For a lot of people, paying rent on a monthly basis is a big source of stress. It’s not always easy, especially if you are an individual who is living paycheck to paycheck all while having a family to feed.
Michelle is a single mother who lives in New Zealand and, needless to say, she is quickly becoming an inspiration to moms all over the globe.
In order to finally get some financial freedom, Michelle decided to build a tiny home, where she now happily lives alone since her children have gotten older and left “the nest.”
The mother constructed this home all for less than what a deposit on a regular, larger home would cost. It is also cleverly designed to be off the grid so that the mother can take it all around with her to several locations.
“I’ve been in here [for] about four, five months now and yeah, it’s been really good,” Michelle giggled. “Being a single mother and having struggled in the past — bringing up four children on my own — just thought it was a good way to escape. And just knowing that I would never really have my own home, I didn’t want to have a huge mortgage and I thought this is a way to do things I want to do like, travel one day.”
Michelle goes on to explain that she doesn’t have to work full time and she has also been able to help out her parents, who live nearby on the property. So all in all, it has been a great experience!
“I chose the color to blend in with mum and dad’s home so it fits here quite nicely. I’ve got solar on the tops so that’s perfect for when the sun comes down this way,” she added.
And the house is designed so that if she ever wants to switch locations, if she wants to live near her children for example, then she totally can.
The house is 7.2 meters by 2.4 meters, and 4.2 meters high.
The house, although it’s tiny, does not lack in amazing features. When you enter, you’re met with a beautiful stain glass window which was an old treasure that was passed down from her family.
The living room offers a lot of nice bright colors and above it, there is a storage loft that is quite spacious and open. It looks very relaxing and is fully functional, all at the same time!
“I have a lot of family photos and I don’t want to get rid of those,” Michelle said.
Her coffee table is actually a storage case that is super lovely and unique, and she bought it when she was young while working her first job. Now, she can store all of her blankets and things like that inside of it, while also using it as a coffee table in the living room.
Michelle explains that she doesn’t do a tremendous amount of cooking, but her kitchen layout is still beautiful and very open. The prep space she has is very useful.
Michelle also loves her gas stove and its many indirect uses!
“I was a bit cautious about using the gas initially but I’ve made cakes and things, and it heats the place up nicely. So if it’s a cold night I tend to do a bit of baking and it heats the place up and you’ve got that nice smell as well,” she laughed.
This story just goes to show that downsizing isn’t actually such a bad idea. We, as humans, constantly dream of living in huge houses — big mansions with pools and built-in movie theaters — but that is not what we always need.
Sometimes all you need is a small, functional, and preferably bright space to make yourself feel happy and right at home.
Check out Michelle’s stunning tiny home in the video below!
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