Living in a tiny home has really helped me be more
present. There's no room for excess or unnecessary
objects. Everything is very curated, very intentional.
My name is Seung Yoo.
I'm 40 years old and I live in a tiny house in Santa
Monica, California, and I pay $1,600 per month.
Welcome to my tiny house in Santa Monica, California.
I'm a designer and entrepreneur and I have a
children's toy brand called Big Little Universe.
Before living in the tiny house.
I lived in New York City for over 18 years.
I was paying $4,500 a month for an apartment.
So I initially moved to California with a partner.
That relationship did not work out.
And so after that time, I had two places one in New
York and one in California.
It was pretty quickly where I decided it was time to get
grounded again with my own values.
So I made the tiny house, my primary residence.
I was actually in Rome and I found the space on Hotpads
and thought it was a scam.
I hadn't seen anything like it.
The photos were posted was also very hard to decipher.
They had a phone number on there, so I actually ended
up calling it and someone did pick up and the
interview process was also extremely intense.
It was more intense than a regular apartment building.
I asked for a video interview to be able to see
the space, but even then I was like, It could not be
there. This could all be I for all I know.
So I had someone come and check that the space
actually existed.
Living in Santa Monica has a lot of benefits.
I love being close to the ocean.
Being able to go on hikes and have access to the
outdoors has been really amazing.
Living in a tiny house has not only provided my own
space, but I'm easily saving a few thousand
dollars a month, which has been extremely beneficial as
well.
There's only been a couple small aspects that I've
added to the house, which are small accessories and
wall mounted hooks.
Otherwise, it's pretty much exactly how it came.
The style is very minimal and designed to be energy
efficient as well as sustainably built.
The house does not require any heat or AC, so I don't
have any heating or cooling. But the temperature
is regulated by concrete panels, which is water
resistant, weatherproof and extremely durable.
I do use a small portable heater in the winter if it
is colder weather.
I think the most difficult part about moving into a
tiny house, there's very limited storage.
So having very intentional objects that you've selected
that are functional as well as high quality has been a
really amazing curation process.
You know, narrowing down like technology was pretty
simple. I felt like going through different objects or
tools was also pretty simple because you come to
realize you really don't need that many things.
There is literally a container that I have under
my sink that I spent at least a couple of months
looking for because I needed something to be a
specific size and material.
I think patience is going to be one thing that could
be tested living in a tiny house.
I think that the main misconception of living in a
small space is that it's not possible.
But I think it's one of the most amazing gifts and
experiences that I've had.
When you walk in. This is the main area, which is my
work area as well as living room.
You see my open closet.
I guess you could also say it's a walk in closet.
I spend the majority of my day sitting right in this
space with my laptop and this is where majority of my
work is done. I'm pretty particular about how I
curate my wardrobe because I have so little space.
Everything has a versatility or a purpose.
The position of the home and the amount of natural
light in this house is what really helps the space feel
a lot larger than it really is.
The kitchen area is where majority of the storage is.
I love tools and I love high quality tools, so I
have different types of scissors that I've collected
throughout the years because it's just a great
tool to have.
I cook pretty much every day.
This particular tiny house did not have a full kitchen.
How I solved for that is with a double burner that
sits outside of the home.
It functions extremely well and is completely sufficient
to be able to cook.
I think that the process of cooking is actually
simplified because I need to be extremely efficient
about how I prep ingredients.
I'm also very aware of exactly what ingredients and
how much are left over in my fridge.
So in terms of guests maximum, I've had two people
stay in the outdoor space, but indoors I've only had
one guest at a time.
To the right of the kitchen is my bathroom also very
minimal and has open storage which allows for
more space. The bathroom sink faces one of my
favorite features in the house.
It's made of a recycled rubber to the left of the
living room and kitchen is my bedroom.
The bedroom is my sanctuary.
It's wonderful and it's a full size bed.
The plywood that surrounds the bed creates this really
serene and warm environment.
The light in the room is the main light that's completely
adjustable to many different settings, which is
also a very comfortable and soothing experience.
The position of the bedroom allows me to sleep north,
which is really great feng shui.
I have no regrets about moving into a tiny house.
What I was seeking was to feel grounded and to feel
completely okay on my own.
I think that's what really helped that transition, not
feel so jarring or difficult.
There were definitely challenges, but realigning
with what my values really were and what is most
significant in my life was what helped that transition.
I think for those who are curious about Tiny House
living, the first thing I would do is to observe and
take a look at your belongings and what really
has meaning in your life and what is just a nice to
have. I would start there and start to evaluate how
you could potentially transition into a tiny
house. I've thought a lot about designing tiny homes,
so my longer term plans is to build a tiny house
community. I really, really love the experience of
living in this space and the benefits of learning
intentional living.
I would love to share that by building a community in
the future, but for now, I'm not leaving.