There are lots of reasons why people choose to downsize sometimes it's financial and sometimes it's just an opportunity to do something very
Fun and creative that is exactly the case with this next inspiring family that we're about to visit who have done something truly remarkable
with their homes backyard
Hi Marnie hi fights. How are you? I'm great. Thanks lovely to meet you. Good ident. Has it go mate. Very good
This home looks absolutely beautiful
Can you tell me first of all how you actually came to be living in this space?
So we bought the block about five years ago
And there's a house at the front that we've lived in for three and a half years
So it all started with a pool
We wanted to pull and then it turned into a pool in a Cabana and then maybe a pool and some
Space for our parents to come and stay in and then it turned into our own home
That we as a family of four now living in what was it that inspired you to go smaller with your home? I
Guess I was really interested and I like the idea of minimalism I guess
I've been one of those people who were always wanting more and one day it clicked in the foot. This isn't making me happy
So I started going through all my stuff
minimizing everything and decided that we didn't need a lot of stuff to be happy and
Hence, we didn't need two big hats to be happy. So that's why we're here now
And so when she came to you and suggested that she wanted to actually do a tiny house project. What did you originally?
Think of that. Did you take a little bit of convincing to come on board? Yes
Yes, I saw the advantages in it eventually
What was it that ultimately convinced you in the end?
Something different something would be exciting and we did have a lot of junk and getting rid of a lot of junk was good
Now what size is the home here?
31.5 square metres and how big is the house that you've come from in comparison?
Probably be out three four times the size over thing
Yes, and it looks like your swimming pools about the same size as your house. I'm a big fan of that. Yeah, it's actually bigger
Yeah, yeah swimming pools may get 2 square metres bigger than the house
So it does surprise a lot of people I've been but especially in the hot Australian weather what a phenomenal way of doing it
Yeah, I think so. I mean we spend a lot of time in there as well
so sometimes Dan and Ella can spend five hours in at a time driving playing games and then they
Inside collapsing on the land at the end of the day
It's fantastic the way that you've really connected the house with this outdoor area
Can you talk to me about how everything's laid out here?
Yeah, so when we were doing the design the brief was that we wanted to spend as much time outside as possible
So with the kitchen we've got this big gas trap window
So we're often sitting here having a meal or just to chat at the table
We have a lot of meals at the outdoor table then outside here
we're always relaxing on the big beanbags or
Having parties around down the fire pit area and with the garden I didn't want anything
That was too formal or structured. So we've gone with basically an edible garden
So almost everything in here is something that you can eat
So a lot of our food comes from our house so you can just go outdoors and pick something for dinner
And did you build this was this a DIY project?
Yeah, so we did it as an owner builder
We engaged a friend who was a builder and he did all the site side and we did the project management, I guess
Procurement that sort of stuff he looked after all the all the hard part
But then you definitely got your hands dirty as well by the sounds of it. Yes
There were many many late nights and weekends and spent in here
So, yes, can you tell me about the materials that you've used on the exterior? Yes
We used a cement sheet the sky on Strayer. It was very very labor intensive. That is I think it's come up pretty good
We've also used raw timber recycled posts, which have been quite a bit of which you could say character in them
There's a lot of raw timber around the place the deck into recycled timber as well
They've all been pulled from an old bridge as well
So it's nice to have a little bit of history mixed in within you
So what are you doing with the main house at the moment? So we rented it out
So the income that we get from that helps us pay down the mortgage a little bit quicker
Which is helpful, and it was an advantage when we were building that we were able to add in some privacy details
so we've just added some screening we tinted some windows and
So really we've got our complete separate spaces
There is such a good way of doing it because of course Sydney right now
This is one of the world's most expensive real estate markets
so being able to create this kind of living situation gives you an affordable and really
Effective model of being able to own your own home without the burden of a tremendous mortgage
Right definitely and getting that extra income helps us pay down a lot quicker as well
like you said Sydney is
Ridiculous at the moment. No, it's hard for younger people to get into the market
So this could potentially be an alternative for people. Well, I absolutely
Love the outside of the house. The style is really cool
I'm already ridiculously jealous of your swimming pool, but can we go inside and take a look? Yeah, I mean, thank you
This is lovely and immediately walking in here
I love the way that this giant window just completely celebrates the fact that the pool is right there
Yeah, definitely. The window was a must wasn't it? And I feel like that's our piece of art now
We don't have any room for any other art. So looking out there
it just makes the fuck you I absolutely
Love the way that in here the light hitting the pool reflects on your ceiling. Yeah, it's really beautiful
So we've put a lot of effort into the ceiling we used to call this when we were building the tiny house for giants
So we've done the v-groove ceiling and we've made sure it's connected
perfectly to the at all so you get that really nice flow from
Into house and it looks like you've done some very interesting things with the furniture. Can you tell me about that?
Yeah, so I guess this was Dan's idea
We've done the built-in seating, which is also storage as well
So the captures a lot and we can move them around as our needs change
So the girls can have a play on the mat or we can push them together if we want to watch movie
So it works really well
Excellent. So these kind of like beanbags or something? Yeah, they are they're being bags
What a great idea and I love how much versatility that brings into the space, too. Yeah, definitely
It's good to see that you've really prioritized
Entertaining and relaxing in this space and I can see you've got a really wonderful place for watching your movies and everything
That stands dumain you TV, isn't it? Well, not really
We don't watch that much of it, but it is important that we had a TV and it's up right at the right level
So you can watch it from thus far as well
No way
Yeah
And you can also you can have this set of bluetooth headphones or use the pool speakers and watch a movie or you know
The tennis or whatever out there generally construction
you would have seen me out there sitting in the half built pool and
Trying to get the right angle and height on the wall here
fortunately
What a great idea
And now tell me about the kitchen here, yeah so with the kitchen
Because we've got a family and I'm cooking all the time
I wanted to make sure that it had all the functionality of a normal kitchen
So we've got the two burner stove
The microwave combi oven we've also got a dishwasher drawer here as well
And that's the perfect size so it fills our whole day and I turn it on every night. So it works really well
It's a smaller size fridge
That probably did take a little bit of getting used to but it works fine now
Fantastic, and it looks to me like you've hidden everything away very well, but you've got a lot of storage in this kitchen
Oh, yeah heaps of storage probably even more than what we need
We've got our long pantry here and it was probably four times the size in our previous home
But honestly now I don't have things in there, but with the expiry dates from about four years ago
So works. Well, we've tried to keep it functional you can see underneath the top cupboards there
We've got power points and light switches and things like that so that on the wall in your face
Hidden, but still there. So space is functional. I guess what a great way of doing it. And what's in the next room
So we've got the bathroom come and have a look cool. Oh
This looks great I love the tiling work in this room. Yeah. Thank you
We try to do something a little bit different in here not too out there. So it still goes with everything
But yeah, we really like it. And can you tell me a little bit about the layout in the bathroom?
originally in the design
We had an exterior door on the outside the bathroom that was going to be used for the pool as well in the end
We ditched the door and put a live window there the architects sort of did the layout as a standard layout
we originally had a
concrete bath in the design but it turns out with the plumbing it was going to become quite expensive as well as the grinds and
Everything so we ditch that idea as well and the kids doing buckets now and then is this your bedroom in here?
Yeah, it is come and have a look. Oh
This is lovely. I really like what you've done with the side table things here because yeah
Obviously you wouldn't be able to have a proper sight table. So that's a great alternative, isn't it?
Yeah, my dad made those for us so made to fit and then it looks like you've built storage in here as well
Yeah, so we've got heaps of storage in here. It's probably more than we actually need so that's a linen press
We've also got our clothes basket underneath and then behind us is our wardrobe and we've got even to the ceiling
Cupboards as well. I've tried to really make sure that everything has its place and being a small space
You don't want things lying around. Otherwise, it gets messy very quickly
So we also have this really cool storage underneath initially when we first moved in it was actually used as storage
But as the girls needs have changed
Our elder daughter needed somewhere that she could play
So we've made this into a really cool place face for the girls. No way
That is such a cool idea yeah, Ella must absolutely love this she does she does
It's like a little play cave
I really love what you've done and I love the way that even though this home is so small
It really is a family home and you've really given the kids so much consideration and what's going on in the space
Haven't you exactly I mean not everything has been purpose-built for the kids?
But we've really tried to make the spaces work for them. So it's a fun house as well
And then what do we have next door? So it's the girls room next door. All right. Can we check that out? Yeah, so
This changed I guess from the initial plans and then one night came up with this fantastic idea
so the girls can get into their room in their own special way, so
Initially, we had a ladder up so Dan
Created these stairs that they climb up into their own secret little door into their beds
that is
Ridiculously cold and you've even built a little fairy door into it. That's so cute. Yeah, and it's really cute
So Ella has gone through a lot of adjustments moving into the house having a new sister
So we actually have fairies who come and visit us and change up the spaces for her as things need to change
So Frankie moving into her room, etc
So it's a really fun way for her to get excited about the new spaces
Great. So the fairies created the place based under the bed. Yes
Yes, and it looks like you've built a lot of storage in this space, too
Yeah, we've built some functional cupboards to keep things like their kids school bags a place for everything
And so I think you're not coveting. It's the vacuum cleaner and the broom but
You're not sure you're never never seen inside
And then the kids bedroom through there yeah, let's go let's check it out
This is so clever, you've actually got three levels in here. Yeah, we do so it's a vertical
bedroom so
To meds and a play space which is now actually Frankie's nursery, but you've got the second bed up the top as well
Yeah, that's right. What was it that inspired you to do the space like this?
I think when you're tight on space and you've got constraints that you actually become more creative and
so what does the normal bedroom have it's got normally a bed in a little play space and a
Wardrobe and we were able to do that and you know something that perhaps may have been unusable
Yeah in a fraction of the size of the normal space. You've created something really special in here. That is very cool
Yeah, and so when Frankie moves up to one of the beds the intention is to turn the downstairs here into a play space
Yeah, that's right. We can move some things around and put their toys in here
So this will be a play space for the girls as well. We put a few fun things in there as well
There's some talking tubes. And so the kids can be down in the play space and talk to other kids up in the beds
I get the feeling that you are having just as much fun in here as the girls are absolutely
Hello wake up
I'm awake
So, how long have you been living in the home now?
It's been about 16 months now and how are you adapting to life in the new space? We love it
We wouldn't change a thing about it. So no regrets
Everything's working really well
so I think living in a small space has changed the way that we moved completely and
Really? Everything's worked better than what we'd imagined
I spend less time cleaning you spend less time maintaining
A house, and we just get to spend time together as a family
We're outdoors so much more works really well. We're happy
Is there anything in here that you're finding isn't working for you? I think there's anything that it's not working at the moment
It's all working really well
Yeah, probably moving into the future when the girls get a bit older the bedroom might become a bit of a problem
You know getting into the small door there and the bunk beds and the small play space
But we'll deal with that as it comes like so we're constantly
Evolving and changing things. Yeah
And
Can you talk to me about the cost that was involved in creating this home sort of hard because there was so much
Involved we did go over-budget a lot on excavation. We had a lot of problems early on everything in his custom made
Everything's difficult. Very labor intensive. We actually did work up at the house as well
so we're still trying to break it all down, but including the
Landscaping and the pool and everything. It must be around 400
Huh? Yeah, but at the end of the day, we could never build a house to this standard or quality on a large scale
So that was kind of the advantage that we saw was being able to have something really
Beautiful and functional that works and it was affordable
I guess I think you've hit the nail right on the head when you said that part of the trick with these spaces is
Everything has to be customized. Nothing in here is mass-produced everything in here is high-quality
And I think that what you've done here is absolutely money. Well spent. Thank you
We agree the build has given us options in the future. Yes. We have a bigger mortgage
But we look at it as we've spent an extra roughly four hundred thousand dollars to buy an investment property in Sydney
That is positively geared. So there's not many opportunities in Sydney
We can buy a positively geared property worth that much money
That's kind of how we look at it from the financial point of view
I just think you've created such a beautiful home here the idea of downsizing
moving into your backyard saving money on the mortgage and living in a small house with a huge pool is
Just absolutely brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing your home with me. Thank you, bro. Thanks rice. This is a
very clever design
Architectural II. It is modern. It's beautiful. It's functional
but what I love most about it is it doesn't forget to be playful the way that the kids are honored in this space and
Family life was prioritized as evident all throughout and ultimately that is what makes it a home