She Started With Only $3000 And Built This Incredible Tiny House!

Building Dreams on a Budget

In this episode of Living Big in a Tiny House, you'll meet an inspiring young woman who started with only $3000 and built an incredible tiny house for herself. You never know what you can accomplish until you try and that's exactly what Sophie discovered when she set out to construct her dream DIY tiny house design. This is a tiny house that has been beautifully crafted with love and creativity. To keep costs down, many of the items in this tiny house have been pre-loved and up-cycled which helps to give the house a real sense of character. Now parked up on a dream spot in Byron Bay, Queensland, this tiny home is surrounded by beautiful permaculture gardens and is off-grid, capturing rainwater with a good-sized solar set-up. Sophie has all she needs in her little house.

The Journey of Construction

Sophie's tiny home is beautifully finished inside and out. The tiny house got its start when Sophie was living and working in the region, and the prices for rent and purchasing land and home were becoming out of her reach. So when her mom came to visit her she mentioned the idea of building a tiny home, and Sophie thought it was a great idea. She built the home herself, with the help of plenty of people along the way including friends, and family. She started with $3,000 in the bank which enable her to get a loan to buy the tiny house trailer. It took a lot of work, and several years to actualize the whole build, she initially thought the tiny house would be built in a year, but the reality of it was that she was saving and working on it as the money came in.

Learning and Sourcing Materials

Sophie had never attempted a project like this before, she sought out a course called Woodwork for Women, which helped her achieve her tiny house dreams. She started the project hoping to use all recycled building materials, however, that wasn't always possible when she was working full time, but she was able to source some beautiful materials such as cedar weathered boards and cedar shingles. The iron siding is reclaimed, as well as the windows, and doors that she sourced and built the home around. The tiny home is located in a beautiful spot surrounded by trees, and greenery. She has a garden with vegetables, and flowers for the bees.

Finding a Home and Living Off-Grid

She found the parking spot after she was working at a school where she met lots of wonderful families, one of which let was happy to have her on the land where she was able to finish the tiny home. She has an outdoor bathtub, and shower, so she is lucky to bathe under the stars. The tiny house is 6 meters long, by 2.5 meters wide, and 4.3 high. The tiny home is off the grid, so she can live with nature, with the sun providing power for the house, and rain water. You'll want to watch the entire video for all the tiny house details.