She got a divorce, sold her large home, and was able to have a really nice Tiny Home designed and built to perfectly fit her taste and needs as a single mom.
Jen takes us on a tour on her house, which she shares with her daughter. She talks about how she is redefining the concept of the American Dream. Even on a single income, she can afford to have a nice house, awhile feeling financially secure. And since it's on wheels, she can move wherever she'd like - even close to her kids when they move.
Hi everybody I'm Jen and I'm so excited to show you trailhead tiny my not so tiny mansion.
I was living the American dream I was married I had two kids 3 000 square foot house,
I got a divorce three years ago and the question comes into play how do I afford a home on a single income. I knew about tiny houses definitely there's a draw there to simplify your life, I could do that my kids are going to be gone soon and I could follow them anywhere they go.
I was expecting to spend about 150 000 it was a couple months after the pandemic shut everything down things were delayed things cost more, it was another 20 grand which was a surprise but i got my house it's perfect it was worth it all.
Welcome everyone to the inside of my tiny house sometimes i call it a tiny kitchen on wheels
this is the whole reason i decided i could go tiny if i could have my dream kitchen on a tiny scale.
I was sold and it is by far my favorite part of this house when people come in the look on their
face always makes me so happy because they say first of all this isn't what i thought you meant
when you said you were going tiny second of all your kitchen definitely has more storage than my
kitchen.
One of the things i love about the space is all of the windows and all of the natural light
that floods this area i rarely turn on a light until the sun goes down in this house it's so
well lit. The skylights above are solar powered one cool thing i love to show off when people
come over i call it my party trick is i have this nifty remote control and at the touch of a button
i can close my skylights it's very jetson i love it it's nice to cool off the space on a hot day.
The bathroom or as i like to call it the tiny spa, an absolute must for me in this house was a soaker tub as i went to research actual tubs and try to find a small one they were crazy expensive
but everyone has these cool trough tubs now and it fit my aesthetic and it's the best little soaker
tub and the first question i had was is it going to retain heat and the answer is yes you're going
to come out sweating it's amazing after a long day on the trail i love this thing.
I love my separate toilet like everybody says there's no smell but i still have poo pourri because it's funny.
In my master loft i knew wanted to have a king-sized bed in this space it's super handy to have all of the space. When visitors come my daughter sleeps with me they get her loft there's all kinds of ways to reconfigure this when visitors come over. I'm on a journey by myself but should i be in a
relationship and have to cohabitate here i wanted a king-sized bed i want a little space up here so that is why it's king size.
i'm not going to lie when i stood in this space i felt like i forgot how small it was going to
be and i kind of panicked and i didn't think anything would fit here but it's amazing when
you define the space how it suddenly works.
Also i have a hanging chair because i keep seeing them in tiny houses and it's such a great way
to add an extra space when people come over and it's one of my favorite spots in the house at the end of the day or between meetings i like to sit with coffee or glass of wine and hang out.
The outside of my not so tiny mansion it's very modern farmhouse inspired i had seen this crazy good chevron that they did on another build and i thought what if we put that around my french doors this section of the house just brings it to life it would be so boring without it really.
The trailhead comes in at 34 by 10 feet wide with two pop out lofts that make it 36 for the extra one foot on each side she has a total of 18 windows if you include the french doors and four skylights across the top two of which will open all the way to the roof for access.
A house this big also has big storage on both sides of my house i have the same
amount of large storage i have room for all my toys what more could you want.
You can survive on one income no matter how much that income is you get to define your lifestyle. Now i'm at a place where i don't have to compromise i can put my foot down on things that matter and i don't have to be in a relationship to afford it i decided i'm at a place where i've gotten married and had kids and had dogs and had the american dream that didn't actually work out, it can be whatever i want it to be this is what it looks like your house can be a school bus your house can be a tiny house your house can be a van and that does not mean oh you're cramped up inside this little crazy thing because your life is not inside your house your life is going places your life is experiencing new things and people and seeing things you can't do that when you're anchored to a mortgage when it works for you you're going to be happier and you're going to live your best life like you get one shot.
FOLLOW JEN: https://www.instagram.com/trailheadtiny/
Video Tour by: Tiny House Giant Journey