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Single Mom’s Two Tiny Home Household in Australia


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Amanda is a single mom of two girls, ages 8 and 2.5. After flipping houses for awhile, she decided to settle down in not one, but two amazing THOWs built for her by Aussie Tiny Houses.

One home houses the living room, kitchen, bathroom and Amanda’s room, and the other tiny is split in half, with each girl having their own room and wardrobe. The homes (which are about 168 and 219 square feet, respectively) are connected by a large covered porch which nearly doubles their living space. Amanda (@amanda_lee_consulting) is now debt-free, and because her homes are off-grid, she spends very little in utilities. This allows her to spend most of her time at home with her girls, and work at her consulting business on the side. Awesome right?

We got to do a Q&A with her about tiny life, so be sure to read it at the end of the post.

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Check Out These TWO Off-Grid No-Loft Tinies!

Love that she has a rainwater catchment system.

The outdoor living area really makes the home.

The robin’s-egg-blue door is lovely.

How cool is this window that connects the kitchen and outdoors?

Amanda says she loves the exposed rafters. Me too.

Here’s a look from the kitchen to the bathroom to the bedroom.

Amanda says someday she may put a couch here when the girls don’t need their little table.

It’s great to see a dishwasher. This is a must for me.

Love how light and bright everything is here.

She has a stove and two-burner cooktop.

Simple composting toilet and sink set-up.

There’s also a spacious shower stall.

Everything you need in a bathroom!

I light the high-up window for letting natural light in.

Amanda’s bedroom, with her television.

Love the wardrobe! So much closet space.

Here is the younger daughter’s bedroom.

Floor beds are great for toddlers!

Wardrobe keeps everything tidy.

The older daughter’s room. That horse painting!

What a wonderful home to grow up in.

Q&A With Amanda: Tiny Living with Kids

How many people (and animals) are living in your tiny house?

Myself and 2 daughters aged 8 and 2.5

Where do you live?

Sunshine Coast, Australia

How long have you lived tiny?

Almost one year

What do you do for work? Or do you travel full-time?

I am mostly a stay at home single mama but I have my own business as an early childhood consultant and parenting mentor. This allows me to book consultations around my girls as I never want to miss a thing, while at the same time allowing me to follow my passion of helping families

Why did you decide to go tiny? What are you hoping to get out of living tiny?

So many reasons, as I’m debt free I can work less which gives me more time with my girls. I also love being predominantly off grid and as eco friendly as possible. I liked being able to design something that was uniquely ‘me’ and suited my family specifically

How did you first learn about tiny life?

I had seen them on TV but my friend Emma really encouraged me to look into it more

How long did it take to finish your tiny house?

Approximately 3 months maybe

How did you build your tiny home? Did you have any help? Did you do it yourselves?

I had a professional tiny house builder build the tinies – Aussie Tiny Houses and they are beyond amazing, I highly recommend them. My dad built my deck and got me set up on location.

Are you comfortable sharing how much your tiny home cost?

Roughly $130,000AUD fully set up

What are bills/utilities like compared to before?

I have no water bill unless I need to pipe water in like I did during the drought which was only about $40AUD every 3 months, gas is about $20AUD a month, power is free as it’s solar from my parent’s property. My only real bill is insurance which is expensive at about $3000AUD a year (Tinies plus contents)

How did you find a place to park and live in your tiny house?

It’s parked on my parent’s property in their side paddock, about 65m away from their garage shed

Before going tiny, what was life like?

I moved house a lot as I liked to flip properties every year or so, so we have lived in big 5 bedroom houses and smaller 3 bedroom townhouses and heaps in between!

Is there anything from your old life that you miss?

Maybe having an indoor couch. When the girls aren’t using their activity shelf inside as much when they’re older I will likely put a couch there.

What benefits are you experiencing after going tiny?

More eco friendly, more spare time, knowing that I made this happen myself and that I created this beautiful life for my girls!

What about some challenges?

I’m not strong enough to empty the composting toilet chamber once a month so my dad does it for me. That and cleaning out the Grey water pump! No challenges besides that that I can think of

What makes your tiny house special?

I think maybe that I have two of them not just one. I wanted my girls to have similar bedrooms as they have had in my previous houses to minimise the effect of ‘change’. Both my girls are autistic so change is a big thing for them. They each have full sized bedrooms and wardrobes.

What is your favorite part of your tiny home?

Probably the exposed rafters. I love them! Plus so much storage and our view

What helpful advice would you give to others interested in going tiny?

Do it!!! Make it right for YOU not just because it’s pretty on Instagram!

Do you have a website, blog, or social media page where we can follow along?

Instagram and Facebook are @Amanda Lee Consulting. I post things about tiny house living, activities for children, Montessori, connected parenting and life in general! My business website is www.amandaleeconsulting.biz but no tiny house info on that one.

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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.

Latest posts by Natalie C. McKee (see all)

{ 33 comments… add one }
  • June 11, 2020, 3:24 pm

    Oh I just love, love, love these two tinies. The decor is charming! marvelous storage — pretty, and light and airy — what a wonderful home for her two little girls!!!

    • Natalie C. McKee
      June 12, 2020, 1:09 pm

      She did an awesome job!

  • Rosa Espinal
    June 12, 2020, 10:36 am

    That’s so amazing that she can park in her parents backyard and dad even empty out the compost for her, I think she and the girls are truly Blessed.#DadIsAmazing I absolutely love their home.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      June 12, 2020, 1:03 pm

      Right? Such a loving dad!

  • Eric
    June 14, 2020, 6:02 am

    “She has a stove and two-burner cooktop”

    Uhm, a two burner cooktop IS a stove.

    Just sayin’

    • Natalie C. McKee
      June 14, 2020, 12:37 pm

      Sorry! Meant oven haha.

  • Marcia
    June 15, 2020, 11:07 am

    Maybe it’s just me-2 tinys…1 bathroom? so the 2.5 year old AUSTISTIC child has to go OUTSIDE to get into the “main” house to go to the bathroom? Not sure if there as no way to get at least a HALF-bath for the girls to use at night… I would freak out if I thought any of my littles would have had to go OUTSIDE at night to come in to use the bathroom and then back OUTSIDE to get to their bedroom

    • Natalie C. McKee
      June 15, 2020, 2:52 pm

      I’m sure she has some kind of system set up, and it works for them. She seems like a very loving mom and very involved and connected with her kids.

    • Jennifer Cullers
      November 4, 2020, 7:12 am

      Agreed. Cute set up if they were older but she definitely seems like a loving mom. Charming home!

    • Eric
      September 17, 2021, 5:45 am

      Remember… there’s autism and there’s autism. ‘Nother word, there’s different kinds so maybe it “isn’t” problematic.

  • Frances
    June 15, 2020, 7:52 pm

    The oven completes the “stove”. 🤗

  • Maria
    June 16, 2020, 5:55 am

    Well I don’t think this set up is save for two small children. These two houses should have been connected together.

  • Susan
    June 16, 2020, 1:11 pm

    I love almost everything about this home, except, the girls in a separate “house”. They’re awfully young. It appears the 2 spaces are only connected by the outdoor space…

    • Eric
      July 11, 2023, 10:09 pm

      Personally I don’t have a problem with it. Get up in the middle of the night and use a commode. Big issue? No it ain’t.

  • Karen
    June 23, 2020, 7:12 pm

    This is what I’m talking about! I’d want to have two tiny houses together with one being for living and the second from creating as I don’t think that I could purge a lot of my crafting supplies in order to live tiny. Great job!

    • Natalie C. McKee
      June 25, 2020, 1:39 pm

      Yes! All the craft stuff 🙂

  • Sheila
    October 23, 2020, 12:57 pm

    Love this, classy looking inside and out. 1 would be great for a giant dark room. 🙂

  • Ava | HIREtrades
    December 3, 2020, 11:03 pm

    Living big in a tiny home is wonderful, love everything about your house it doesn’t seem small though. Is there a door that connects these 2 houses inside?

  • jordi
    March 8, 2021, 7:44 am

    How does an adult have a bedroom in one section and the children in the other without some connection between the two units?

    • James D.
      March 8, 2021, 5:04 pm

      The patio is the connection… Same way people have lived for centuries in homes like Breezeway Houses, etc. People didn’t always live in single monolithic buildings where you never have to go outside for anything and they still do with examples like guest houses, ADU’s, etc… Besides, it’s not much different than having rooms on separate floors, different wings of a building, etc. Since, they effectively made the patio part of their daily living space and transferring from one to the next only takes a few seconds to cover the few feet between the doors…

      People in larger homes can have much further distance between them than this arrangement and tend to see each other far less often as well. While this family spends most of the day together and are never that far from each other…

      • Sharon l borst
        September 20, 2021, 7:29 pm

        How do you know they spend the whole day together?

        • James D.
          September 21, 2021, 1:27 pm

          Because spending as much time as possible with the kids was one of the mother’s priorities, allowing her to be a stay at home mom, etc.

        • James D.
          September 21, 2021, 1:41 pm

          While it’s on her parent’s property, so the kids also have the grandparents nearby, the kids activity shelf is in the mother’s unit, and the whole area is fenced… There’s more to this home and their family life than the photos show…

    • Eric
      April 4, 2021, 5:56 pm

      While that “could” be done it would pose problems when or if they were to shift. Would have to “jerry build” walls onto both houses… which might not be an issue for one shift, but for multiple shift could prove problematic.

  • MaryM
    July 19, 2021, 2:22 pm

    This would work in a climate where you could use the open space year round. I would probably add some fencing to discourage the little one from wandering off and at least some of the local wild life from wandering in. As far as having to go to the other half of the house to use the bathroom, most of us aren’t that many generations from having to go to the little house out back and pulling the washtub out once a week for a bath. This arrangement is very good in comparison

    • Eric
      September 20, 2021, 7:11 pm

      But this is Australia. The only wild life they have to contend with live in the Metropolitan areas. So, not a problem is it. /gah

      • James D.
        September 21, 2021, 5:54 am

        Besides, there is fencing… It’s parked on the grandparent’s property, on their side paddock, about 65m away from their garage shed. So is pretty much surrounded by fencing…

        • Eric
          September 21, 2021, 6:35 pm

          I can see it now… all around are these guys, and guyeses, with swords going flat out trying to outdo each other with epee’s, foils or sabres… I think. Gotta try and get through Covid19 somehow.

      • James D.
        September 21, 2021, 6:56 pm

        lol, a good sense of humor is more than half the battle…

        • Eric
          November 13, 2021, 11:05 pm

          Why thank you James, thank you ever so much. I shall now go and dance with the fairies… pffft.

  • Kimberly Poole
    May 7, 2022, 9:05 am

    Beautiful home. Plus, a dishwasher! Dishwashers are a must to have in my home. Just because you go tiny doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice having all the appliances that a large home would have. This also includes having a clothes washer & dryer. Key appliances to have in a home, especially when you have kids.
    Love this concept of putting 2 container homes together to provide more living space for her family. Great idea. I love this home.

    • Natalie C. McKee
      May 9, 2022, 6:55 am

      Amen to the dishwasher! Even if it was just a little drawer one, I would need one haha.

      • Eric
        July 11, 2023, 10:17 pm

        There’s 2 doors. I in each house. It’s not a problem… speaking as a kid who used to do this all the time as a youngster… people are just too… hmm, full of themselves over nothing methinks.

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