Tiny House Hunters (2014–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Oregon Pear Farmers Build Tiny Home with a View in Their Orchard - full transcript

Across the nation,
people are going small--

really small...

These are so cute!

...buying tiny houses,

some just a microscopic
100 square feet.

Whoa.

This is a tiny house.

It looks really small.

This tiny trend
is picking up big steam,

with everything from
converted train cars and barns

to yurts
and microhouses on wheels.



I'd be a gypsy
on the run.

Everyone has got
a different reason to go tiny.

For Oregon farmers Ben and Erin,

they want small because,
for them, land equals money.

We don't want to take down
any orchard trees.

That's how we make money.

As far as time,

we spend most of it outside
working in the orchard.

We just don't have time
to take care of a big place.

So, for them,
tiny is the way to go.

But such
an extreme lifestyle change

might be a bigger challenge
than expected.

360 square feet.

I think it feels maybe just
a little, tiny bit small for us.



A refrigerator that's taller
than me might be nice.

Yeah.
It's just small.

This is a full. Oh.

It's not even a queen.

Are they really ready
to downsize this much?

It's cute,
but, wow, it's small.

Come on, dogs.
Let's go.

I'm Erin.
This is my husband, Ben.

And we live and work
on his family orchard.

I'm the business manager
of the orchard.

And then I have a dual role.

So, I'm a firefighter,

and I do that
in the Portland metro region,

and for here, my official title
is general manager.

It keeps me busy.

Hey, you missed some.

Where?
Right here.

Oh.

Ben and I
have been married for 11 years.

We met in high school.

He would copy my papers.

Not always, but, yeah.

Probably most of the time.

My family's had this orchard
since 1955,

and it's always been
a family farm.

We have 100 acres.

About a year and a half ago,
it became real apparent

that it's our turn to be
responsible for this orchard

and making sure
that it continues on

for the next generation.

So we uprooted
pretty much our other life

in, you know,
suburban Portland.

That meant giving up
their big 2,300-square-foot home

and moving temporarily
into the smaller

1,400-square-foot
main farmhouse.

So, really,
we've downsized quite a bit.

But more of Ben's family

is about to move
into the farmhouse,

which means
they've got to move out

and onto
another part of the orchard.

And they've decided to go tiny
with their new home.

We're looking
to build a house

somewhere around
500, 600 square feet.

We really feel like we don't
need more space than that.

We are so busy.

You spend most of your time
outdoors working hard.

Also, because
we're on an orchard,

we don't want to take down
any orchard trees.

That's how we make money.

So we need to use the land
that's available.

This is kind of our ideal place
for putting a home.

All we've got to do
is figure out

what home
we're gonna put on it.

Adding another home
on the orchard, to me,

symbolizes our mark.

You know, that's something
that this orchard

will always have.

I think
it'll be a beautiful space.

Yeah. It needs to have
a little bit of curb appeal

and kind of tie into the land
a little bit,

so ideally for us,
it's industrial-rustic,

woods and metals together.

We really like
natural siding.

It's really durable, but I also
think it has a nice look.

But when it comes to
the interior of the tiny home,

they have a huge disagreement.

I tend to be drawn
to modern.

I like the clean lines,
not a lot of clutter.

Ben likes a more rustic look.

I like wood finishes--

anything
that kind of has a sense

of, maybe, history
behind it.

Coming in?
Oh.

I just cleaned the floor.

Living on an orchard,

there's no way you can prevent
the dirt from coming inside.

With a smaller house,
all this cleaning

will take
a little bit less time.

Looking at some
of those tiny houses,

it does seem like they try

to integrate
a lot of the rooms together.

Since he's a firefighter
that works long hours,

he cares about the placement
of the bedroom.

I have a preference
towards having the bedroom

to be its own space--
that the bedroom feels private.

It would be nice
to occasionally take a nap

so that I'm not, you know,
incredibly sleep-deprived.

Yeah.

Then there's the kitchen.

We still need
the full-sized appliances.

We don't want give up
those kinds of things.

We don't want the kitchen

to be completely separate
from the living area.

Unless it's a galley kitchen,
though, right?

- No, no. No.
- Yeah.

We don't want
a galley kitchen.

We don't?
No.

I think
it's a good use of space.

You can work countertops
both sides.

You know?

- Okay.
- No.

Okay. No.

Helping them go tiny
is Jim Russell,

with ideabox in Salem, Oregon.

He'll be showing them
three different prototypes

that fit their budget.

The house
will be built off-site,

then delivered to the farm.

Today, they stop by Jim's
headquarters to see a model home

that's just 400 square feet,
priced at $75,000.

I do like some of
these very industrial touches.

It's cute,
but, wow, it's small.

At 400 square feet,

it's also about 1/3 the size
of their current house.

- Hi, Jim.
- Hey, Jim.

Hey, guys.

Well, welcome
to our prototype.

- All right.
- It's also our office.

Oh, okay.

So-- But I thought
it'd be good for you to see.

We are in what would
normally be the living room.

This is a 400-square-foot
1-bedroom, 1-bath.

Yeah.
You know, 400 square feet's

a little bit under our ideal
space of 600 square feet,

but as far as the windows
and the ceiling,

absolutely love it for me.

Really bright.
Feels big.

The minute
I stepped in this house,

I thought that
the ceiling height was great,

but I was immediately thinking
the first space

was a little bit snug.

I mean, I guess
you don't really know

until you get
the furniture inside.

Ben, I know you're a fan
of galley kitchens.

So why don't you come in here
and check it out?
I sure am.

I like it.[ Laughs ] Of course.

These are
unique countertops.

And I actually
really kind of like them.

What are they?

These are linoleum counters.

Huh.
A flooring material.

Interesting. And that's
durable in a kitchen area?

They're pretty durable.

I see we've got
full-size appliances.

So, are we gonna be
able to convince you
on a galley kitchen?

Nope.

What I don't really like
is that this is the hallway

from the living space
to the bedroom.

I know that Ben
really wants a galley kitchen,

but I have two issues
with this one.

First, it's really closed off
from the living space,

and it acts as a hallway

going from the living space
into the bedroom.

It's a little awkward

telling Ben what I do
and don't like about this house

while we're standing right next
to the person who designed it.

Now, again,
- this is our office.
- Okay.

So, normally, there would be
- a queen-size bed in this room.
- Okay.

You know, I think for a home
that is 400 square feet,

this bedroom does feel
pretty reasonable in size.

It does.
You're right.

Now, these are
bamboo floors?

Bamboo floors.

They look like
they've held up really well.

This is a huge bathroom for
such a small square footage,

you know, footprint-wise.

Yeah, it really is.

The other thing
that really stands out to me

is the color.

And I'm not gonna say
that I'm critical of it,

especially based on the shirt
- that I'm wearing today.
- Yes. Exactly.

But it is a pretty bold color
for a bathroom.

I like it.

The thing that I feel
that this house is missing most

is the transition
from space to space.

There are no hallways.

The galley kitchen itself
becomes a hallway,

and then the bathroom
is also utilized as a hallway.

It feels a little awkward to me

that when I want
to use the restroom,

I have to close two doors--

not something
I really would like.

I have never seen a shower

that has the doors that
close together at the corner.

Well, again,
we are so small.

So to squeeze the shower in,
we had to get a little creative.

Okay. I think I'd prefer
a little larger shower.

I think the finishes
- are just a bit too modern.
- Okay.

When we first walked up,

curb-appeal-wise,
I really liked the exterior.

I like the, you know,

very industrial-looking
corrugated metal,

those kind of
warehouse lights.

The price tag is well below
where we need to be, so...

I really like the space, actually.

The small size of this space

will make it
very easy to keep clean.

The galley kitchen
is not my favorite.

I don't like that that's
the main hallway to the bedroom.

So Jim
is now showing them a place

with a more open layout.

I really like it
- from the outside.
- Yeah.

But there's one
problem-- It's super-tiny.

Hood River, Oregon,
farmers Erin and Ben

are trading in
their 1,400-square-foot home

on their family orchard
for something smaller--

much smaller.

They're building a tiny home
no bigger than 600 square feet.

With such busy schedules,

they want a place
with little to no maintenance.

With $100,000 to work with,
their builder, Jim,

has shown them a place
that's just 400 square feet.

While they liked
the tall ceilings,

the small footprint of the home
meant no hallways,

and Erin wasn't sold
on the galley kitchen,

which was also
the only access to the bedroom.

Today, Jim is showing them
something even smaller.

Even though
it's just 360 square feet,

it has a more open layout
he thinks they'll like.

It's one-bedroom
and one-bath.

I'm surprised
Jim's showing us a house

that's 40 square feet smaller.

I didn't really like
the layout of the previous home,

and I'm curious to see
what this is gonna be like.

I really like it
- from the outside.
- Yeah.

It's currently
getting ready

to go to its eventual site
in California.

You know, I do really like
the board-and-bats

and that changeover into
the industrial corrugated metal.

And what does it
retail for?

About $60,000.
Okay.

I'll let you go inside
and take a look.

It's nice that Ben and I

are looking at this house
by ourselves,

because it's kind of difficult

to say how you really feel
about a space

when you're standing
in front of the designer.

- Look how cute this is.
- Wow.

I love it.

I love
the wood ceiling, too.

The kitchen
is only 23 square feet--

a fraction of the size
of what they're used to.

Those appliances
are a little small.

A refrigerator that's taller
than me might be nice.

Sure.
Yeah, I would agree.

Deal breakers for me
on this house

are
the miniature-size appliances.

I think it would be
a little challenging

for me
to be in the kitchen cooking,

Ben to be hanging out
in the living room,

and two dogs running around
in this particular space.

I really like the cabinets, though.

And I love the two-tone--

the dark on the bottom,
the light on the top.
Mm-hmm.

Maybe you can convince
me a little bit into
something modern.

What do you think
- about the floors?
- I like the color.

But I can see scratches.

I think
it looks like a laminate.

So I'm wondering
if maybe this material

wouldn't be very durable
with the dogs' nails.
Right.

What do you think
about putting a sofa here?

I think we could definitely
fit a sofa there.

For everyday living, I think
for two people and two dogs,

it's just a little small.

These barn doors...

Pretty cool, huh?...are amazing.

Aesthetically,
they're beautiful.

I'm a firefighter.
I work in 24-hour shifts.

And, you know,
I love those barn doors,

but the big space up above

letting all that light and sound
in, in a house this small--

I'm gonna hear everything
when I'm trying to sleep.

Check out this bedroom, though.

It's super-cute.
Yeah.

It's just small.

This is a full. Oh.

- It's not even a queen.
- Even smaller.

This bedroom is really small,

and there's no way our king-size
bed is gonna fit in here.

I like the storage, though.

I think that's a good use
- of the space.
- Yeah.

I actually didn't even
notice it.

It blended so much
with the wall that... Right with the wall.

It's kind of nice.
Makes it feel big.
I like it.

And, again,
it is a big bathroom.

Yeah. I can't believe
the size bathrooms

that he's able to put into
such small square footage.

It looks like there's plugs
- for the washer/dryer.
- Washer/dryer. Hmm.

I don't know how I feel
about having

to always walk through the
bedroom to access the bathroom.

If Ben is sleeping
during the day,

I have no access
to either of those areas.

I really like it.

I love how open it is.

I love the accents
like this barn door.

I think that's just
a really neat feature.

But it's really small.

They have configured
the space in a really neat way,

but I'm not really certain
it works for us.

It feels really big,
it looks really big,

but it is kind of small.

And I really don't like
the fact

that you have
to go through the bedroom

to get to the bathroom.

So now Jim is taking
them to a place with more room,

but finding a happy medium
when it comes to size

is easier said than done.

Maybe even a little bit
more than we need?

How many bins of reds
were there yesterday?

Three.
Three?

Ben and Erin
are tired of the upkeep

of their large
Hood River, Oregon, farm home,

so they're making
a drastic change.

They've decided to build
a lower-maintenance tiny home

with a $100,000 budget.

And since trees equal income,

they're not willing
to cut any down

to make room
for their new house,

so it's got to be
as small as possible.

Their builder, Jim,
has shown them

a 400-square-foot model
for $75,000.

While they liked
that it cut their living space

by more than 2/3,

the rooms
were compartmentalized.

The next place was $60,000
and was 360 square feet--

so small you could
almost fit four of them

into their current home.

Although it had an open feel,

Erin and Ben
worry that it was too small.

Since they weren't sure

they could adjust to such
a drastic change in size,

Jim is now taking them
to a larger house

he built for previous clients
on a local vineyard.

It is beautiful here.

Yeah.
This is spectacular.

This is
a wonderful-looking house.

How much
is the square footage?

750 square feet. Okay.

One-bedroom, one-bath.
Yeah.

We really like
kind of that lap-siding look

and then the change
into the corrugated metal.

The corrugated metal
is beautiful.

The siding is fiber cement,

- so it lasts a long time.
- Oh, okay.

Wow.
Look at all these windows.

I love the windows.

This space
feels really big.

Walking inside the house,

it feels a lot bigger
than that--

almost big enough
that maybe it's too big for us.

Look at the kitchen. Wow. Hmm.

All the appliances
are regular size.

Do you like the cabinets?

For me, you know, I'd like it
a little bit more rustic.

It feels
a little too sterile.

I like it
because it would be easy

to, you know,
- wipe down.
- Yeah.

But I see
what you're saying.

Look at these floors.

These are a laminate.

I think, for me,
I'd like, maybe, the tone

to be a little bit darker.

And maybe a material that's
a little bit more durable,

just given
how much we come in and out

with the dogs
and boots. Sure.

What about this, Ben?

Do you like this natural stone
in the room?

Give it
a little more rustic feel?

I would say that definitely
kind of fits my style.

Yeah.
I thought you would like it.

The house's one
bedroom is off the living room.

It's sized for a queen bed
in this case. Okay.

I notice the bathroom is really
just a master bathroom.

I think it would be interesting,
maybe, to separate it out

so that if we had guests,

they weren't
going through the bedroom.

No. I think
that's a really good idea.

All these tiny homes
that I'm seeing

have this configuration
of walking through the bedroom

to get to the bathroom,

and I'm just definitely
not loving that.

What happens
if we have guests over?

Are they gonna
walk through our bedroom?

This space
seems very roomy.

It's huge. Yeah.

This shower's really big.
I like the tile.

I don't know if I particularly
like that tile for my taste.

I would prefer some more touches
of that kind of rustic feel.

Perhaps the best spot
of the house.

- Wow.
- It's gorgeous.

I love this deck.

I know we can't take
this view with us,

but hopefully it'll look
- just as good.
- We're working on that.

Overall,
what are your thoughts?

I think, in the kitchen, I
really liked the openness of it.

I'm not certain
I like the L-shape.

Maybe more galley-oriented.

I like the cabinets,

and I thought
that couple green cabinets

as an accent piece
was really fun.

Little too modern for me.

There wasn't enough
rustic components, to me.

You're kind of into
that industrial-rustic
thing, aren't you?

- I am.
- Yeah. All the way through.

I think this is
a pretty large home

for a home
on the smaller side.

Maybe even a little bit
more than we need?

We've got a lot of modifications
we want to make.

House hunting
just got a little bit smaller,

with people on the hunt
for tiny homes.

Could you live
in such close quarters?

Cool.
Yeah?

With a budget of $100,000,

Ben and Erin have been
on the hunt for a tiny home

to build on their orchard
in Hood River, Oregon.

Their builder, Jim, has shown
them several custom models,

and now it's decision time.

First up is a 400-square-foot
home priced at $75,000.

That is the house that I
thought felt a little tight.

Did not like that you had

to walk through the kitchen
or the bathroom

to get to the bedroom,
and that was your only option.

Yeah, but it was
a galley kitchen.

Well, that's
- not a positive for me.
- No.

I was impressed
with the full-size appliances.

But I did like
the kind of industrial siding.

The price tag
was below our budget.

Definitely affordable.

The next house they saw
was the smallest,

at just 360-square-feet,
priced at $60,000.

Obviously, that price point
is great.

Yes.

I think the concept
and the layout of it

was really intriguing.

When you first walked through
that door, it felt big.

- It did.
- But the reality of it is,
it's pretty small.

The appliances were tiny.

And remember we had
to walk through the bedroom

and around the bed to get
to the entrance to the bathroom,

and it was very tight?

I did like

that tongue-and-groove ceiling, though.

Oh, that was cool.

So, what did you think about
the house on the vineyard,

which is 750 square feet?

It was $92,000.

I really liked
the high ceilings.

All the windows in there--
That was great.

It's not a galley kitchen.

The cabinets were a little bit
too modern for me.

This house
had the same problem

that we've had
with the others--

that you have
to walk through the bedroom

to get to the bathroom.

I am a little concerned,
square-footage-wise.

I'm not certain
that footprint is gonna fit

on the piece of property
that we've picked out.

To be honest,
I really like the design

of the smaller home.

I just think the square-footage
is too small.

I think it's pretty obvious

that the largest house
is the best fit for us.

I absolutely agree.

I do think
it will meet all of our needs.

I think that we can
also hopefully talk to Jim,

make a few tweaks,

and it will fit perfectly
into our orchard.

We've got a lot of modifications
we want to make.

After working with Jim

to customize
their new tiny home,

it took him 16 weeks to build.

It then made the 111-mile trek
up to the orchard.

When I first saw the house
come around the corner,

I thought it looked beautiful.

The first thing
that stood out to me

was how gorgeous the siding was.

Everything really looked great.

What do you want for dinner?

- What sounds good to you?
- Chinese.

The house got delivered
about a week ago,

so we're still
in full-on move-in process.

We budgeted $100,000
for the house.

It came in at $108,000.

I feel like
that's on-budget

in terms of, you know, in
- the world of building a house.
- Yeah.

Yeah. Especially with some
of the changes that we made.

Their first
modification to the design

was to make the
700-square-foot home smaller

so it could fit in the orchard.

The house
is 570 square feet,

and the ceilings
are about 11 feet.

And I think that makes
this house feel big.

I think everything
feels nice and open.

I totally agree.

And then
our wonderful compromise

on a galley kitchen.

It's a half galley.

Spatially, it's huge.

We have full-size appliances,
beautiful countertops.

It still has the efficiency
of a galley kitchen,

but it still feels open and
airy, which is what I wanted,

so I think that compromise
turned out really well.

Another layout change--

They moved the bathroom from the
back of the house to the middle.

My favorite thing
about the bathroom

is that you don't have
to walk through the bedroom

to get to it.

I love the modern touches
in this bathroom.

In the bedroom, I really like
this built-in closet storage.

And then probably the best
feature of this bedroom

is this enormous slider.

We have so much bright light
coming in here.

It's really great.

Hey, goof.

Hi, Gracie.

I'm really looking forward

to how I can easily clean up
the nice hardwood floors.

It's not gonna take me
very long,

'cause there's just not
that much floor space.

One of my favorite aspects
about this house

is the windows.

Every view
is worth looking at.

The leaf change is beautiful,
isn't it?

This is just the beginning
of our legacy here.

This home
means a long-term commitment

to the future
of this orchard.