This is how this awesome family of four turned their shed into a tiny farmhouse cottage.
From start to finish, here is how they did it, and it only cost them about $15,000 in material cost, you can read our full interview with the family right here.
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How They Built Their Shed Farmhouse Cottage
Images © Katy Zientek
It all started when Katy would keep watching tiny house shows on TV.
Images © Katy Zientek
She kept telling her husband about how one day she would like to live tiny.
Images © Katy Zientek
It wasn’t too long before they had the opportunity to turn this family shed into their tiny house.
Images © Katy Zientek
As you can probably imagine, that’s exactly what they started to do.
Images © Katy Zientek
The year was 2020, and it was the perfect time to do it.
Images © Katy Zientek
They would be able to finally stop renting after 7 years of doing so.
Images © Katy Zientek
So they began working to turn the shed into a real tiny home.
Images © Katy Zientek
The plan was to turn the shed into a beautiful and livable tiny home.
Images © Katy Zientek
So they properly insulated the shed and framed some new walls to complete a floor plan.
Images © Katy Zientek
Being that they are a family with young kiddos meant they got to watch some of the construction process.
Images © Katy Zientek
The family’s ultimate plan is to enjoy and live in the 280-sq.-ft. farmhouse cottage that was once a shed.
Images © Katy Zientek
They would live in the space happily while working on their larger dream home over time.
Images © Katy Zientek
Once they build their forever home, they would be able to use their tiny house as an Airbnb rental to generate income. Hey, this could help with raising the kids!
Images © Katy Zientek
So they worked diligently to build out the tiny house.
Images © Katy Zientek
They framed out the bathroom area, and added plumbing, they did everything they had to do to make it a true tiny home.
Images © Katy Zientek
Time to build out the deck!
Images © Katy Zientek
Related: They Transformed A Shed Into Their Family Farmhouse (Interview)
The covered front porch sure makes a big difference, doesn’t it?
Images © Katy Zientek
Adding some covered outdoor space is really important with a tiny house.
Images © Katy Zientek
Especially if you’re using the tiny home as a family, it’s so convenient to have a little bit of outdoor space to utilize.
Images © Katy Zientek
Look how nice the interior is coming out!
Images © Katy Zientek
Who would have ever known it was once just a shed?
Images © Katy Zientek
Electrical wiring for the ceiling lights.
Images © Katy Zientek
Everything’s really coming together now.
Images © Katy Zientek
But there’s still much work to be done.
Images © Katy Zientek
Building tiny is no small task.
Images © Katy Zientek
But in the end, it can be one of the greatest accomplishments.
Images © Katy Zientek
And building tiny is always better as a team.
Images © Katy Zientek
A helping hand can go a long way in a day.
Images © Katy Zientek
From shed to this!
Images © Katy Zientek
They started the project in September of 2020.
Images © Katy Zientek
And they completed the project by May of 2021.
Images © Katy Zientek
That’s a total of about 9 months to complete the build.
Images © Katy Zientek
The couple did most of the work themselves, but they also had help on weekends thanks to some of their friends.
Images © Katy Zientek
When building a tiny house, you really don’t have to do it all by yourself. They also hired someone to help them build out the covered front porch.
Images © Katy Zientek
Their initial budget was $10,000…
Images © Katy Zientek
But they ended up spending a total of about $15,000 on the build.
Images © Katy Zientek
$15,000 is still not bad at all for a home though, right?
Images © Katy Zientek
So many are in debt because of our homes, and many others are just renting.
Images © Katy Zientek
Who would’ve thought that there could be a $15,000 solution to housing?
Images © Katy Zientek
Of course, a solution like this is not always as easily possible as it is for one person as it is for another since everyone’s situations are different.
Images © Katy Zientek
But this is their home sweet home.
Images © Katy Zientek
They worked really hard to turn the family shed into a family tiny home.
Images © Katy Zientek
And now they have an incredible tiny home that can serve them for many years to come.
Images © Katy Zientek
What do you think of this shed turned family tiny house?
Highlights
- Family shed turned into a family tiny house
- After years of renting, they finally have a home they can call their own
- It all started when Katy started watching tiny house TV shows
- She became obsessed with the idea and it wasn’t long before they were building out their shed-based tiny home
- It took them about 9 months from start to finish
- The original budget was $10,000
- They spent about $15,000 on the project
- The build includes a downstairs bedroom, kitchen, open layout living area, bathroom, and covered front porch outside
- The family lives in Round Top, Texas
What do you think of turning a shed into a livable tiny home kind of like this family did? Do you happen to have an opportunity like this, too? If not, how would you go about turning a shed into a tiny house?
Learn more:
Related stories:
- Family Turns Shed Into Their $15,000 Tiny Home + Interview
- $15k Barn Shed Tiny House
- Barn/Shed Tiny House Conversion For Sale, Under-$20k
- Debt-free With A Shed Turned Tiny House
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Alex
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muy linda remodelacion, falto el plano del antes y despues para ver como quedo la transformaciòn del lugar,saludos.
Hay un segundo artículo para detalles de antes.
I have two questions.
1) What are the dimensions of your tiny house?
2) Where you are located in Texas, are there any minimum square footage requirements?
Your home is beautiful. What makes it more special is that you built it mostly by yourselves.
It’s 14×20, not counting the porch which adds another 8 feet… They’re in Fayetteville, Texas…
What a great job! The porch is awesome.
A porch adds so much to a tiny house!
I agree…you just extended the house with that porch..now let’s screen it in! Job well done.
Some great ideas…I’m glad the family took a look at the shed and went hmmm. Also that they kept the floor plan simple, but finished with higher quality materials and better appliances. Nice work, folks!
I love the results of their considerable sweat equity! Very cozy and warm! Hard to believe they only spent $15,000 because it looks more expensive. They should write a book on how to stretch your tiny house budget! I like it all but I do have one question that I have in many of the tiny homes I see and that is why did they not use a corner kitchen cabinet with a carousel to add valuable storage? If you don’t use a corner cabinet, there is dead space in that corner. Maybe people get good deals on cabinets that don’t include a corner base cabinet. I’m not admonishing but merely expressing my being puzzled. The bottom line is that they did a fabulous job!
Well, carousels aren’t the only way to make use of a corner space. There’s other options to accessing hard to reach spaces, some of which will make more use of the space than a carousel would…
However, not everyone finds that actually useful or will always have a place in the budget. There’s also other ways to make use of hard to reach spaces, like putting the water heater there…
While these days, with the supply chain issues, it’s also possible the hardware was simply not available and a DIY may not be an option to everyone…
What a lovely, happy house! Highest praises to this family. A polite suggestion: do consider adding railings around the porch, as no one wants to see someone fall and get hurt. This comment is respectfully submitted.
Stephan of Arkansas
They actually have added railings around the porch already… Weren’t actually done when the article was published…
Excellent! How is it, James D., that U have access to photos of a house that are not seen in the article? U commented in another article that a THOW parking facility had more trees than seen in the article’s accompanying photos, which also was welcome news. I’ve often wondered if U are a member of the TinyHouseTalk staff. U are most knowledgeable and informed. Kind regards from Arkansas.
You can say I help out, mainly as a bit of a researcher and I’m good at finding things out… The family has an Instagram page, it’s been changed from the link in the article but just add (dot)tinyliving at the end to make it work… They’ve posted updated photos, including some video clips…
Judging from their posts, the railings were installed between 24-27 weeks ago, DIY as they got tired waiting for the ones they ordered to come in… and they’re fully moved in and living in the home. So more decoration, kids toys, etc. to be seen in the updated photos…
Thanks James for your research and thorough responses!
Article link has been updated, works now to go directly to the family’s Instagram page…
I feel like I missed something in reading the article- they had been renters for several years, but there was an unused shed they had their eye on… was this shed on the land they were renting?
Link works to go to their Instagram page, they do answer questions posted there…
Beautiful great job and in the end paid off. Where do those little girls sleep? I would’ve made a lot area cut out 2 feet of that huge bathroom, and you could’ve done a Murphy bunk bed for them in that extra large bathroom. There could’ve been a loft space above mom and dads bed or say mom and dad in loft and girls below. There was enough pitch to the roof to lend for a loft. Ok I don’t live there and it has been a year would love to see if you all made any changes in this last year. Its beautiful, its paid off, and you guys worked you butts off and have a home great job
I would have made the shower stall smaller to gain space in more important places. I just don’t understand the need or want for a large shower stall. The idea here is tiny. Tiny is about small and necessary. I must, however, commend them on having a well placed t.v. that isn’t the size of a drive-in theater screen.