This Striking Custom Tiny House Doubles as Stress-Free Sanctuary

The tiny house movement has been around for more than two decades, but it’s only recently that it picked up speed. Minimalist and intentional living, the need to downsize to cut expenses, or a concern for the environment, as well as the desire for more freedom of movement have served as fuel for the tiny house trend.

Today, you’re bound to find something that will suit your needs and budget regardless of where you’re from, from empty shells to DIY plans, standard units or full-blown custom units. The market is rich in options is what we’re saying, to the point where you would be excused if you thought some units feel repetitive – or rather on the bland side.

This one isn’t, and because of it, it serves as excellent example that you can still have more than enough space to express your personality and creativity even if the layout is very compact. Where there’s a will there’s a way, and Vicki from New Zealand clearly has plenty of will.

Vicki’s story is highlighted in the latest episode from the popular channel Living Big in a Tiny House with Bryce Langston, and with good reason. Langston travels the world in search for the most unique and inspiring tiny houses, and Vicki’s is both these things, as well as a stress-free sanctuary. It’s a fully-custom unit that is located in a tiny house community in Noosa, in Queensland, Australia.

Vicki is originally from New Zealand, but she lost everything in the Christchurch Earthquake of 2011, when her house was demolished. Losing all her material possessions served as a reset for her, she says in the video at the bottom of the page, one that made her understand that these – the material possessions – mattered too little in the grander scheme of things. If at all.

She moved to Australia and, after living in Sydney with friends for a while, she decided to transition to tiny living. Since this would be her permanent home, she spared no effort and no expense in the build, from the materials she chose to the layout. Vicki lives there alone, so the space is designed to reflect that.

The tiny is based on a three-axle trailer, and is 24 feet (7.3 meters) long on the ground level – and slightly longer in the upper part. The layout is a basic one, with a living room, kitchen and bathroom downstairs, and the sleeping loft over the bathroom, but it’s given a very unique twist thanks to the gorgeous styling.

Think of it as of a zen, hippie retreat that remains fully functional, and places emphasis on serenity. The fact that it sits on (rented) land in a permaculture farm helps with the feeling of calmness, which comes into the tiny through an oversize picture window and the two sliding glass doors. The porch extends the living space outward, toward Vicki’s own garden.

The ground floor holds a living room with a small sofa, the fully-appointed kitchen and a bathroom. Everything is decorated in different shades of green, and there are certain “luxurious” touches that add personality, like the wallpaper imported from the Netherlands or the vintage copper light fixtures that hang over the kitchen sink. The U-shaped kitchen is almost full-size, as is the bathroom, which strangely doesn’t have a door. But it does have the most beautiful shower room, in what Vicki says is another example of not wanting to compromise on certain things, a full wardrobe with a washing machine, and composting toilet.

The bedroom is upstairs, with access to it via storage-integrating steps. Vicki has opted to keep it uncluttered, so she only has the bed in there, framed on two sides by a large skylight and large windows. It’s the perfect place to do breathing exercises or meditation, she explains.

Everything about her tiny is perfect – for her: the design and the layout, the nick-knacks scattered all over the place, her budding garden, and the tiny house community and the farm (which includes a yoga and holistic treatment studio). Vicki’s tiny is hooked to the mains for power and water, and she estimates the total cost of the house was around AUD$150,000, or approximately US$93,000. It’s a small price to pay for the stress-free lifestyle she has, she says.