Tori's DIY Tiny House Story

Why did you want to build a tiny house?

This is my 24-foot tiny house that I built myself. I wanted to go tiny because I couldn't afford to buy a house on my own at the time, and living in rentals was expensive, and you can't do anything fun to them. You can't paint rentals; you can't put a fence in, make a backyard, or do fun stuff like that.

So, a tiny house allowed me to have full creative direction, and I think it was a bit of a challenge. It was a scary task, but in doing that, I proved that I could accomplish something I had no experience with.

How did you create your tiny house design?

I got into tiny houses, I think, a little bit like everyone else who's into tiny houses through kind of publicity. Some shows are online on TV, and then some are available on Netflix, like the documentary Tiny.

I started watching all that and became more obsessed than other people. I was like, yeah, I think I could do that. I could live in a small space. I'm going to do that. I bought a trailer, and now we are here.

I started going through all the designs but couldn't find a perfect one. Also, I didn't know enough then to buy a design and be able to wrap my head around changing it. So, I just built a model in SketchUp.

Did anyone have doubts about your build?

I have had many people ask me why I don't just buy an RV or what about buying a wrecked camp trailer and doing it that way. A lot of opinions have gone through building the tiny house, but I think overall, it's been a lot of support.

There's just more curiosity, and sometimes it comes off as criticism. But then it just is a little sweeter when you get it all done. Then, those same people will be pretty impressed with the finished product.

One difficult thing for people is to wrap their minds around the end vision of what a tiny house will look like, but from spending so much time researching and building a model, this turned out to be how I had it in my mind. So I have all these little touches, like the house's overall theme.

I've had that picture in my mind when someone walks in, and it's framing, and they're like, this is wild, or I don't know what you're doing. It's a little bit different.

What advice would you give other DIY hopefuls?

I would say to anyone thinking about going tiny or any project, especially women, that going to the hardware store and asking for what you want is sometimes intimidating or having people question you. I would suggest trying it, even if it's something small to build or go to a workshop, because it's empowering.

In the beginning, I was terrified of a framing nailer. I used it with a healthy amount of fear, and now I'll see things, and I think - I could build that. I should try that. It's a nice feeling of not needing somebody to do things for you.

DIY tiny house

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Next, check out this Tiny House Tour With The Coziest Bedroom.