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Couple’s $15,000 DIY Serenity Tiny House on Wheels


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This might be one of the best inexpensive DIY builds we’ve shown you on Tiny House Talk: Meet Josh and Alisha’s Serenity Tiny House on Wheels that cost them only $15,000 to build!

This couple has been traveling and eating on a dime for years and recently set out on their tiny house journey. Using recycled and reclaimed materials (and building the rest with their own two hands), the couple spent four months creating this masterful modern home.

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Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15,000

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Images via Terradrift

Such a bright and open aesthetic!

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Rolling doors are the best kind for tiny houses.

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Another long view of the home.

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Taking a peek at the kitchen. Love those countertops.

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Perfect fold-down desk/table for work and eating.

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Lots of windows in the kitchen, great for ventilation.

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Open shelving and plenty of under-counter storage.

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Bowl sinks are my weakness. I love these!

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Spacious shower with beautiful tiles.

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Related: Room To Move New Zealand Solar-Powered THOW

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Oh! A fun lime-green door.

Couple Build Beautiful Tiny Home for only $15k

Images via Terradrift

Videos on this Couple’s DIY Tiny House

Tiny House Update at The Weigh Station

From the owners/builders:

Serenity is a 330-square foot tiny house designed and built by her owners. The trailer itself was custom built by a local manufacturer and is 28 feet long by 8.5 feet wide. Many of the materials, including windows, flooring, doors, even appliances, were repurposed or purchased used from Craigslist, thrift shops, or local ReStores. Nearly everything, from the kitchen cabinets and counters to the vanity and bathtub enclosure, were built from scratch.

A full size kitchen means the owners will never have to give up their love of cooking. A bathroom big enough for two people to get ready in the morning, plus an RV sized washer and a wardrobe, doesn’t feel cramped or tight in the least.

There are two lofts in Serenity: one is used as the master bedroom and the other doubles as a TV lounge and a guest sleeping area, complete with fold-out mattress. Cabinets under the stairs provide serious storage for everything from coats to electronics and cover the unsightly wheel well. On the opposite side, a custom-built fold-out desk sits atop the wheel well and provides the perfect place for dining or working form home.

A 10-cubic foot refrigerator fits perfectly in the kitchen and a large convection toaster oven plus two single burners that can be stowed away while not in use make cooking and baking easy. A mini split AC unit keeps the house cool in Texas summers and a 7-gallon electric hot water heater is hidden beneath the kitchen sink.

Eight windows and two glass doors, one on each side of the house, invite in some serious light so Serenity always seems spacious and open. She was built in Ohio with the help of family and friends, then towed down to Austin, Texas, which was always her intended destination. The entire build took just under four months and cost $15,000.

Keep up-to-date on their blog.

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Natalie C. McKee

Natalie C. McKee is a contributor for Tiny House Talk and the Tiny House Newsletter. She's a wife, and mama of three little kids. She and her family are homesteaders with sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and quail on their happy little acre.
{ 10 comments… add one }
  • Sgmaps
    March 27, 2017, 5:20 pm

    It’s a beautiful tiny home without knowing what it cost them to build it. Knowing the cost makes it even more amazing. The only 2 things I would change/add would be #1-I would create more wall space by having a single full lite door instead of the double or sliding door. #2-I would have a full railing (pipe railing would suit the purpose and match the pipe ladder to the smaller loft) for safety sake. I love the exterior colour combo.

  • keepyourpower
    March 27, 2017, 7:48 pm

    Is there a range somewhere, that I missed? If you love to cook…what are you using?

    • Kathy
      March 28, 2017, 5:57 pm

      According to the write up on this page, the couple uses a convection/toaster oven and a couple of (maybe induction I’m thinking?)
      storable plug-in-when-needed burners. My sister uses a Breville convection/microwave all the time, even though she has a perfectly good range and oven, and there is nothing she can’t bake or roast except a 20 lb turkey!

  • keepyourpower
    March 27, 2017, 7:49 pm

    By the way, great work for $15k! And I LOVE the bathroom sink!

  • Kathy
    March 28, 2017, 6:05 pm

    This is a well thought out, totally liveable, charming THOW. Congratulations on a great design and execution, not to mention doing such a great job for such an unbelievable pricetag!!

  • Patty
    March 29, 2017, 2:06 am

    Great job! I love the bathroom – the sink & w/d especially. I love the brightness, the stairs and price. I think you all did a really good job!

  • merryl
    July 15, 2018, 2:33 pm

    is it $15,000 for the plans,materials,and labor?or for the finished product?

  • Michael
    September 29, 2019, 6:54 pm

    That’s a great example of original purpose of THOW to save money . Unfortunately majority of THOW are nowadays in price ranges of small traditional homes or cottages in many states.
    Beside the fact that I don’t like lofts, I like lounge chairs more than benches or sofas. Kitchen counter space could be optimized by U-shape. Dining beside each other isn’t my thing. I would use a fold down table which allows to face each other and still have view to outside.
    Otherwise its very well done for that cost..

  • Kathy
    September 30, 2019, 1:23 pm

    I have GOT to get me one of THESE! (Yes, Will Smith in Independence Day) What an amazing layout, *love* that kitchen (and totally agree that a Breville oven as noted above is plenty of oven, and open counters without burners or stovetop is in my future too.) Just the best and the most $ efficient I have seen – ever! Its a lot of work to source all the items you must to keep the price down, but well worth the effort when the outcome is THIS! Congratulations! Now when may I move in??? : D

  • Ryda
    January 10, 2020, 3:22 am

    And if they fall down the stairs and break their neck, leg, what have you they can appreciate how clean their walls are without a handrail.

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