Her Stunning Tiny Home w/ Standing Loft & High Ceiling

I went from a very large kitchen, but guess what? I really do not miss any of that. I had neck surgery, literally laying on the floor for about eight months, and I was contemplating my life. Something had to change. I had a wonderful builder that was able to build my house taller, which allows me the luxury of standing up at a loft. After my surgery, I decided I was going to put the house on the market. Hi, my name is Susie Mackey, and welcome to my tiny home. Come on and let's take a tour. Welcome to my living room. Before I went tiny, I actually lived in a traditional home right on a golf course. My home was basically 2,500 square foot. I had a three-bedroom, two-bath, large traditional dining room with an office, a master bath. Now I'm down to basically 400 square foot at the bottom, and the loft will equate to about 600. I have basically 12 feet walls. The total height of my ceiling is basically 20 feet, so it gives you the illusion that it's actually large. My design is rustic, minimalist, modern decor. I have to be very conscientious as to what I bring in, so all the pieces that I have is what I love, what brings me joy. I have mirrors that matches the trim around the house that kind of gives you that rustic look. Very minimal items on my fireplace. This fireplace is amazing because it actually heats up my whole entire house. In fact, we had to shut it off because it was getting way too warm. And of course, I have a leather couch that folds out. Very, very comfortable. Perfect height to see our television, which is a 55-inch TV, so it really is nice. This is a stick-built home. It was just a shell of a home. It didn't have a whole lot, and we basically built this house that you are currently seeing. It was a labor of love. We have 800 square foot of decking. We installed a pondless waterfall that brings us a lot of joy. You can hear it. It's gorgeous, so I don't really miss my traditional home. My husband calls the porch his office. We sit outside, and we enjoy listening to the waterfall, and we have our coffee, and things are slower. It really is nice. Welcome to my kitchen. I tell you what, I'm so happy with my kitchen. I went from a very large kitchen. I had tons of countertops and so forth, but guess what? I really do not miss any of that. I have everything that I need. Everything is at reach. It is so simple. I can cook real quick. I can clean. It's like having a short order cook prep station in a small area, and it works. I really, really love it. One thing I am very thrilled about is the fact that with the smaller space, you can add higher-end renovations because it's less expensive to do so in a smaller space, so I've really enjoyed that. When I did my upgrade, I put this very nice quartz countertop. Love, love, love my full-size dishwasher. This country sink is fantastic. Check out my faucet. I have a full-size pantry where I can put a lot of food. It's very, very tall, so I have a lot of area, and I have deep drawers for my towels, quartz knives, and, of course, storage for organizations. I have a full-size oven microwave, and I love my air fryer. I have a full-size refrigerator, and it has a deep-set freezer along with a full-capacity refrigerator. I am not missing out on anything. All of these appliances were basically at my other house, so I really, really love how I'm able to utilize this whole area. The reason why I went tiny, it was just a mishmash of things. My husband at the time walked in, said he was working at somewhere for 20 years that he hated, and it readily resonated with me that something had to change. And also, during that time, I was very ill. I had neck surgery, literally laying on the floor for about eight months, and I was contemplating my life. In doing so, I, you know, you think about what brings you joy. I was laying there, and I noticed we went into our bedroom, our kitchen, our bathroom, and the laundry room, and that was it. I had five other rooms that we didn't even enter. I had a China carry-on cabinet that I had its own dedicated room, so I bought into the golden handcuffs. I just did not want to do that anymore. I wanted to downsize. Then after my surgery, I decided I was going to put the house on the market. I was just uploading pictures. Within 19 hours of doing so, three people came by, and it was a price war for my original house. I ended up picking the Water's Edge tiny home, and it worked for me. I am very, very happy, extremely fortunate to be able to find this place and make that decision to go tiny. It is such a blessing that I was able to do this, had I known I would have done that a long time ago. Going through the hallway, I have a full-size washer and dryer, which is a blessing. It's stackable, and it's LG. Barn doors are a must because here is my storage area. This is an area where I hold my laundry basket and just these extra items that you end up having. You can slide this, and it goes away. It's very, very nice. You can close it off. Just behind me is my bathroom. I have a different setup for my bathroom. I have an area where the shower is, and I have an area where the sink is, which allows us to basically brush our teeth and close off that area, and someone can go take a shower and do whatever they need to do with privacy. So I love this. I have a two-sink bathroom, which is great. One for him, one for me. This is my side where all my makeup is, and this is my husband's side with all his hygiene materials. I have plenty of drawer space where I have my makeup, another for toothpaste and skincare, another drawer. They're all deep. It houses everything that I possibly need. Pocket doors are essential to a tiny house because it doesn't take space. So if you open up this area, this is where my shower and my toilet is. I love my shower. I have plenty of space. My contractor used large tiles with no grout, which makes life easier in terms of cleaning. It's very simplistic. I have this shower head that basically goes all the way through the end of the shower. When I get older, I can just get a seat here, and I'm planning to retire here. So I'm preparing for all those things. Love the ability to house all my towels and products. I also have a little bit of storage area for, you know, toilet tissues and whatnot. I really love my bathroom. This is the master bedroom, and the fact that it's in the main floor is huge, not having to go upstairs. I think it's important that, you know, we can put a wheelchair if necessary or a walker. I have a back door that goes all the way around the house. I can go front to the back, plus I got a ramp there just in case for the future for wheelchairs and whatnot. So I'm thinking ahead for my retirement. We have barn doors for our closet, his and hers, and a large area where we put our socks or different things that we need. I have a storage area for our shoes, and it also acts as a bench to sit on to put your shoes on, which makes it very, very nice. This is a queen-size bed, so that allows for a lot of room here. And if you notice the high ceilings, it's 20 feet, so this room feels very, very large. You don't feel cramped. It's comfortable and cozy. You know what's exciting about this particular tiny home? It's not usual that you have two bedrooms that can house two queen beds. It was perfect because I'm able to invite my daughter or guests. They were really, really good about laying out our whole tiny home situation where they positioned two bedrooms. Also, what's nice about it, it has a hydraulic lift bed. Look at the storage capacity that you have here. So both rooms have this exact bed, and I got this from Ikea. It has extra drawers for your guests. We have a full closet from Ikea, which is wonderful. It slides open. You have hanging areas. You have pullouts. So Ikea is your friend. How I was able to pay this house off completely, I sold my original house. It had equity, so I was able to just pay this off cash, and I am debt-free completely. When I purchased this home, I only paid $90,000. I actually did some renovations to kind of make it more personal, so I added an additional $40,000 on top of that, but I made it my own. I've added a beautiful pondless waterfall and an 800-square-foot deck, high-end countertops, a beautiful walk-in bathroom. It cost me $3,200 to live in the house that I was living in. With taxes and insurance, association fees, electricity, it cost $3,200, and it was paid off. The lot rent here at Water's Edge is $700 a month, and you have to pay for your own electricity, water, and cable. With $700, the amenities that you receive in living here, it's phenomenal. 150 feet away, you have the lake. You have a boat ramp. You have a clubhouse, a full Olympic-size swimming pool, so it's very nice, but most importantly, I have the lake view. Welcome to my loft space. To me, having a tiny house doesn't necessarily mean you should do without. In my case, I had a wonderful builder that was able to build my house taller, which allows me the luxury of standing up at a loft. I work from home basically four days a week. I'm up here for eight hours on the computer, and I have this whole area where I'm comfortable, and I'm able to work out comfortably. It's been wonderful. I highly recommend if you have the ability to have the builder build your tiny home tall so you have that extra space upwards on your loft where you can stand and really utilize your space. You can make this into another bedroom if need be. Thank you for visiting my tiny home, and if you want to know a little bit more about me, go to my Facebook and or Instagram. Links will be provided in the description.