This Spectacular HUGE Tiny House Allows a Family of Four to Thrive

Building a house and building a home are two entirely different things. This next space that we're about to visit is unquestionably a magnificent tiny house, but there's something very special about it that really makes it a home. Hi Ayana, it's so nice to meet you. Yeah, you too. G'day Sam, great to meet you mate. It's lovely to meet you mate. And this place is magnificent, what a gorgeous home you have here. Thank you. Thank you so much. What inspired this whole tiny house journey for you? I've been watching your videos for the last, what, seven years or whatever, so obviously that has always been a bit of a dream for me. And I remember watching your videos at the beginning and being like, oh, which one that I could do that. So here we are today, which is amazing. Here you are. And we never really wanted to get into a mortgage or anything like that. And yeah, it just became a bit of the best option for us. We wanted to be in nature, we wanted to have space for the kids to play and yeah. It's all we really need. It's simple, it's sustainable, affordable. Yeah. And this is a big tiny house as well, isn't it? Three meters wide, which is about half a meter wider than typical. Yeah, and it's a 10, but actually 10 and a half, because we pushed on the tow bar half a meter. And then of course, you've really extended it beautifully with this huge deck as well. Yeah, which was only finished a couple of days ago, luckily. Perfect timing. And of course, this kind of setup is absolutely perfect for kids, isn't it? Yeah, especially with the grass, the field we've got behind the home as well. And we intend on doing like a bit of a tree house in there and having families that are aligned with like homeschooling intentions to have collective meetups here and do some beautiful things. Yeah. Yeah, the kids love it. It's really... Yeah, they just spend their time outside, which is amazing because before we were in suburbia and we're like very much inside or on the streets. And now we're just like in the garden and yeah, they love it. Yeah. This is such an idyllic parking spot that you found for the tiny house as well, right by the creek. And it's such a beautiful, quiet, private space. Yeah, it is. We got so lucky. It was quite synchronous in the end. There was a bit of stress because the home was being delivered. It was interesting because I decided, I even put it on my social media. I was like, I'm seeing myself in the spot and I know it's going to happen. And I'm deciding not to stress, even if the house is being delivered in three weeks. Literally an hour later, I received a message from the owner of this place. Wow. And we came the same day and we're like, oh my God, this is it. There's a bit of magic like that when you open yourself to it, isn't there? Oh, there sure is. Absolutely. And are you off the grid here on this section? We are. Although we're plugged into their water of the owners still, because we've only just finished the roof, which will have down pipes to collect the rainwater. But everything's set up, ready to go. We just need to put the pipes in. We've got actually an amazing water filter by the tank. So we haven't used it yet, but yeah. Perfect. And tell me about the design of this house. Well, we really wanted a lot of windows and a lot of natural light. So we've got that three big window, which is sliding door, which is amazing and just brings so much natural light inside. And then outside, we've got that big bifold here, which is incredible in the kitchen. Being able to have that openness to the deck and with the breakfast bar feels absolutely amazing. And in terms of colors, we decided to go with Jasper from Color Bonds because we wanted something quite natural, not too light. And I don't know, I feel like it just really matches the environment really well. And Diana's choice also of the three closed windows that are on the drawer bar, so they have the angles at the front with the one facing forward. And we just put one door on the back, which exits through the bathroom. Great addition. And onto the backside of the deck. And around the corner, we've got a big part of the deck, too, where we're going to have our laundry. So washing machine, dryer, maybe a little sonar ice bath that's on stage, too. Oh, nice. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Perfect. Another thing that's really beautiful that we probably didn't put words on is the breakfast bar. Yes. Which is quite a simple but beautiful thing that we really, really look forward to enjoying with some stools. Especially in this climate where indoor outdoor living is pretty much year round, isn't it? Being in the kitchen, cooking and doing the things and then having friends over on the little table, just like passing things through the bifold windows and chatting while I'm cooking. And it's, yeah, it's been amazing. Yeah. And as well, you've already done such a beautiful job with starting to landscape the place. I see you've got the sandpit there for the kids. Lovely herb spiral. And that is the fire pit that dreams are made of, isn't it? To be completely honest, I think the fire pit needs a bit of effort. I'd love to make that like the heartbeat of our entertaining hosting. We're really musical people. Our friends are very musical. We love to sing songs together. And that's kind of like our medicine. You know, it brings us together and connects us in the moment. Around the fire is, you know, it's a very important location for something like that. So we'll get to that. And you actually have quite a bit of land to play with here, don't you? That's right. Yeah, we're very fortunate to have been generously given this much land to play with for what we're paying. It's supporting them by having us maintain this pocket of land for them properly. But yeah, we're very, very grateful. They're beautiful people. So we're very lucky for that. This area over here has just been reforested with 600 native rainforest plants and trees that are native to the region. So that's going to explode into this beautiful, beautiful forest. Yeah. What a playground you've got. Yeah, it's beautiful. Yeah, it's mind blowing. It's been a bit of a process of letting go of a lot of fear. I've kind of been like, what's going to go wrong? What's going to go wrong? You know, and just like seeing that programming in the mind and trying to let go and just being like, no, we deserve this. We're going to make something beautiful here, receive this, give our children the beautiful upbringing that they deserve. And yeah. How would you say the tiny house has aided you in that journey then? Significantly and only recently because we've only been here for three months. I can see how it is aiding in a sense of freedom, which is really enabling me to go deeper into what my current condition and my state of emotional feeling is in the body. It's giving me an opportunity to rest and to feel and let go of and let through what has been held so tightly whilst I've been so desperately trying to earn money to get a strong foothold for our family. So for the first time in seven years since we've met, we've become self-employed and hit the road running. Because of course, your business is also very directly intertwined with health and healing, isn't it? Yes. So the company Great Spirit, it was actually born from a vision that we had to create a profitable company to fund and facilitate programs that we were running already, which were retreats that would invite people into nature to just simply sit with what is. And then soon after that, an incredible product, which we now call Iron Restore, which is a natural whole food based midwives recipe, came through us through Ayana. And we're just at the cusp now where we're going to be able to start using profits to fund and facilitate these programs. Congratulations to you both. That is a monumental accomplishment. And Ayana, tell me what your journey was like into this as well. So I'm originally from Paris and I came into Australia nine years ago. And when we got together, we started working from the beginning. So coming to this today feels just amazing for us. And just being together here in this journey, in business, in family, on these beautiful lands, in this beautiful home, just feels amazing. Yeah, I'm very grateful. Absolutely. Well, already I can see that you two are the perfect team. I am so inspired with what you've created here and I cannot wait to see more of your creation inside. Can we check it out? Absolutely. This is absolutely exquisite. I absolutely love the way that you've styled this place. It's so beautiful and natural feeling. Yeah, we absolutely love it. It's just so nice and earthy and it feels so spacious inside because of the size of the tiny house, obviously. We've got that really big kitchen, which is a dream. It is huge. And is this micro cement that you've used in the kitchen as well? Yeah, in the kitchen and in the bathroom. Beautiful. Such a lovely material, isn't it? Yeah, just beautiful and natural and it just feels amazing when you touch it. Absolutely. The three windows that you've placed at the end of the kitchen just become such a feature as well, don't they? Yeah, I can't even imagine not having the windows now. When I'm cooking, looking outside and that light coming through, it's just incredible. I absolutely adore these light fittings as well. Oh, thank you. I made them. You made these? Very proud of those. Yeah, as well as those ones. They are so good. Yeah, thank you. They actually add a tremendous amount of character to the room. I always love natural textures and organic feelings. So that's why I wanted to make them. They actually look like the moon a bit. They really do. Is this your ceramic work on the wall as well? Yeah, yeah. Beautiful. Lovely to have a place to showcase your artwork like that. And overall, standing in here now, this is just such a spacious feeling home, especially the way that it extends into the outdoors. And that really is essential being a family tiny house. You have two young kids. So that extra space really comes in handy, doesn't it? Yeah. And you said young kids, but soon they'll be older and they get bigger and bigger. They do. Yeah, very important for us. And they're incredibly energetic. Yeah. Beautiful children. So yeah, we need the space. And especially, again, for a family home, especially with two boys to feed and you, Sam. That kitchen really comes into its own, doesn't it? Yeah. Absolutely. We love it. And so we've done the storage extremely well. I actually knew before even moving in where everything was going to go, because I designed the kitchen looking at what I had in our previous kitchen. And so every single drawer had a purpose already. So we've got a computer and electronic drawers where we actually have plugs in it. So we can charge your laptop and the phones at night straight in the drawer. So we don't have any cables everywhere, which is really nice. Very nice. We've got a couple of drawers. I partnered with a company that does drawer organizers. And so it basically measures exactly what you need. And then they make the drawers with bamboo dividers. And you make them exactly the size as you need. So for all the cutleries, all the tea, spices and everything, I made that. So it's just perfectly organized, which I love. Absolutely. We've got integrated fridge. It's a small one compared to what we had before. But honestly, it's been amazing. We've got a gas stove, which is incredible too, because we've been in a few houses before that without gas stoves. And I can't do induction or electric or anything like that. So having the gas feels, yeah, amazing to cook with. Yeah. Especially I've got beautiful clay pots that I'm cooking with. And you can only do it on gas, really. Yeah. And yeah, it just changes the way you cook, really. It's amazing. The kitchen is so beautiful. Obviously, because Ayana designed it. But secondly, because Ayana is an incredible chef, cooking is a huge part of her expression. Yeah. And part of her art as well. And the way that she loves languages for the family and to me. And so this really is a heartbeat of our home. Yeah. And we decided to go all out and get some spotted gum open shelves made. And the spotted gum is also what the balustrade is made out of as well, which is a really beautiful, natural touch. Yeah. Beautiful. And I really love that you have that as a love language for your family, Ayana, and that you have created the absolute perfect place in which to express that. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah. And so do I. Yeah. You're a very lucky man there, Sam. Yep. And the lounge, I absolutely love what you've created here as well. Again, spacious, nice big couch. And what a view to look out onto. Yeah. We've already been spending a lot of time here with the family. Targ is taken to UNO as a five-year-old, starting to learn and integrate gaming more and more. And so we're sitting here most of the time, to be honest, just playing UNO, looking out at the beautiful natural environment. Yeah. Great to see all of the musical instruments dotted around the place as well. Yeah. The challenge is getting time to play them, but at least I can remain connected to them visually. But yeah, as I said, we do play whenever we have our friends over and whenever we have a chance. And with the stairs over there, it looks like you've managed to build a lot of storage into that. Yeah. So that big door is a craft cabinet. So I've got all the little crafts for the kids, all of my crafts, candle making things, all the felt and rough yarn, all the things basically. And then I've got one specific little storage just for my yarn because I love knitting. So I've got all the knitting stuff in there. And then we've got two drawers organized for the kids' clothing. So it's actually really nice to not have to go upstairs to get the clothes for the kids. So we have one drawer for each and yeah, it just makes everything so easy. Yeah, absolutely. And you've got the dual sleeping lofts in this house as well. Yeah. So we've got our loft on one side and Tavi's loft on the other side. At the moment, it's more my loft and our baby's loft and then Tavi and Sam's loft because he's co-sleeping with Tavi up there and I'm co-sleeping with Tamar in our bed. So Tavi's loft, we've done some beautiful integrated storage. So he's got a lot of space for his books and toys and all the little things and his bed sheets and then he's got a queen bed in it. So yeah, it's ample space for you two to sleep in. Yeah, lovely. That's such a nice way of doing it. And then as the kids grow older, that will become their room and then you'll get your room back. Yeah, exactly. And with Tavi's loft up there as well, what a nice space you've created just also for the kids to be able to play because it's so important in a family tiny house to have places where you can tuck away the toys. Otherwise, it can quite quickly take over the whole house, can't it? Yeah. And he loves his music also. Growing up around it, he's got a little piano up there, a keyboard and he can play that up there. More so than anything, I'd say it's a reading room. That's been our strong bond since he was very young. He's just reading every day and every night. So he's got a big book collection and beautiful space just to lay out and read before he goes to sleep every night. What's the favourite book right now? We're bouncing between an old version of Pinocchio and Enid Blyton, an author from the early 1900s, really popular children's author. Great. The Magic Faraway Tree. Yeah, it's beautiful. I loved that growing up. That book is my childhood. Yeah, it's so good. It's beautiful. Fantastic. And we've got your bathroom through there. First of all, I absolutely love the way that you've created the separation using the fabric. That's quite unusual. But again, it just adds this wonderful, warm and very natural vibe to the house. Yeah, I've always loved those curtains separated in the middle. So I made this one. I bought some fabric and then I dyed it and then did a separation in the middle. So it's nice to have privacy with the curtain, but not having that door that takes a lot of space is really nice. Well, can we have a look in there and see what you've done? Yeah, absolutely. All right, let's go. This is just so well done. Obviously, you've only got the fabric curtain there instead of the door, but the way that you've done this sort of zigzag around into the bathroom really creates the sensation of privacy in here. Yeah, it was really nice to do the toilets behind the wardrobe, so that it actually creates a whole, like a little room. Yeah. Instead of having the toilets in the middle of the space. And then obviously, because we don't have a door, we just feel like it's a bit private. It's very nicely done. This shower is absolutely beautifully done. Yeah. Yeah, it's stunning. The tiling costs a lot more than a more conventional path. It does. Just the glass. But to have the large space is great. I've always loved those Zelige tiles, American tiles. It's been a bit of a dream and I finally got it. You sure did. And then beautifully mirrored again with the vanity. The use of the tiles combined with the micro cement just looks so nice. Yeah, it's quite amazing. I love the idea of the floating vanity. So the micro cement sink is integrated in it, which is really beautiful. Yeah, gorgeous mirror up there too. I've got the shape of the mirror and then I went to the local woodworker and he made me the frame and yeah, I felt like it's really beautiful. It sure is. It's a bit of an organic touch to the space. It absolutely does. Beautifully done. And again, loads of storage with these wardrobes. Extra important being a family of four. Yeah. So this one is actually our wardrobe and this one is a storage for vacuum, shoes, towels, nappies, bits and bits and yeah. And I am such a big fan of having a bathroom design that immediately connects to the outdoors as well. Yeah. And we don't have a fan in here, which is a design flaw. Obviously, you'll always find little things that you didn't do that you wish you had, maybe. But having the door there just fixes the problem. We actually leave the glass door open all the time because that's an invisible screen. So we just lock this screen and then we can just leave the door open. Yeah, you get that lovely airflow. Yeah, all the time. And in the future, sauna to shower as well. Perfect. Absolutely. Who could ask for more? Love it. Nice. And upstairs, we've got your sleeping loft. Can we check that out? Yeah, of course. Yeah, let's do it. All right. Great setup that you've created with the walkway between the two lofts up here. This just works so well, especially as a family tiny house design, because it does so beautifully connect these two rooms. Yeah. And the kids that love playing and just running down the hallway and then coming here, going into his bedroom, just jumping on the beds. Yeah, they absolutely love it. Yeah. This room especially just has such a lovely, serene feeling. It's because it's Ayana's, not my room. Yours is chaos. Absolute chaos, frenetic energy. Ayana definitely has an eye for beauty and she's able to just hold that very beautifully in here. The design is different. It's quite a beautiful, simple space. It's so nice with the three meter wide, because that's a king bed. And even with the king bed, it feels really spacious. And we've got space on both sides, which is amazing. Yeah, actually really happy. And I've always been a bit scared of having to crawl into bed, but honestly, it's kind of fun and I'm pretty small, so it works well. Yeah. And then we've got some storage in here. So we've got shelves here and it's just beddings and things that we don't use much. And then we've got this one that opens from the walkway. So it's a hanging space that opens standing from the walkway, which is really nice too. Yeah. And it's such a hot day today, but up here we've got this lovely cooling breeze coming through the loft as well. Yeah. It does get hot sometimes and we've got a little fan that we put sometimes. When the sun is beaming through the window, it can get a bit warm. But yeah, it's nice to have those two windows to bring the air through and having them open even if it's raining too, because they're Ayana's window. Yeah. And again, really beautiful color tones up here as well, especially this wall at the back. It really just, again, it sort of really grounds the space, doesn't it? Yeah. It was a bit of a last minute addition in both of the rooms. I don't know. We just thought that would be nice to have a bit of a difference behind the bed. So we did this beautiful brown here and a bit more of an orangey, happy, joyful color into this bedroom. Beautiful. So it's three months that you've been in the tiny house now. How are you adapting to tiny house life? We love it. Honestly, there is not much that we would change. There is actually nothing that we would change. Absolutely zero. It really suits us. I remember just as we were going to receive the house, having that scared feeling of, oh, what if we find it too small or whatever? But in the end, it actually, there is none of that. It just feels really amazing. And being able to clean the whole house in less than half an hour instead of, you know, three hours, that's a massive win for me. Having the two young children as well, how did that affect the transition into the tiny house? I don't even think they realize, really. They just, that's their house and they just love it. I mean, Tavi has the cutest little bedroom. Tama doesn't even realize anything. He's only one. And he had his first birthday here, which was really nice. And Tavi had his fifth birthday here just recently. But he loves it. It's a dream. It's like the magic faraway tree. Yeah, it's like having a big cubby house. And being connected to nature and yeah, he's over the moon. I've seen a real positive shift in his being. He's always running outside and just, yeah, just playing out, which is the absolute best. Yeah. This space for us means connection to our children, to ourselves, to us as a couple and to nature. It means living more simply and it means just being more connected on the daily. For me, this space means freedom and opportunity to connect to what's real, what's most important in life and to bask in the natural and curated beauty that reminds us of the inherent beauty available to us to be perceived in all moments. And I think we'll look back at this time and this phase of our lives with the kids as young as they are and just be so grateful that we had the opportunity to do it. I feel like a significant thing that we've learned is that we are capable of creating a dream that we want to create. It's been a very tangible and real example of us setting a goal and creating it. Yeah, so it's been very empowering. And this is just such a magical space that you've created here. Can we talk about the cost that was involved in bringing this vision to life? Absolutely. Yeah, it was definitely on the higher end. The larger trailer required for the width and the length of the home was an extra $20,000 or $30,000 just for the trailer itself. It adds a lot of cost on the trailer, doesn't it? It needs to be a very specific trailer to be legally mobile. The home itself with the trailer was about $210,000. Yeah, $10,000, maybe $20,000. And then we added about $25,000 for the solar system. We've spent about $25,000 on the deck. It's probably landed us around $300,000. Yeah, it's probably around $300,000. But we feel very good. We were very fortunate to receive some money from an inheritance. And our company is also doing really well. So we're able to pay for it without any debt. So we're here now debt-free. Congratulations. Thank you. It's a huge step forward for us and our family. Yeah, what a great setup. And as you said as well, owning this home debt-free, that really just opens up so much scope for lifestyle and your business and everything else that you want to do now. Yeah, there's many ways you can invest money. But we just knew in our hearts and bodies that this was the right choice for our family to secure that fundamental need of housing so that we can feel free to activate our purpose and our responsibilities as parents. Yeah, and just feeling grounded in our own home and be able to make it just the way we want and have a space that feels like us and feels amazing. So different than having a rental and yeah, beautiful decision. It absolutely is. And with the home now so beautifully complete, what is the next phase of all of this for you? Well, thinking off the top of my head, personally speaking, we have the company to run and we have our children who we intend on homeschooling who are growing to that age as well. Great. Tavi. So we have a broad umbrella of doings that are ahead of us and we would like to just gracefully and slowly expand and curate the space around us. So no rush. We want to have food growing. That's important for us. And we want to have the space suitable to host events and meetups that are conducive to raising beautiful children. Yeah, we've got a beautiful vision for the land and for that piece that we are on. And yeah, we can't wait to see how beautiful it becomes. It's already very beautiful. It really is. Well, already, I'm just so inspired with what you've created here. This is a truly awe-inspiring place that you've built for your family. And I cannot wait to watch this space evolve even more over the years. Thank you so much for sharing. Thank you for coming. Thank you, Bryce. This is one of those homes that from the very first moment you step inside, you're just absolutely welcomed with the sensation of warmth and love. And that is very much the creation of Sam and Ayana and the vision that they have brought to this home for their family. Yes, I could talk about the beautiful natural design and just how amazingly gorgeous this tiny house is. But really, it's that feeling of warmth and love that I think will stay with me when I think about this home.