See Inside This Young Homeowner's Colorful & Affordable Tiny House

Derek lost his mom to cancer when he was only 18 and used part of the life insurance money to become a first-time home buyer of a tiny house. He feels that his home gives him a sense of coziness that he associates with his mom and honors her memory.

When he first purchased the home, it was an empty shell, allowing Derek to design it to his taste. He loves experimenting and redecorating, and has already painted the kitchen three times!

His house is full of color, starting with the green and pink on the outside and continuing with the yellow kitchen and tons of funky patterns throughout the home’s decor.

The home is 22 feet long and 13.5 feet tall. It is unique because it has three lofts: One of the lofts acts as Derek’s closet and getting-ready space, reflecting the important role that fashion plays in his life. The second loft acts as a closet for Derek’s roommate and the third loft acts as his roommate’s bedroom.

Derek prefers living with a roommate because he appreciates the company and saving money, but this is not a situation with a lot of privacy - the bathroom has no working door!

Derek has invested the apartment with a lot of himself. He purchased a skeleton he affectionately nicknamed “Jackie” and he changes her outfits every couple of weeks. He bought a painted window from a thrift store and found a vase on a roadside and painted it black and now uses it to keep flowers in. These personal touches help transform this Portland tiny house from Craigslist into a real home.

Derek has parked his affordable tiny house in a friend’s lot and for the low rate of $65 dollars a month he pays rent and utilities.

Affordable tiny homes

A major benefit of this tiny house in Portland is that it allows Derek to live a hip, urban lifestyle without paying those hip, urban prices while attaining homeownership at the same time.

For more stories on tiny homes, discover this tiny treehouse with a working sauna or this European-inspired tiny house with a pizza oven.

To see more videos, check out the Tiny House Expedition YouTube channel.