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Another Couple Living in a Debt-free Tiny House: Meet Shaye & Tom


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Shaye and Tom are a young couple who decided to design and build their own tiny house in West Auckland, New Zealand. It measures 7.2 meters long by 2.4 meters wide which translates to approximately 24′ x 8′. Or a total of 15 square meters (or 161 square feet).

They’ve only been living in it for two weeks as of the filming of the video tour and interview you can watch below thanks to the folks at Living Big in a Tiny House. What’s really inspiring is that the couple had never built anything like this before. They were able to learn most of what they needed by watching videos on the Internet.

What might be even more inspiring is that they’re only going to spend a total of about $20,000 to build it themselves. And that’s all with very high-quality materials used for the build.

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Shaye and Tom

Images: Living Big in a Tiny House / YouTube

I encourage you to enjoy the rest of the tour (and interview) below:

Kitchen and Staircase with Storage to the Loft

Kitchen and Staircase

Kitchen (Still Unfinished)

Kitchen

Living Area

Living Area

Nice open living space and notice the built-in storage drawers under the built-in seating.

Staircase Storage with Closet

Staircase Storage with Closet High View of Living Area Living Area

Sleeping Loft

Sleeping Loft Area Loft

Bathroom (Unfinished)

Bathroom Living Area Front Door Kitchen and Living Area Outside View of Shaye and Tom's Tiny House

Video Tour & Interview with Shaye & Tom

 Tom & Shaye Moving/Towing their Tiny House

shaye-and-toms-diy-tiny-house-0014

Visit Shaye and Tom’s website and “Like” their Facebook Page.

Visit Living Big in a Tiny House, “Like” their Facebook Page and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 12 comments… add one }
  • Lora Charlene Delatte
    January 21, 2014, 11:33 pm

    I wont a tiny home so bad , i live in Louisiana i was hit by Hurricane Kalost everything then i got a travel trailer it was lost by fire . Iam by myself i hope one day that am blessed with a tiny home

  • alice h
    January 22, 2014, 11:12 am

    This is the best storage staircase I’ve seen yet. Using the white and wood sections the way they did really disguises the stair aspect while being absolutely gorgeous to look at. The whole place is well thought out and looks very livable.

  • AL
    January 25, 2014, 8:11 pm

    That is really nice, that would be perfect..i might do some a little fabrication idea i have loft part! Love the stair storage drawer! oh, love your english accent too! hehehe

  • Sandra
    January 26, 2014, 11:05 am

    This is a really well built (looking well built) but it still has the problem of non-livability. All of the builders seem to have taken the storage thing and ran with it. I could not live in a home, small or large, that did not have comfortable seating. The thought of sitting on a bench for the foreseeable future would not suit me at all. I see the LR benches coming out and chairs or sofa going in! Also again, for the minimal cost, dormers are a necessity for loft sleeping.

    • Sandra
      January 26, 2014, 11:14 am

      I just went back and looked again and noticed the casual picture of the owners..both had tried to find the most comfortable place to sit..the wall corners. Yes I stick to my observation. In order to live in a place, you need to have good seating.

  • Comet
    January 29, 2014, 5:33 pm

    Pretty sure you can add foam toppers to the seating or even— if they are wide enough –use futon or twin mattress’ for toppers. Would make for comfy seating with bolsters at back–like a day bed–and these can even be used to store a duvet or two in them during the day.

    You do need storage for even the most minimal life—-even the homeless use shopping carts for storage. Tribal life used travois to move their stuff from place to place. Beyond that caves are still turning up with stuff in them from thousands of years ago–and NOT only utilitarian STUFF either. There seems to be a deep need in humans for stuff. Both for taking care of our day to day needs and for beauty.

  • Patricia Crawford
    April 15, 2014, 4:22 pm

    Agree with everyone else, best staircase I have seen! Us old gals can’t manage a ladder anymore. Just a lovely job, my goodness these young people are so creative. Thanks so much for sharing all these beautiful tiny and/ or small homes with us, much aprecieted.

  • david
    June 6, 2014, 6:17 pm

    Beautiful house…and truck.

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