added to it with this incredible tiny home. Thank you so much for sharing it with me. No worries, Bryce. Thanks for coming down. Yeah, I thought you guys should definitely come and check it out because it's a pretty special little corner of the world. It certainly is. What Johnny has created here is absolutely incredible. Already, when you're building in a location like this, it's kind of hard to go wrong. But what Johnny has done with his home really just takes all of the best features of this forest and brings it inside. I absolutely love the serenity of this space and just how being in that home makes you feel so connected to nature. In terms of a place to really feel like you've escaped the hustle and bustle of the crazy world outside, this is about as good as it gets.