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DIY Tiny House Will Inspire You With Its Design, Surprise Hidden Features

There’s something about a certain type of tiny house DIY-er that just doesn’t ring true, and it probably boils down to how they always claim a complete lack of experience and how they always monetize every aspect of their projects. Neither applies here, with this beautiful, fully off-grid DIY tiny house.
Tom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise features 13 photos
Photo: YouTube/Living Big in a Tiny House
Tom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise featuresTom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off-grid, packed with surprise features
Tiny living or alternative living by means of other types of downsized mobile homes is appealing for a variety of reasons, ranging from the promise of reduced costs of living, to a reduced carbon footprint, a more intentional lifestyle, or the possibility to travel more while bringing the home along for the ride. For Thomas and Caroline, tiny living is a must for their new career first and foremost, as well as the way in which they can lead a more harmonious, off-grid life.

The most impressive part about this story is not that these two new New Zealand residents opted for a tiny house because they had decided to change careers, but rather that they did all the work needed to reach this goal themselves. Their tiny is not just the place they live in, but also a labor of love and the central point of a future business.

Their story has been featured on a couple of very popular New Zealand-based tiny house YouTube channels, one of which actually served as the inspiration for the build. It’s the build itself we’ll be looking at today, in the hope that it might inspire you if you’re also thinking of or actually planning a transition to tiny living. Even if you’re not, this DIY project is still worth your time, if only to show that not all DIY-ers are in it for the clout.

Tom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off\-grid, packed with surprise features
Photo: YouTube / Living Big in a Tiny House
This gorgeous tiny started with a standard double-axle trailer, and was built from the ground up by a few pairs of dedicated, if rather unskilled hands. The entire process took Tom more than a year of full-time work, but he did get help from his dad, a retired architect. They did everything together, from the design to the construction, refusing to hire contractors out of a conviction that only they could build the dream house for themselves.

In the first video available below, which is actually a soft-ad for the company they got the solar system from, GridFree, Tom says that he had no previous construction experience. He was inspired to believe he could build a home by the ‘70s motorcycle rebuild he did a few years ago.

The secret to a high-quality, no-compromise home isn’t to swing it, which is what most DIY-ers will tell you, but hard work, lots and lots of research, and help from people who actually know a thing or two about construction work (like his dad), and a generous budget (of about NZ$150,000 or US$93,300). But more importantly, it’s the willingness to keep at it even after you think you’ve failed.

Tom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off\-grid, packed with surprise features
Photo: YouTube / Living Big in a Tiny House
It’s this winner mentality that kept Tom and Caro going, until they saw their dream house completed. And a dream it is, not only because it’s a livable, very elegant home, but because it’s completely off-the-grid and packs a couple of very awesome surprise features.

Among those is the outdoor shower that hides an outdoor bathtub. Putting a tub inside a tiny house is impossible, as you must know if you’re familiar with this type of mobile dwelling, so Tom and Caro placed theirs outside. Also hidden from view is the rainwater collection system under the generously-sized deck and the underground, all-natural filtration system that carries all their graywater to the duck pond nearby.

The solar panels on the roof with the batteries and inverter (the house has the Bach Kit, which is DIY-friendly) ensure that they can run the entire house on solar. During the winter, they rely on a wetback system connected to the Roaring Meg wood-burning stove for hot water, and they swear they never felt like there was any shortage of some sort.

The interior is cozy and warm, decked in the natural color of wood. The layout is basic, but still with a very personal touch, like the ability to remove some of the steps in the staircase to create stools, or a special drawer for the dog’s food and water, which the dog has been trained to open by pulling on a doggie toy.

Tom and Caro's DIY tiny house build is fully off\-grid, packed with surprise features
Photo: YouTube / Living Big in a Tiny House
The spacious kitchen features residential appliances and plenty of space, thanks to an integrated breakfast bar and the large picture window that can serve as a pass-through, connecting to the dining area on the deck. The bathroom is on the smaller size, but only because Tom and Caro wanted an office, future-proofed for a kids’ room, right next to it. That’s another thing that most tiny houses don’t do: offer the possibility to adapt to such a drastic lifestyle change as parenthood is.

The bedroom is upstairs and, while it doesn’t offer standing height, it doesn’t feel too cramped because of the beautiful woodwork, the huge skylight, and plenty of windows. Again, storage is abundant here, which is novel for a tiny of these dimensions.

Another thing that sets this tiny apart from the majority of them is the fact that Tom and Caro didn’t document the build to turn it into social media content. In fact, they’re only present online through the two videos below, because the tiny is an end in itself to them. Not that Instagrammers’ tinies are not inspirational, but this lends this one a bit more credibility. So, when Tom says that the key to carrying out such a difficult project yourself is “to just believe in yourself,” we should probably take his word for it.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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