Idyllic Tiny Home Has Secret Library, Striking Gothic Styling and Plenty of Personality

Amelia and Dan, who currently live in their own tiny in Wellington, New Zealand, are a good example in this sense. They’re not in the same age bracket as vanlifers or the Instagrammers who have turned the tiny living movement into an aspirational hashtag. In fact, their transition from city life to tiny living happened mostly by accident, even though they’d always dreamed of living in a secluded house in the countryside.

Downsizing and the tiny house movement have been in the news constantly, especially since the start of the 2020 international health crisis. A combination of factors helped with its increasing appeal, in addition to its monetization potential: the housing crisis, rising living costs, mass layouts, social distancing, working from home becoming a standard, and growing environmental concerns. The smaller and the more mobile the home, the best.

Amelia and Dan used to live in the city, they tell Bryce Langston of the very popular YouTube channel Living Big in a Tiny House. They had a conventional, four-bedroom house but they had spent years daydreaming of moving into the country, where they’d be away from all the noise. In early 2020, their son moved out of the family home, so that meant they were basically living out of a single room in the house. Dan also got laid off from his job, which posed a new series of challenges.

At the same time, the situation presented a fresh slate. They decided to sell their home and move into a tiny in the countryside, and they eventually came across a spot of land by a pinewood forest, with a river flowing right by. They don’t go into specifics, but they do say they don’t own the land they’re currently on: when they are able to buy their own land, they will just roll the tiny there.

The home, which is painted a striking black with white accents, is 8 meters long and 3 meters wide, and 4 meters high (26 x 10 x 31 feet). Amelia is into crystals and tarot readings, and there’s a Gothic streak to her that she’s been able to bring into the styling of the house: the white-on-black color scheme is inverted inside, with all-white walls and ceilings, and the occasional black accent that pops out, whether it’s a cabinet handle or a piece of wall art, or maybe a stuffed black toy. The only actual pops of color inside the home are the lounge sofa, which is electric blue velvet, and the footstool, which is yellow.

It’s not just the surprising Gothic undertones that make this tiny a very elegant and enticing example of downsizing. It also comes with a secret library, for the consummate bookworm: books are stored inside the lounge couch, in wicker baskets strewn all over the entertainment loft, and in a special made bookcase that acts as safety barrier and plant holder for the same loft.

Speaking of lofts, there are two inside this tiny: one over the bathroom, which is for watching TV and playing video games (the entertainment loft), and another one over the kitchen, which is the master bedroom and is completely enclosed through a wall, offering privacy. The ground level has a full-size kitchen with dining table, 4-burner stove, oven and dishwasher; a bathroom with full-size shower, composting toilet and a vanity sink; and a laundry area that also includes Amelia’s gardening tools, gardening books and dried herbs.

Outside is a spacious deck with stairs, a picnic table that could easily seat eight people, two water tanks, and a garden of herbs and vegetables that will, one day, grow big enough to allow the two to live off it. They don’t go into many details about the build and how it’s hooked up, but they do say they plan to build another house sometime in the future, inspired by this one.

Until then, they’re perfectly happy with their current arrangements. They’ve been in this tiny for one year and a half, and declare it the perfect place for them, because they love the silence, the seclusion, and the thought that they’re just one door away from being in the great outdoors. Their tiny cost 171,000 NZD, including the delivery fee, the water tanks and plumbing, so that would translate to $108,300 at the current exchange rate.