Welcome to my first blog post! In this article, I want to share the story of why I made the life-changing decision to build a tiny house and how it led to the creation of SmallHouseProject.com. Join me as I take you through my journey of escaping the city rush and finding a peaceful haven for my family.
Finding Peace Away from the City: Like many in today’s society, I found myself caught up in the constant rush and tension of city life. But when I turned 30, something shifted within me. I yearned for a place where my children could freely play in the yard and where I could savor breathtaking sunsets while enjoying a cup of coffee with my wife.
Real Estate Challenges in the Suburbs
My wife and I were fortunate to have a beautiful plot of land in the suburbs where we planned to build a standard-sized house to raise our children. However, the current economic situation presented a challenge—we lacked the immediate funds to build a house, and we wanted to avoid getting into bank loans.
The Tiny House Solution
That’s when the idea of a tiny house entered the picture. We realized that building a tiny house would provide our family with a retreat from the city and a convenient living space during the house-building process. It would serve as a place to sleep, shower, eat, and simply enjoy the beauty of nature.
A Long-Term Vision:
Our plans extended beyond the immediate benefits. We envisioned the tiny house becoming a versatile structure that could adapt to our changing needs. After completing our main house, which could take up to five years, we planned to transport the tiny house to a secluded location—a summer house nestled in the forest, offering even more privacy and tranquility.
To embark on this exciting project, I began by calculating the budget, assessing how much I could allocate to the tiny house. I also researched and drew the blueprints myself, leveraging my passion for woodworking and wanting a hands-on approach. Obtaining the necessary wood, preparing the building site, and commencing construction became integral steps in bringing our tiny house dream to life.
The Journey of Planning a Tiny House
To embark on this exciting project, I began by calculating the budget, assessing how much I could allocate to the tiny house. I also researched and drew the blueprints myself, leveraging my passion for woodworking and wanting a hands-on approach. Obtaining the necessary wood, preparing the building site, and commencing construction became integral steps in bringing our tiny house dream to life.
Of course, you can buy it ready-made, but I really like woodworking, although I rarely get the chance to do it. And in my current job, I sit at the computer all day. Therefore, I decided to take a vacation and build a tiny house.
But before taking a vacation, I wanted to prepare the drawings of the tiny house, and the basic materials and prepare the place where it will be built.
The Work List looked like this:
- 1. Calculate the budget, how much I can spend on it.
- 2. Find tiny house drawings or draw them by myself.
- 3. I knew I wanted a wooden construction, so I needed to prepare the wood.
- 4. Prepare the place where our little house will stand.
- 5. Start construction
Budgeting for the Small House Project
Budgeting for the Small House Project: I estimated that by using my own wood and sourcing used windows and doors, I could keep the costs within the range of 3-4 thousand euros. While this might seem optimistic, I was determined to save wherever possible, given that I planned to make the wood myself and find affordable building materials. I will also try to find used windows and doors, so I hope they won’t come too much either.
Designing the Blueprint of a tiny house:
Finding suitable blueprints at an affordable price proved challenging. Instead, I took matters into my own hands and decided to draw the tiny house project myself. With the help of the “SketchUp” program (which also had a 30-day trail version), I delved into architectural drafting for the first time.
Therefore, I think that if I managed to draw elementary drawings, you can too. If necessary, I will post basic lessons on how to do it.
It took me a while to get the hang of it, but once I understood how to create objects and how to place them exactly where I wanted, I was able to start designing.
And this is what my drawing looked like, I planned to build it on stilts, but as it turned out later, due to legal regulations, I won’t be able to do that at all. And I didn’t finish the drawing because I didn’t know what size windows and doors I would be able to find. Nevertheless, the initial design gave me a starting point and a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve. And at this point, I was able to start the wood extraction process.
Conclusion
In this introductory blog post, I’ve shared my motivations for building a tiny house and how the concept of SmallHouseProject.com came to be. Join me on this journey as I continue to document the process, provide helpful tips, and share my experiences in realizing the dream of a tiny house.
I plan to make a series of articles, about tiny house building, and later make one detailed article – a guide in which I will clearly describe what I started with and how I finished it. I think such content will be useful for myself and readers if they appears here. 
Stay tuned for more updates and lessons learned along the way.
