Hey guys, Jenna here. Welcome back to my channel,
where I tour tiny houses and unique spaces.
In today's video.
We revisit an Oceanside tiny house community where one woman has found peace,
quiet, and a place to practice her art all in a home,
the size of a parking space.
So let's meet Gail and learn what inspired her to downsize into a tiny home.
But first I'd like to thank nomad internet for sponsoring this video.
Nomad is the only truly unlimited internet you can use in rural areas.
And while on the road stay connected wherever you are without any extra fees
to find out, more, check out the link in the description.
Hi, my name is Gail and I want to welcome you to my tiny house,
which I have named the petite.
Retreat.
Before I moved into this house,
I was living in the San Francisco Bay area,
working at a retail job for many, many years.
And there was just a lot of stress, a high energy and at heart,
I'm not really that type of person.
I am completely at home.
Living in my tiny house makes me feel safe.
Particularly the community I'm living in. It's very safe feeling.
So moving here to this area to tiny tranquility to the
ocean and particularly the quietness of all,
this has just been more than I can communicate how much I appreciate it.
The way I first heard about tiny houses was at a friend's house.
We were watching it on TV five years ago.
I really started investigating it.
I watched as many YouTube as I could,
and I began to learn what I wanted and what I didn't want.
I was looking for a builder or even a place to
plant the house.
All of a sudden everything just popped up tiny tranquility was
amazing,
and it was really easy for me to just drive up in a
day and check this place out.
My house was built very quickly.
I got in on the early stages of Pacific, a tiny homes,
they took about a month,
maybe a little bit less from start to finish.
They brought it from central California up here to Oregon and set it up for
me.
The total cost I would say would probably be around
53 or 54,000 total.
That's including transportation.
The house I chose yellow because I figured being in Oregon,
it was going to be cloudy most of the time.
And I wanted something that made people smile and made people happy and made me
feel good. When I came home,
I decided that if I was going to be living in this house for basically
the rest of my life,
I wanted it to have a little more room and space in it from 20 feet.
I added six feet additional onto it, which has been absolutely perfect.
It makes the living room bigger.
I asked the builders to put some kind of awning on here for me,
because I didn't want to be fumbling around in the pouring rain and trying to
get into house and getting all wet. They put a magnificently,
beautiful glass awning on here, and I've been totally happy with it.
It's a perfect size. I went with a metal roof.
I got to pick the color after talking to the owner of tiny tranquility.
I decided that I wanted to go with the metal because the storms can get pretty
brutal here. And the wind,
particularly this window was a stock with the house that was a
design that they already had.
And I am loving it so much because this is where I stand and do the dishes
or cook. I can open the screen and get some really nice flowing air.
But most of all,
I can look out until this amazing field that I got very lucky to
be planted near. And that's very calming and relaxing.
I originally had a box built back here for
my bike storage. I do not have a bike at this moment.
So it is just storing camping gear and yard work
stuff. I use the propane only for hot water.
Everything else is electric. I have a tankless water heater,
and that's what this setup here is.
Now I'm gonna take you around the other side of the house and show you something
really unique. I had them build a catio.
I had one in my other house that was a lot bigger and they were used to being
outside their indoor cats.
I made it where I thought it would fit just well enough and they could come out
and get some air. It's not ideal. I might make it bigger later on down the road,
but it's perfect for now.
One thing about the catio and the overhang
above the door is that those have to be before you move the
house. So they are removable, both of them.
Okay.
I want to welcome you to the inside of my house.
Now talk about a couple of things right here.
Mainly my windows are just incredibly amazing for how much light they
let in.
I like this window in particular because I can sit right here
and talk to my neighbor out the window, which is really nice.
Almost everything in my house is gifts that people have given me or things that
people have made for me.
I have a friend who made three quilts for me,
and that's really all I need here.
Another friend painted this painting for me here.
These bird pictures are from a photography friend that I
have. A lot of things are really very special that I have in my house.
I have two cats.
Their names are Cinder and Ella having them comfortable and happy in my house is
a big deal to me. So basically we split the house here.
We have my recliner during the night, I use this as my bed.
I have some back issues and this helps me to wake up in the morning
with no pain during the day
my cats like to live in here.
They like to sleep in there. And most of the time they do that during the day.
One thing I do to give myself a little more room was to get this cabinet,
which is a perfect color for inside the house and also has a great amount of
storage in it.
I'm an artist and I have all different kinds of art that I do.
And this cabinet here holds pretty much most of my art supplies.
Not all of them here. I have a little fireplace.
It's not real, but it gives me the ambience that I want.
So I usually keep this open so I can see more of the flames going.
This car here is a replica of my very first car,
1970 Chevelle Malibu
up here is some of my artwork that I do.
I currently do all different kinds of art.
And this is what I have right now going,
it's a particular style called scratch board.
Kind of want to explain a little bit about my artwork in the house.
I have many friends who do different artwork.
I love showing their art and looking at their art in my space.
These particular photos were done by my friend Randall,
Over in this area here, I have, uh,
extra shelves that I put here.
It was kind of a blank space and I needed more storage
on this countertop. I have various appliances.
They do take up a little bit of space, but for me,
they're important in a tiny house.
There is always a risk for some reason,
and I'm not really sure why that of having mildew and
moldy smells in the house.
So most of us have a dehumidifier which pulls the extra water
out of the house.
I don't have an oven or a dishwasher.
I don't need any of those things. So I do have a stove top,
which is an amazing product.
It's a induction stove top and it boils water in about 30
seconds in the kitchen area.
I chose a butcher block counter that I'm been very,
very happy with. It has a little coating on it to protect it from water,
big farm style sink. That works great. I love the white.
I haven't had any marks on it. I've been in the house now for about 10 months.
Uh, and it's totally been fine.
I kind of collect different crystals. I know what they all are.
And these display cabinets are just incredible for
showing them off. My refrigerator is a perfect size for me.
I love it. Great big freezer in here. Plenty room.
I have a lot of little space saving things in this area.
I ordered this online and had them build it and put it in.
It's perfectly,
goes in that space and gives me a lot of room for food and vitamins.
And I keep all my spices in here. I love this barn door.
It works great to enter into the bathroom.
I love the handle bar here. It's nice and smooth flowing.
Now we're going to go.
In the bathroom. I like the sink area. Nice little cabinet under here. Again,
bronze fixture.
I put a towel rack up so that it covers the fuse box area.
Cause it's a big gray ugly square and not works perfectly.
I have a big mirror that I bought at my friend's store.
She owns in Mendocino, California,
and it's got a big mermaid on it. It's beautiful. I carried it around.
They made the whole back wall specifically for that mirror in here as the
shower. I do wish that it was a little bigger.
It's very tight in here.
And I do have plans in the future to think about making it a little bit bigger.
I have Cedar ceilings all through the house,
but what's particularly nice about it in the bathroom.
And the kitchen is that Cedar doesn't absorb moisture and it
doesn't rot over time. So it's going to last a very,
very time for me. Um, and I may never have to change that.
We're going to head upstairs now.
You'll be able to see that it's a little bit difficult to take these large
stairs. It's harder on my knees and my back,
I use these all the time. Uh,
I would like to have some that are a little bit bigger and sturdier to hang on
to, but I will be changing these stairs and making them more comfortable.
So we're going to come up here where my cats live.
Since I don't have a bed up here, I try to make this space be there.
And I try to give them enough room where they can play around and sleep and eat.
I made a bunk bed for them. It was very easy. Just buy some PVC,
pipe and corners.
And I sewed up some fleece for their bed and they love it.
They sleep in it all the time. If you are a cat owner,
you know that the litter box smells a lot and you have to basically clean it
every day. Especially if you're in a tiny house,
this litter robot turns itself around,
drops the poop into the bottom and then turns itself back around and
levels out the sand.
And it does it based on the weight that they put on here.
So when they step on here, they go, seven minutes later,
it does its thing. It has no smell whatsoever. I clean it.
I take it all apart and clean it. Maybe once every three or four months,
you can see the wind kind of blowing through here.
This is the exit to the catio.
They go in and out as they please. And I keep it open all the time.
But this thing is thick enough that it keeps the cold out and you can put your
hand here and not feel any cold whatsoever. Uh, so it works really.
Well.
I've learned in the last several years,
how important it is to really stay focused on
being as happy as you can be.
I really believe with all my heart and my life reflects it.
That life is supposed to be fun. You're supposed to enjoy the journey.
There is never an end.
I can just sit anywhere and say, I love the sky.
I love the trees. I love my ceiling. It doesn't matter.
I appreciate so much now I could not be happier with
my life.
I hope you guys enjoyed this week's video.
Make sure to like share and subscribe and check back next Friday for another
video tour of a tiny house in the same community.