Why a Tiny Home?
If you have not watched any shows about living in a Tiny House or Tiny Home, you are missing out on a completely different lifestyle. The idea of living in a small space with less clutter and essentially getting out of debt is appealing to many families. When we decided to sell our 3,000 square foot home and live in our RV while building our farmhouse, we knew that Jamey would need a separate space to work from home. His job requires 9-12 hour days, with much of that in conference calls. Since we homeschool our son, we are ALL home, All the time! A 36 foot RV is fine when you can get outside but in the dead of winter, we knew that we would need more space.
Jamey did some research and we ultimately decided to purchase a building from a local Mennonite Family. They delivered the unit to our site and placed it in the location we had prepared. After leveling it, we began work to finish the inside. We chose a 12′ x 20′ building with a small covered porch. The inside was completely open. Jamey designed an area at the rear of the building to frame a small bathroom with a closet. We wanted to have the option to rent the space as a vacation rental if he decided to move his office back to the house after the build was complete.
Site prep and delivery set up
The area needs to be cleared of trees and brush, and relatively level. The couple who delivered ours provided leveling blocks for an additional charge.
It’s finally here! 
This machine is used to move the Tiny Home into place! 
Here it is! 
Front porch provides protection from the rain.
The Interior
First, Jamey framed the bathroom and closet walls. We decided to use a barn door for the bathroom since they don’t take as much floor space as traditional doors. Jamey found a local craftsman on Facebook Marketplace to build the barn door. It was unfinished, so we painted it before installation.
Next came wiring and plumbing. We installed a small septic tank to take care of the waste properly. Then we moved on to insulation. Because we wanted to keep the open rafter look in the space, we went with foam insulation. We cut the sheets to fit each section as we installed it.
Battery Powered saw made this quick work! 
Insulated walls 
Walls and Ceilings
Jamey chose plywood for the walls and ceilings. He trimmed the seams with a general purpose molding that gave the space a board and batten look. To give the space more character, we installed shiplap on the back wall.
Interior Design
You may think that a building like this would look cheap, but the finished you choose can make all the difference! Jamey and I both enjoy dreaming up projects, and seeing them through to the finished stage is sometimes really hard work, but it is always worth it!
Since this is a relatively small space, we went with Alabaster White for the walls. The back wall and barn door is painted charcoal. We went with a luxury vinyl plank flooring for durability and I think it added a rich look to the room as well.
A Full Bathroom
Although it is a small space, it was designed to house a full bathroom! We chose a delta shower system, a standard toilet and finished the space with a unique custom bathroom vanity. We found this cute table at a local shop and Jamey turned it into a beautiful bathroom vanity. We found a couple of antique metal baskets to use for bathroom storage too!
Cute table 
Unique Bathroom Vanity 
Installing the shower surround 
Working by lantern light
Lighting and Finishing Touches
Two pendant lights grace the large open room that will be Jamey’s home office. A sconce light over the vanity, fan light over the shower and small closet light finish the bathroom space.
Since Jamey has installed a barn door in a previous project, it didn’t take long to finish hanging the bathroom door!
Pendant lighting 
Bathroom Sconce 
Barn Door Hardware 
Barn Door
Welcome to our Tiny Home (Home Office)
The most amazing thing about this Tiny Home? For the duration of the project, we only had a generator for power!
Delivered October 27th and finished December 23rd, the project took longer than we anticipated. Sometimes other projects were more time sensitive. It has been a whirlwind finishing the solar equipment, running water lines, installing 2 septic systems and managing construction of our personal home in addition to working a full time job. We are pleased with the finished project- maybe one day we will build another one for a vacation rental! For now, we are happy to take a long summer break!
© Copyright 2020– or current year, The Sanctuary Ridge. Unattributed use of this material is strictly prohibited. Reposting and links may be used, provided that credit is given to Sanctuary Ridge with active link and direction to this original post.
