Two Tiny Homes Connected by a Deck. Full Tour

Two tiny cabins, one connecting deck, and a family of four moving from 399 square feet into nearly 800.

After three years in her previous tiny home with two teenagers sleeping in a four-foot loft, Kelley asked her kids what they would change about their lives. Both said the same thing: get them out of that loft. With her son turning 18 and her daughter 16, Kelley worked out how the family could afford it. The answer was two cabins. One for the kids. One for her husband, Warren, and her. Connected by a deck. A second step toward independence for the teenagers, and a soft landing into the empty-nester chapter for Kelley and Warren.

This second tiny is every lesson Kelley learned designing for clients over five years. The living room is intentionally small, with a fireplace and a coffee-bar console that blocks the kitchen sink from view. The eat-in bar replaces a family dining table because Kelley designed it for two. Sammy and Selah, her two Pyrenees, have a dedicated dog room.

The 15-wide kitchen wraps around a structural piece: stone fireplace on one side, 42-inch pantry cabinets and a coffee and smoothie bar on the other. Trash drawer, soffit lighting with Christmas plugs, deeper cabinets that read custom rather than stock, all features Kelley did not think to ask for the first time around.

The bedroom is a full-height loft in the treetops, not a four-foot crawl. Kelley flipped the layout: bedroom upstairs, storage room underneath. The result is a stand-up air-conditioned attic for out-of-season clothes plus an unconditioned room for Christmas decor and business files. Two pieces of art Kelley owned for ten years became the doors to the bedroom. His-and-hers closets ended the spousal storage fight. The 12-foot stair treads carry no drawer storage so Kelley can age in place safely.

The kids' cabin is intentionally not a full tiny home. No living room. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, and an efficiency kitchenette modeled on a college dorm: somewhere the kids can make tea or grab a midnight snack, then walk back for family movie night. Kelley's daughter chose lavender walls, floral wallpaper, a five-foot double-rod closet, and a book wall. Her son chose black-on-black with neon, a desk, and a shirt-cab closet with drawers for art supplies.