Tracy and her family were ready for something different. Living in closer quarters in Santa Cruz during lockdowns was exhausting, but there was something magical about getting away to the mountains where her parents lived.
They’re now proud owners of a tiny house on wheels built by New Frontier Design. There’s a fun loft for their three kids, a big bathroom/closet area, and awesome lifted kitchen space for making family meals. They share their story below….
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New Frontier Tiny Home for a Family of Five
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
What got us in to tiny home living was, to put it simply, a yearning for a change.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
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 30min away from the city of Santa Cruz, up the mountains.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
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: @_fifthstimesacharm_
It’s a place my husband and I could look out over the landscape and exhale. Life was simple there.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
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?
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
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: @_fifthstimesacharm_
I looked at RVs, skoolies, airstreams, tiny homes, you name it! I poured over blogs of families living alternate lifestyles.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
From what I read, mamas living in unconventional homes reported they missed easy laundry access and a flush toilet.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
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.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
I got so intrigued reading about alternate living situations and minimalism, and why people were loving it.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
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: @_fifthstimesacharm_
In comes New Frontier Tiny Homes, the most artistic and inspiring tiny homes I could find.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
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: @_fifthstimesacharm_
We are still transitioning to home on wheels, it can be scary and uncertain at times, but it has been a thrill.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
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: @_fifthstimesacharm_
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.
Images: @_fifthstimesacharm_
Learn More:
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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.