Tracy and her family were ready for something different. Living in close quarters in Santa Cruz through the lockdowns of 2020 had worn everyone thin, but there was something restorative about escaping to the mountains where her parents lived. That pull eventually turned into a plan to move there for good.
Today they’re a family of five living in a tiny house on wheels built by New Frontier Design, the Nashville-based studio known for luxury tiny homes with dramatic glass, blacked-out exteriors, and warm, light-filled interiors. Their home has a dedicated sleeping loft for the three kids, a generous bathroom-and-closet zone, and a raised kitchen that anchors the main living space — all the amenities that make full-time family life in a small footprint genuinely workable.
Below, Tracy shares the story of how they got here in her own words, alongside a full tour of the home.
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Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
A Yearning for a Change
Like a lot of families, Tracy and her husband found 2020 pushing them to rethink what home should feel like. The seed of their tiny house journey wasn’t a spreadsheet or a Pinterest board — it was a simple, insistent desire for a different kind of life. A short drive from the city, her parents’ land offered a first taste of it.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
What got us in to tiny home living was, to put it simply, a yearning for a change.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
We were a family of 4 (about to be 5) spending a LOT of time at home as most people were in 2020 and we found a reprieve visiting my parents’ empty lot just 30 min away from the city of Santa Cruz, up the mountains.
Falling in Love with the Land
What began as day trips slowly became something they couldn’t imagine living without. The mountain lot gave the kids room to roam and the adults room to breathe — the kind of everyday freedom that’s hard to find in a crowded neighborhood, and exactly what a lightweight, moveable home is built to unlock.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
It is a place where our kids got away from the confines of our house and neighborhood and they’d run around, dig in the dirt, find the perfect stick, hunt for ladybugs and wild turkey feathers.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
It’s a place my husband and I could look out over the landscape and exhale. Life was simple there.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
We’d pack food and make a day of it. We never wanted to leave and realized we would really love to live there, but could we?
Choosing a Home on Wheels
Once her parents offered up the land, Tracy did what many aspiring tiny dwellers do: she researched everything. Her deep dive surfaced a lesson worth repeating for anyone weighing the leap — the amenities you think you can live without are often the ones that determine whether you last. For this family, in-unit laundry and a real flush toilet were non-negotiable.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
My parents said they’d be delighted to have us there so I promptly looked into homes on wheels, into finding something we could potentially move one day to a property of our own.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
I looked at RVs, skoolies, airstreams, tiny homes, you name it! I poured over blogs of families living alternate lifestyles.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
From what I read, mamas living in unconventional homes reported they missed easy laundry access and a flush toilet.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
So I decided on a tiny home on wheels with in-unit laundry and a flush toilet in the hopes that we’d last in it a good long while.
Why They Chose New Frontier Design
The more Tracy read about small-space living, the more she wanted a home she’d be excited to wake up in. That’s what led her to New Frontier Design. The builder’s family-oriented layouts — like the Escher, which sleeps up to six — pair kid-friendly lofts with the kind of architectural finishes (floor-to-ceiling glass, natural wood, thoughtful storage) that make a tiny interior feel calm and intentional rather than cramped.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
I got so intrigued reading about alternate living situations and minimalism, and why people were loving it.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
I wanted to be eternally inspired and excited about our home, and if we were going to live in a small space I wanted to be in LOVE with it, especially if we wanted to live in it for at least a few years.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
In comes New Frontier Tiny Homes, the most artistic and inspiring tiny homes I could find.
Taking the Leap
Deciding to order a tiny home is one thing; actually placing the order is another. Tracy is refreshingly honest that they didn’t have every detail figured out — they simply committed and trusted they’d grow into it. That willingness to start before everything was perfect is a thread you’ll hear in almost every tiny house story.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
We didn’t have it all figured out (and still don’t) but one day I woke up and said to my husband “I feel like if we don’t place the order for the tiny home, it’s just never going to happen” and he thought for a moment and said “let’s do it.” So we did.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
We are still transitioning to home on wheels, it can be scary and uncertain at times, but it has been a thrill.
Raising Kids Closer to Nature
The payoff shows up in the small moments. Downsizing forced the family to keep only what matters, and their mostly solar-powered home keeps them lightly tethered to the land around them. What they gained in exchange for square footage is a daily front-row seat to the wild edge of the mountains — and, by Tracy’s account, a whole lot of fun.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
We are living and raising our kids more connected to nature, be it spotting wild turkeys, ducks, shooting stars, new mushrooms, or coyote scat that has shown up overnight.
Images: @_fifthtimesacharm_
Living in a small space has forced us to get rid of most of the stuff we don’t need and be super intentional about the stuff we do have. Being mostly solar-powered has been a bonus. At this point, a tiny home has given us two tired parents with 3 young kids the adventure we have been craving, and we are having a whole lot of fun.
Design Details
- Builder: New Frontier Design (Nashville, Tennessee), a luxury tiny-home builder
- Type: Tiny house on wheels with a blacked-out board exterior and multi-axle trailer
- Sleeps: A family of five — two parents and three kids
- Kids’ loft: A dedicated sleeping and play loft for the three children
- Kitchen: A raised kitchen that anchors and helps zone the open living area
- Bath: A generous combined bathroom-and-closet area with a full flush toilet
- Laundry: In-unit washer/dryer — a deliberate must-have for full-time family living
- Power: Mostly solar-powered
- Interior: Boho-modern styling with warm wood shiplap, leather bench seating, floating shelves, and layered textiles
- Glazing: A large glass entry door and picture windows that pull the surrounding forest inside
- Setting: Family-owned land in the mountains above Santa Cruz, California
What Makes This Build Special
- Amenities designed for endurance. Tracy specifically chose in-unit laundry and a flush toilet after reading that these were the features families missed most — a reminder that comfort is what keeps you in a tiny home long term.
- A home you actually love. Her insistence on being “in LOVE” with the space wasn’t vanity; loving your home is what makes small-space living sustainable rather than a sacrifice.
- Glass that erases the walls. New Frontier’s signature floor-to-ceiling glass and picture windows make a compact interior feel expansive by borrowing the forest as scenery.
- A raised kitchen for zoning. Elevating the kitchen visually separates cooking from lounging in an open plan — a smart trick for defining rooms without walls.
- Tiny on family land. Parking a moveable home on a relative’s lot is one of the most affordable, flexible paths into mountain living, with the option to relocate to their own property later.
Learn More
Highlights
- A New Frontier Design tiny house on wheels sized for a family of five
- Kids’ sleeping loft, raised kitchen, and a roomy bath-and-closet zone
- In-unit laundry and a full flush toilet for real full-time living
- Mostly solar-powered and parked on family land in the California mountains
- Boho-modern interior wrapped in warm wood and big forest-facing glass
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Our big thanks to Tracy for sharing! 🙏
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Natalie C. McKee
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What from what I can see — a very viable and livable space for all. They did their homework — and their adventure looks awesome. Hope to get an update on them at some point (BTW: love their Smog (?) fridge and more!!
The fridge is a SMEG. The official name is Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla. And it is Italian.
I never got to see three or four of the pictures for ads downloading, but what I did see was very beautiful and liveable. What a lovely family. I hope you continue to enjoy your journey.
Precisely why I use a smartphone for txts, but not for looking at graphics intensive websites. Personally, myself, I use a computer although you may prefer a laptop. Real Estate comes into its own on a computer simply because of it size. YMMV however.
Externally it looks like the Darth Vader of homes. Personally I could live in it, but it would have to not be black. Too depressing for me.
Love the home and how about that Smeg. They are so cool! The exterior paint paint is awful. Looks like death.
Paint? That isn’t paint, it’s Shou Sugi Ban (Yakisugi)…
Paint, shmaint. It’s black and it still looks like death.
Fair enough, that is your opinion. I’m just pointing out the facts of what it is from what it’s not.
I feel sorry for any man stuck with supporting a wife and four children. So thankful I am completely single.
No need to feel sorry for people who are clearly happy, they’re just not you and have a very different idea of what to be thankful for…
The Shou Sugi Ban is a wonderful way to naturally protect wood from the elements. It forms an effective shield/seal. The black of this home looks a little worn or maybe not burned very deeply but the process can produce a very deep and consistent black color. I think if there was some nice light wood accents it would change the “look” and make it less foreboding to some. Black is not everyone’s cup of tea but many will like it just fine. What a boring world it would be if everyone liked the same thing. That having been said, I can see this house in a variety of fabulous colors that would distinguish it from ordinary housing and it can be easily changed, too. Yay for choice! It’s definitely roomy and comfortable looking with everything you’d ever want in a house. Love that it can easily be moved when jobs change or to get out of the way of something like a wildfire or hurricane.