Downsizing & Simple Living in Her Extraordinary Minimalist Tiny Home

I think one of the reasons that tiny house living resonates with so many of us is because we all as human beings crave simplicity. Life is complicated enough without our home and material possessions weighing us down even further and this next home that we're about to visit is a wonderful example of what simplicity looks like when it's done very well. Hi Wendy, how's it going? Hey, nice to meet you Bryce. It is so nice to meet you and oh my gosh, isn't it fabulous? This is so fabulous. You've got this incredible view of the dam, there's all of these wonderful kangaroos bouncing about with their little babies. This is an absolute dream and it's very distracting when you're trying to work. I bet it is. Yeah, it's a gorgeous spot. I'm very fortunate to have got this parking spot. Yeah, I think when everybody builds their tiny house they just dream of having the perfect parking spot but you really have found it. I have found it. The timing was perfect for what I wanted so it was meant to be. Absolutely and can you tell me what it was that inspired you to build a tiny house and start this whole journey? When I was in New Zealand a couple of years ago I had seen a tiny house being built and I guess that made me think more about it. When I came back I went to a tiny home expo and then I thought I've just got to do it. I was sick of so much crap in a three-bedroom house and wanted to live with less stuff. So I gave myself a year to find a builder, do some research, get rid of the crap and just dived right into it. The house that you've built is just so beautiful as well. Can you tell me about this design? It was the deck and the pod. I saw someone else getting built when I went and visited the builder and I thought yeah that's what I need. I wanted an outdoor space and I wanted somewhere to work. So having the pod means I can work from home in there and not have it in the house. So yeah it was perfect. This is really nicely done. So the deck that we're standing on now and the pod this is all constructed on one trailer and then the tiny house is on another trailer and then they're sort of joined together on site. Yes two separate trailers and yeah managed to get them nice and close and then just flashing in between. It's a great way of doing it. It is, because then you can you know in theory you could add another trailer. And having the pod there as well is just such a great addition. What an incredible office space. It is and the view when I'm sitting at the desk looking out here yeah it's great. It's a perfect spot. And you've got the sofa in there as well. Does that also convert into a bed? It does. It's one of the slide-out sofas so very easy to convert to a bed and it's perfect for a tiny house because it comes folded up and you just put it together unfold it and it's ready to go. Yeah so having both the combination of an extra office pod as well as the ability to have guests is a double win isn't it? It is. Makes it so livable and I wanted a covered outdoor space because I knew coming from a three-bedroom house I thought I really want to be able to you know make this work and be comfortable living in it and I felt that having a deck that was covered would just help me do that. Yeah brilliant and being able to work from home and having such a great office as well what a dream setup. Yeah. What do you do? I work for a mining company. Okay. So technology side of things with the training system so I can virtually work anywhere. Sometimes I have to go to the mine site over in PNG but not often. Great wonderful to have that flexibility. I'm very fortunate. Yeah and again the parking spot that you've found here is just so dreamy. How did you actually find this place? I found it through Park My Tiny House. Great. Yeah I had joined them. I'd been looking at some of the spots and there were some great ones. I was looking between sort of northern New South Wales, Sunshine Coast sort of way and when this one came up I applied straight away and was fortunate enough to have the owner contact me and we met up and yeah it was just the perfect timing. Brilliant and I really love the style of your home as well. This beautiful surf mist off-white colour is just such a Queensland style. It is yeah. I wanted something light because of you know it gets so hot here. Yeah. To help with that and I didn't want the stark white so it was a nice compromise. Yeah. I really love what you've done there with the pressed tin feature as well. That's so unusual and it looks so good. Yeah. I wanted to do something using it and I have for a opportunity to you know use it somewhere. Yeah. Grabbed it. Yeah. And went something totally different. Yeah. The advantage as well to doing what you've done with this wonderful deck addition is the way that you've built all of this outdoor space with the fans in the ceiling and everything it's just so cohesive and it creates this wonderful outdoor area to really capitalise on this stunning location that you're in. It is yeah and I mean the fans and with the lights in them it's going to help keep mozzies away if it's hot. I can have the fans going still sit out here so yeah. Rather than just go for lights the fans are going to be great in summer. Yeah absolutely. I love seeing all the crystals around here as well. That's such a nice touch. Yeah. I had a lot of crystals and I did get rid of some before I moved here but I've had the crystals for years and you know just through the house and out in the garden. It's just nice to have them around. Yeah and I love that if you can't fit them all in the house they can just spill out into the garden like this. Yeah some of the rose quartz and around the shed and they don't fade so you can put them anywhere. Yeah very true. And with this parking spot you've also got power and water on site which is really good as well and I can see that you've also done quite a lot to deal with all of the grey water and everything. The owner had done a lot of work which was another reason why I wanted to grab this spot. The pad was here, she had already had power put down to the block, the water tank was already in, the trench for the grey water was already done. So you know I virtually just rolled the tiny house and the deck in and I was just about ready to go. Yeah perfect. Yeah. And what size is the tiny house? So the house is 9.4 by 2.5 and the deck is a 10 meter. The pod on the deck is three meters so the rest of the deck is seven meters. Yeah. And the height is just over three meters that end and just over two and a half this end so I've got the skillion going lengthways. Yeah the skillion is a really nice roof design isn't it? It is, it is and I wanted to be different. I didn't want skillion going the other way so I wanted it to go the length and yeah really happy and made you know wanted it to be really noticeable not just that slight so yeah it's kind of cool. Yeah well already I'm such a huge fan of what you've created here and I am so excited to see what you've done inside the house. Can we check it out? We sure can. All right thank you. This is absolutely stunning. Your kitchen is a dream and it's super spacious as well this is actually huge. It really is isn't it? Heaps of bench space. I didn't want something that was too small and I couldn't sort of spread out and I wanted the breakfast bar so I could sit here to eat if I'm not sitting outside to eat so yeah heaps of storage. Yeah and it's such a beautiful clean minimalist design and yet it's also just enlivened with all of these wonderful pops of colour throughout the place. Yeah I have to have colour in my life but I wanted something that was a canvas for that colour. Yeah. So yeah the dark green, the white and then I can just change the colour as I want to. Absolutely. These lampshades and the light fittings in here are beautiful. Thank you. I was searching for something with a kind of a retro vibe like the mid-century and the retro so these ones were perfect when I found them. Fantastic. You have got a lot of storage in this space as well. I can see this is such a great efficient design for that. It's a lot of storage. Yes I didn't want an oven. I didn't want a dishwasher. I wanted to use those spaces as storage instead. Yeah. So yes I've got a lot of storage and a lot of appliances to fit in so yeah. Yeah I think that's such a smart way because if you know that those are things that you don't really use all of that often then it makes sense to replace them with space for other things that you do use. Yeah exactly and you know those are big items. They are. So I've got so much more space for storage out of it. And do you enjoy cooking? Yes and no. I go through stages so I might cook up a meal on a Sunday that will last me a few days and you know things that I can freeze. Yeah. So I don't necessarily cook every night but yeah I don't mind cooking let's just say. And I like the way that you've built the breakfast bar into this space as well because of course it creates all this nice extra prep area but then you've also got a nice place to sit and eat as well. Exactly and I've got the bar stools that fit under the bench so they're not in the way when I do want to use that as prep but I can sit here if I want to if I don't want to sit outside. Yeah great use of the tambour door in the kitchen as well. I haven't seen that done before. It is normally they're smaller in kitchens for like the toaster, the kettle. I wanted a larger one for the coffee station and yeah it just hides everything. I love that you know you can roll it away and it just looks that clean lines. Yeah and well done with the windows in here as well. I love that you've minimized the size of the windows but really beautifully positioned them to maximize the views. And they work really well. I love the high windows. You just get to see the bits of the trees out there and the sky and it's just really beautiful. I think when people often design tiny homes they can frequently overdo the windows thinking that they're going to feel quite claustrophobic in the space if they can't see everything outside but what you've done here is really smart because framing everything so beautifully, minimizing the size of the windows, it's given you more storage, the ability to add some lovely shelves and some display features but still have all of this light and all of this exposure to the outdoors. It does and it still brings in a long light because of the high ceilings as well. Very true. It is beautiful having this single level design as well and one of the things I love about single level designs is this extra sense of spaciousness that you get from not having the lofts encroaching on you. I like the idea of the lofts for the storage in the stairs but I didn't want to have that crawling into bed. I wanted to be able to walk around the bed so that's why I chose a single level. Absolutely and I love the pop of color that comes in from these two fantastic armchairs. They are an addition that I got a long time ago. They were in a really poor state when I bought them and redid the timber, got them upholstered and when you're living alone you can do whatever color you like. Very true but they really do just become this very uplifting feature in the space. It does and you know it's that retro and mid-century again and bringing in the lamp with the same colors through it. It just brings cheer you know and joy. And they're perfectly positioned as well to sit there and take in that wonderful view of the dam. They are. Lovely that you've added so many plants in here as well. Again there's something about plants in the space that I just find so uplifting. Yeah true and before I put them in it felt quite cold and just adding those plants just really gives it that warmth. Yeah brings the outdoors in. It does. I see you've got the mini split up here as well. Lovely to have that for heating and cooling and this is also a really super insulated home as well isn't it? It is. The aircon, the insulation ceiling, subfloor, walls and I've gone double glazing with the pvc surrounds instead of the aluminium. Yeah I absolutely love the floors in here as well. They look so good and cork is such an underrated material for tiny homes as well. It's lightweight, it's got this wonderful insulative property and it feels so good underfoot too. It does and I love the cork. I made the decision early on that I was going to have the cork and got about 20 different samples out to try and choose what I wanted and it just works so well with the colouring of the kitchen and it's a great backdrop for the chairs and yeah I love it. Yeah because cork's not what it used to be either. You can have all of these different kind of looks and styles like this one almost has a bit of a stone look to it doesn't it? Yeah and this one is slate is the name of this one. Yeah. So yeah it looks like slate. It's beautiful. It really is beautiful and behind us now is the bathroom. Can we have a look in there? We can. Let's have a look. Okie dokie. This is really nice. Lovely clean minimalist design in here as well and again you've got these wonderful pops of colour through the towels and the crystals and the little knickknacks you've got everywhere. Yeah it's a great size bathroom. I didn't need a big bathroom so yeah it works perfectly the way it is set up and a bit of greenery with the plants and towels. It's a small space but it didn't need to be big for me. I didn't need a big bathroom so it works really well. Yeah. You've chosen the incinerating toilet for this one. I have yeah. It was a decision that I wasn't going to go with because of the cost and the ongoing cost. Yeah. But I'm glad I did now. It's very easy to use, very easy to clean and maintain. Yeah absolutely. They can be a wee bit noisy with the fan action though can't they? The fan does go for a while after you've used it but yeah you get used to it. Very true. Great size shower and it looks like you've got a bit of an interesting gujama flip there as well. Yeah it's a 900 by 900 around about and it's a filter, a shower filter that I was using in the city to remove the chemicals from the water in the city and I've just continued using it here and I probably don't need to because it's beautiful rainwater that I've got. But yeah I just chose to continue using it. Yeah it's a nice addition to have for sure. And I love the way that again you've used this wonderful tambour door to hide all of your laundry. Yeah I didn't want the washing machine to be on show the whole time and the shelves and the stuff I've got in there and plus my brother-in-law and sister have the business that make them so I chose to use them in every room. They look really good. I really like this. I think it's actually really spatially efficient for a tiny house as well because you don't have to worry about opening cabinets or anything it just nicely rolls in on itself and then reveals everything. You get full access to the space. I'm actually surprised we don't see more of these. Yeah I am too. They're perfect for a laundry and yeah for a tiny home they're a real space saver. They certainly are. And really nice size vanity again and then beautifully tied into all of the kitchen cabinetry keeping all of those colours and materials consistent. It is and it's perfect. It's got the laundry hamper in there, the basin round this way instead of the other way just to give more bench space. Yeah it's fine. Beautiful. And then next up is your bedroom. Can we have a look in there? We can. I really love this. What a place to be in bed and then just looking out upon that view this is perfect. It's pretty neat isn't it? Yeah. And particularly when the moon is shining it's so bright out there and that's the reason I didn't want blinds or anything. I don't need them where I am and I get the beautiful view. Absolutely yeah who would want to cover that view up? Exactly. Again in here one of the things that I love about using this very white neutral colour palette throughout the home is the way that you've just been able to add all of these vibrant pops of colour in here through the lampshades and this very vibrant bed set. Yeah I do as I said love colour. I made the lampshades years ago. I used them as bedside lamps so I wanted to keep them and have the same linen so I chose to use them as pendants. Very nice and a great way of doing it as well because it does give you the effect of having the bedside lamps without needing the bedside tables. Exactly there's not enough space to have bedside lamps. You do have a storage thingy down there though don't you? I do. It hides a few things and you can turn the lid over and it's got a hard surface on that side so you can use it as a bedside at night. Perfect. Place to rest a cuppa. It is. And again plenty of storage in here as well. The storage in the wardrobe just completely dominates that back wall doesn't it? It does. I have a lot of clothes and I did get rid of a lot of clothes but I still have a lot to store and I didn't want sliding doors for the wardrobe because I find them annoying if you're you know you're trying to get something behind the sliding door and the tambour just works perfectly. Yeah great that you've included the space for the suitcases as well because sometimes you do need to travel for work so it's important to have a place to tuck those away. It is. I you know travel a little bit for work but head back to New Zealand and you know didn't want to put them in the shed. Preferred to have them in the house so it's a perfect spot. And under the bed even more storage again. More storage under the bed yes. It's one the lift up beds and yes I can hide multiple things in there. Yeah very efficient. And you've only just recently moved into this house haven't you? I have. I've only been here just over a couple of months. Yeah. So very new to the area. Lots to explore but enjoying it. I'm still actually setting a few things up outside. Still to hang pictures inside but yeah it's been fun. Having only just moved into the home would you say that tiny house life is living up to your expectation? Oh absolutely loving it and spending more time outside it's yeah certainly agreeing with me. Yeah a big part of why you did this was all about just wanting to live more simply. About getting rid of having to do all of the housework and sort of minimizing your possessions. How has that journey been for you? It was a process. There was some stuff that I wanted to get rid of but I wasn't ready and a month or two later it's like yep I'm ready to get rid of that piece now. So yeah I gave myself a year because I didn't want to rush through it. It's interesting because I never thought I would be able to live in a tiny house. I thought you know how can people live that small in such a small place so narrow and you know and it's really easy. Living in a tiny it doesn't feel tiny. It's wonderful having my piece of paradise really and just you know if I go back into the city it's nice coming back to this space. It really is. This place is mine. It's no one else's. It's mine. It's made for me. This is such a beautifully built tiny house. You've used such wonderful high quality materials in here and then you've also got the addition in this one with the second trailer, the pod, the deck extension. Can we talk about the cost that was involved in building your home? Yeah with the home, the deck pod and the setup for here was around $240,000. Great and for that you're in an absolutely amazing position here. Wonderful parking spot, million dollar views and in a beautiful home that is exactly as you like it. Yeah and I mean that cost was extras plus it was the plumbing. It was getting them here. Yeah. It was the you know the sparky doing the extra bits once it got here so there are add-ons and yeah well worth it. Yeah absolutely and now your home is complete. It's on site. You're wonderfully settled into your beautiful new parking spot. What does the future hold for you now? Well I hope to be here for a few years. I want to be here long term just to enjoy it and settle in and then see what the future holds. Yeah take it as it comes. Take it as it comes. Yeah. Wendy this home is just so beautifully done. I love the design. I can see that this is a space that just works for you so well and you've created such a wonderful neutral space that you've then just made so vibrant with all of your wonderful personal touches. Thank you so much for sharing it with me. Thank you. Thank you for coming. My pleasure. One thing that we often don't talk about with materialistic expanse in our lives is that it can reach a point where it becomes almost debilitating where our housework mounts up where our yard work mounts up and I think so many of us can really empathize with Wendy's feelings about just wanting to simplify and wanting to make things easy and here in this beautiful tiny home that she's created for herself that's exactly what she's done. She's created simplicity. She's created peace and here sit amongst this incredible parking spot she has built for herself a simple dream life.