Let's start with the design
The first step in creating something of value is the design. And this is, of course, where I too started.
Initial research
My inspiration came initially from a number of books on tiny house living, as well as the popular US TV programme, Tiny House Nation, with John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin. I loved all the creative ideas that they brought to personalise their clients’ tiny houses.
My next step was researching tiny house builders within New Zealand. By chance I saw on Facebook one day a tiny house show home just a short distance from where I was living at the time. It was a simple one-storey design, with one bedroom, a spacious living area and big bifold doors to let in lots of light. I knew I needed more space and would require a second level. However, this gave me my first chance to ask questions about tiny house living – lots of practical ones such as what sort of power and water connections would be suitable.
Further research allowed me to identify other tiny house builders within a big radius around Auckland, and I visited several. The company who were most open to my design and had, in fact, built similar houses, was Build Tiny in Katikati. All their houses are custom-designed for their clients, which was also a plus.
Getting started on the design
In my initial interview with Build Tiny designer Gina Stevens, I looked through their book of
previous tiny houses and found my dream house. Downstairs was a bathroom and well fitted-out kitchen at one end, a bedroom at the other end and a generous living space in between. Upstairs were two separate loft spaces. At one end a bedroom loft had stairs leading to it, while the second space intended for storage was accessed via a ladder.
I took a photo of that house and pinned it to my vision board. This was close to my ideal, but there were a couple of issues that I mulled over. I didn’t want to access the second loft via a ladder, but in the tiny house space, was there sufficient room for a second flight of stairs? My intention was to use the downstairs bedroom as office space (I work from home), and sleep upstairs. But did I want to be walking up and down steep stairs on night-time bathroom visits? Also where would my hanging clothes be stored: up in the loft or downstairs by the bathroom? As I was in my 60’s at the time, I wanted a house that would carry me through into retirement, in which I would eventually sleep in the downstairs bedroom.
However, when the time came to specify my requirements for the build, my budget played a significant role: the cost of two lofts would be too expensive. So we settled on a reduced plan with the bedroom downstairs, a loft for storage and relaxation upstairs, and the living area would have to be big enough to accommodate both a relaxing living area and my desk for work.
First draft: setting the stage
When the first draft of the design was presented I was excited to see a breakfast bar included in the kitchen. This would solve the problem of where I would dine. I had given Gina, the designer, the measurements of the furniture I wished to take with me: my bed, my beautiful vibrant blue sofa, desk and mobile drawer unit. Gina then included those items, to scale, on the initial plan. Although I didn’t like the layout in the living area, I was able to print the plan, cut out the pieces of furniture and rearrange them in the space to my satisfaction.
The initial draft also included two flat roof lines: a tall one over the half-height loft space, and a smaller one over the remaining area.
I was given the choice of a different roof line (see below), which proved not only cheaper, but to my taste, more appealing.
I have a design that I like
The new design has the added advantage of a half-height wall in the loft overlooking the living space, and is also ideal for the placement of solar panels.
I now had a design that I loved and that would work well for me. From there, through several more iterations of drafts, were the refinements, such as placement of lights, power outlets, cupboards and other storage. In order to save costs storage units were limited to bedroom, kitchen and bathroom; none in the loft. The storage areas provided, however, are generously proportioned in all spaces. I knew I would require storage upstairs too, but I left that decision for later, and I’m grateful I did.
Now to specify all the materials..
The final plans and specifications are very detailed with everything that the builders would need. A second design stage was necessary to specify all the materials and products for the house, from the external cladding and internal walls, floors and ceiling, to bench tops, cupboards and door handles. This was an almost overwhelming process of gathering various samples and colour matching.
I am lucky in that I can visualise a space in 3D from a 2D plan, complete with the colour scheme that I want to create. This makes my process of colour matching materials rather less complicated, although my biggest challenge is often finding the colours of materials in the real world that match those I see in my mind. Well, that’s an exciting challenge!
The final stage of the design was the pricing, which I awaited for with bated breath. The cost was more than I had initially planned, but was still affordable with a couple of tweaks. What a relief! The major reason for the cost increase was simply that building materials had risen considerably in price over the previous year or two of Covid.
From there, Build Tiny ordered all the materials in advance, so that when workshop space was available to start building, there would be no delays due to shipping issues. I then signed the build contract and waited.
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