Over the past few years, tiny houses have been steadily growing in popularity, and as Australia’s biggest tiny house builder, Aussie Tiny Houses has had the pleasure of helping a wide range of people follow their tiny living dreams. So, to look more closely at the people and the many reasons they choose to go tiny, we’ve started speaking to some of our clients in a new series ‘Aussie’s Going Tiny.’ In this series, tiny house owners share their motivations for going tiny, along with insights and tips for others looking to join the lifestyle, too. From a young couple keen to focus on their business, to transitional housing for homeless people, we thought it was about time we share these videos on our blog.
Financial Freedom to Prioritise Their Business
For Aaron and Rahel, the choice to go tiny was one that allowed them to prioritise and upscale their business: Slide Coffee.
After building your typical 4-bed home in the suburbs, Aaron and Rahel quickly realised that this wasn’t the right decision for them. Not only was the mortgage too much pressure, but they also realised they didn’t need so much space. So, with a quick Google search for tiny houses, they’d found their solution and came to us at Aussie Tiny Houses.
They moved into their tiny house in 2018 and have since been able to put the money they’ve saved from the mortgage into their business. With this financial freedom, they could take their time to grow the business exactly as they wanted to, sticking to their values and taking risks where they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. Now, after four years, they wouldn’t change a thing about their tiny house design and advise others to consider what they most value in life and prioritise that, even if it means going against the norm.
An Ideal Retirement
On the other end of our demographic spectrum is retiree Dorothy McKendry, who was the reason we created the 9-metre version of our Casuarina design. After losing her husband and living for 20 years without a permanent home, Dorothy decided that a tiny house would be the best way to settle down. It offered a much more affordable option than renting a flat and didn’t have the same location restrictions.
At the time, we only sold the Casuarina to 8.4m long, but to add some extra space in the bedroom, we were able to extend it to 9 metres, the longest tiny house in our range at the time.
Now, the tiny home has become as much a part of the country property as the family home. Hurdles she thought would be very challenging, like the composting toilet, ended up being much easier than expected. Overall, she’s found it to be a very comfortable lifestyle and absolutely recommends it for other single women.
Tiny House Holiday Rental
For Leanne Harper, a tiny house provided the ideal business opportunity as a holiday rental. After a German WWOOFer suggested the idea, it was on the very same day that she was on the phone looking into buying a tiny house. She settled on the Mooloolaba 7.2 which offered the best layout to overlook stunning views. A cosy rainforest retreat, it’s now become one of the most popular Airbnb’s in the region, consistently booked by young couples, honeymooners and even 80 years old’s who’ve spent the last few days hiking in Girraween National Park.
Aptly named “Somewhere Over the Obi”, check out the property on Airbnb, or to see other tiny house holiday rentals, take a look at this blog.
Transitional Housing for Young People
Tiny homes also offer a great solution to the current housing crisis, and Dr Tanya Bell, CEO of YouTurn Youth Support recognised this the first time she stepped inside a tiny house. To provide secure transitional housing, Tanya needed to find a practical solution that would be self-contained, feel truly like a home, and could integrate into already well-established communities. Tiny houses were the answer.
Working closely with YouTurn, we were able to build two tiny houses that fit those requirements and have since become a corporate partner. These homes were parked on some community land with support from the council due to their moveability. Named Kindness (after Waves of Kindness who provided a significant donation for the project) and Community, it was an absolute pleasure to be able to build these tiny houses for such a good cause.
From Tiny House Designer to Resident
After 10 years of dreaming of tiny house living, one of our very own designers at Aussie Tiny Houses, got to realise that dream with a build she could custom design.
When she graduated high school Jess was struggling to decide what to study and was eventually guided down the path of architecture. It was while studying abroad that she first fell in love with small, niche homes that offered the freedom to experience the outside world.
During COVID, fuelled by the isolation of lockdowns, she started looking into designing and building her tiny house, and it was through this process that she came to us and got a job as a designer. This gave her the extra knowledge she needed to design her own tiny house and, when a space opened up, she took the chance to make that a reality.
Now, after living in her tiny home for a year, she’s loved the simplicity the off-grid lifestyle provides and has been slowly adding to the exterior of the home, with plans for a veggie garden, deck and pergola, all to be built herself with trees from the property.
Tiny houses can suit a wide range of people and needs, whether as an alternative to a standard house, secondary accommodation or even an investment opportunity. If you’re keen to learn more about why a tiny house might be right for you, check out our blog. And be sure to keep an eye on the Aussie’s Going Tiny channel for more videos coming soon!
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