Tiny House Hunters (2014–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - Tiny Home in Mom's Backyard - full transcript
California newlyweds head to Oregon in search of a tiny home to put in their parents' backyard.
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.
There's a lot of storage
in this bathroom.
What about a dog?
Now, I have a dog.
Traveling nurse
Natalie can't bear the thought
of moving all of her stuff
yet again.
I've got to find a better way
to do it.
That is a little awkward.
Hey.
- Hey.
So with the help
of her best friend, Patrick,
she's looking
for a tiny house on wheels
that she can bring with her.
Is that little door
the way to the deck?
It is.
Oh.
Shower party!
But finding one
that's the perfect fit
will be anything but easy.
So, do you have to sit
on the toilet to shower?
I'm Natalie, and I'm
from Nashville, Tennessee.
This is my favorite place.
I'm an RN,
but I am a traveling nurse.
So anywhere from three
to nine-month assignments.
I love being a traveling nurse
because it gives me the
opportunity to see the country.
Here.
You try it.
I have lived
in quite a few places--
Southern California,
Idaho, Washington State.
I live right now in Nashville,
Tennessee, with my parents,
and I'm getting ready
to move to Denver.
There we go.
Good boy.
It's really hard to make a home
and then pack it up.
If I'm gonna keep doing this,
I've got to find a better way
to do it.
I know.
So before her job
in Denver starts,
Natalie wants to find a tiny
house that can go wherever she
and her beloved dog, Jasper,
are called.
I really am looking forward
to just having a home
that gets to come with me.
But for an avid
crafter with lots of stuff,
moving to a smaller space
is going to be a big adjustment.
As far as my crafting
and sewing goes,
I think I will
definitely have to downsize.
Baskets of extra material,
not gonna have room for that.
I plan on having my sewing
machine with me, dang it.
I don't know how big
the house is gonna be,
but no matter what size it is,
you need a pillow.
- Yes, you do.
- Or two.
But Natalie's
got the perfect person
to keep her in check.
So it's a box.
Sort of like
a walk-in closet.
Like a porta-potty.
Just like a porta-potty
on wheels.
I'm taking my friend
Patrick on my house hunt.
We've been friends
for 10, 15 years now.
I think that he's gonna be
the perfect person.
You need to keep in mind,
like, durability
and, like,
practicality of moving.
He's not gonna sugarcoat anything.
This is about three times
what you're looking for.
This would be
a tiny mansion.
I think Natalie's plan
for living in a tiny house
will work out really well
for her.
Uh, for one, I'm tired
of helping her move.
Your feet are
about 12 inches, right?
Let's see how big it is.
A lot of people,
I think, when they buy
a tiny house,
they don't think that
they're gonna move it
like I'm gonna move it.
I'm gonna use it
like an RV.
Six, seven, eight.
I drive a small car.
I would love to be able
to have a tiny house
that I could pull myself.
A lot of them, I know, are so
big you have to have them moved.
You could fill up
half of this space
with just your clothing.
- This is true.
If I go with the bigger one,
I'm really gonna have to do
a lot of work
looking into how much it costs
to have it moved.
My budget really is $15,000.
I could go up a little.
I don't want to.
My dream home is that
cottage/bungalow style,
like you would-- something
you would see in Nantucket.
Like, bed-and-breakfast-y,
kind of.
- Exactly. Quaint.
- Yeah.
Ideally, I'd like to fit
a queen-size bed in the loft.
I really like this one
because of the stairs.
I don't want a ladder
to get to the loft.
I would like some sort of stairs
so that Jasper can go
anywhere in the house.
I'm really looking forward
to finding one,
one that's gonna be mine.
After doing extensive
research on multiple builders,
Natalie's decided to work
with Scott Stewart
of Slabtown Custom Homes.
But since he's headquartered
over 300 miles away
in Mountain View, Arkansas,
she and Patrick are
road-tripping it to see him.
We're here.
We made it. Whoo!
Hey, guys.
Hey, Scott.
Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Patrick.
- Scott.
- Nice to meet you.
Well, I know you're serious
to come out
in this kind of weather.
I'm very serious.
I'm ready now.
All right. Well, let's go.
Got a few to show you.
This is an 8x20.
So it's 160 square feet
plus the loft.
Single loft adds
about 80 square feet.
Ah. Doesn't look that tiny
from the outside.
That's what everybody says initially.
It's got that quaint
cottage look
you've been looking for
as well.
That's true.
It does.
We're at $18,500
for this unit.
Complete.
- All right.
So it's a little more than my
budget but still maybe doable.
Oh, wow.
This is huge.
This-- look how high
the ceilings are.
It makes it feel
a lot bigger.
I feel like you could fit
a couch in here.
Like, this is, like,
regular furniture.
There's enough room
for a futon.
And this is...
You've got
your extra storage.
Oh.
This is great!
Actually,
a lot of storage there,
but it doesn't take up
a lot of room off the wall.
You could fit
so many clothes in here.
You know what else
could go in here?
Craft supplies.
That is so true.
The kitchen
is just 48 square feet,
but to maximize space,
Scott's built a rolling island
for food prep and storage.
Right?
That gives you all
kinds of stuff you can do.
That's great.
That's a red oak
butcher block.
That's actually local product.
- Oh.
It grew and was milled
and made here.
This is cool.
I wonder if this is really--
if these are...
Are these really old?
- They are.
They're
like,
"This is real."
The barn wood that you're seeing
trimmed around that,
uh, 100-plus years old on that.
Pardon me.
Oh.
That's awkward.
That is a little awkward.
Hey.
- Hey.
It seems odd
that you would build a wall
that you can see through
in front of your toilet.
Look at this.
Oh, this is cool.
I like that, too.
Corrugated metal.
Oh, there's a curtain here.
So, at least even if you don't
have privacy on the toilet,
you've got privacy
in the shower?
Right.
There is no sink
in the bathroom.
Just-- are you supposed
to use the kitchen sink?
Which is big.
Well,
in a lot of tiny houses,
it is common for no sink
to be in the bathroom.
Mm-hmm.
But I have a local potter
that is actually in the process
right now of making
a handmade sink
that will fit over
the toilet lid.
That gives you
more bathroom space.
You actually have more...
You know, you can actually put
your bathroom stuff someplace.
That's true.
I like the shelving.
There's a lot of space in this.
Oh, so you use this
to get to the loft.
Yep.
What about a dog?
Now, I have a dog.
This is really important for me
for my dog
to be able to get up these.
Bring your dog by
and let him try it out.
If we need to adjust it,
we can.
Okay. Oh.
Watch out, Patrick.
- Watch your head.
My foot takes up
the whole block, Natalie.
To see
if Natalie's queen-sized bed
can squeeze into the loft,
which is only 80 square feet,
they brought a queen-sized
bedsheet along.
Oh, yeah.
There's plenty of room.
I don't know, though.
I don't think I could put
a bed up here.
It's not...
Hit my head.
Probably not
a regular mattress, no.
But you could do, like, one
of those thin memory-foam...
Something thin.
See if getting down
is just as easy as getting up.
Yeah.
So I really like this place.
However,
it's pretty obvious to me
I'm not gonna be able
to tow this myself.
How much is it gonna cost me
to have it towed?
Looking at
right around 2,500.
- Ah, okay.
- That's not that bad.
That's like a down payment
or a security deposit
on an apartment.
That's true, but if I do it,
you know,
three or four, five times
a year, that's gonna add up.
This house
is only 160 square feet,
but it feels like it might
even be a little bit too big.
Is there anything that you have
that would have the possibility
of me being able to tow myself?
I do. I have one
that's a little smaller.
- All right.
- Be a little easier to tow.
Okay.
Scott is now showing them
the smallest home
his company makes.
But while it's towable,
is it even livable?
I think people
have more room in cubicles.
That's the place
we went to last time.
I love this place.
- Yes. I do too.
Traveling nurse
Natalie is tired of packing up
and moving every time
she gets a new job.
Currently staying with
her parents in Nashville,
Natalie doesn't want
to move again
until she can take her house
with her.
The solution--
a tiny house on wheels
that's just big enough
for herself and her dog, Jasper.
Do all RV parks
allow dogs?
I guess I'm just, like,
feeling stressed about it
because it's--
it's happening.
With a new job in Denver
starting soon,
there's no time to waste.
So she's enlisted the help
of her friend Patrick,
and they're in Mountain View, Arkansas,
where tiny house builder
Scott Stewart is located.
So far, they've seen a tiny
cottage-style place
with dog-friendly stairs
and an open layout.
But the bathroom
was a little too open,
and at 160 square feet,
the house was too big
to tow herself.
So today,
Scott is showing them a place
that's a whopping 60% smaller.
Oh.
It's really cute.
I feel like I could pull that.
Yeah. Looks like, uh,
it's a little bit bigger
than your walk-in closet.
You asked for something
small enough to tow,
and this is it.
64 square feet, full loft,
and 9,000 bucks.
We'd mount it
on a trailer.
Probably park it in
a single parking space, too.
I don't think there's room
for Patrick and I both
with you in there,
so I'll stay out here.
Oh, wow.
There's a lot of space
in such small space.
What an interesting use
of the word "a lot."
Where do you--
where do you hang out?
Just, like, right here.
What do you do other than
sleeping and making food?
Well, you could put,
like, a chair here.
I think people have
more room in cubicles.
This is the only place
in the entire house
where I can actually
stand up straight.
A lot of room.
There's a kitchen.
Look at
the little everything.
Yeah.
I mean, that's perfect.
I think it's just
for storing dishes and stuff.
- What's underneath there?
- Nothing.
So you can--
For more storage.
I could put all kinds of stuff
in there,
all of my craft supplies.
And I can tow it.
I guess this is
the bathroom in here.
Ooh.
Shower-toilet combo.
So, do you have to sit
on the toilet to shower?
Oh, you can, uh,
you can go to the bathroom
and shower
at the same time.
Well, honestly, it doesn't
really make a difference.
You don't need them
to be separate.
No, but don't you
want 'em to be?
I understand why the bathroom
is designed the way it is,
but I would much rather go
to the bathroom
someplace separately
than I bathe myself.
It's a shower chest
instead of a showerhead.
I appreciate
Patrick's side of things.
He doesn't fit in here.
But honestly, I have to shower
in there, not Patrick.
All right.
Let's go upstairs.
Oh, I'm sure glad
Jasper has opposable thumbs
and arms and legs
to get up there.
I know. I wonder if
there was any way
that we could get him
to get up here.
Well, it's probably
short enough, though,
that you can set him
up here if you need to.
You know?
- Yeah. That's true.
No way your queen-sized bed
will fit up here.
No. A queen won't fit.
But that's okay.
It seems like
there's a lot of storage.
Oh.
This is nice.
There's even a little bar
you can hang your clothes on.
So I can touch both walls.
I feel like
that's not a good sign.
Such a great design, though.
It
is.
There is so much
in not very much space.
You can never
have a guest over.
I can-- I can have four
or five child-sized guests.
I get that this house
is really small,
but I think that, for me,
it's definitely livable.
So, what do you guys think?
I-- I think you did
an incredible job
of utilizing
every inch of space.
Yeah. It's about, how tiny
can you tolerate, though?
Because you're gonna be
in there
for 6, 12 months at a time,
at least, you know?
Like, I just want
to make sure
that it's livable for you
while you're in there.
I mean, this is a little small.
Do you have one
that's in between?
I do. I have one
that's gonna fit--
actually hit just
between these two models.
- Okay.
- It may be just the fit.
But the mid-sized
model home Scott's showing them
takes open concept
to a whole new level.
I know
there's a bathroom in here.
It looks great.
Yeah.
It's small enough, I think.
You know, tiny furniture
for a tiny house.
Natalie's job
as a traveling nurse
takes her all over the country.
So she's looking
for a tiny cottage-style house
that she can tow and is within
her budget of $15,000.
To find the best house
out there,
she and her best friend,
Patrick, have traveled 360 miles
from Nashville
to Mountain View, Arkansas,
where tiny house builder
Scott Stewart is headquartered.
They've seen
a 160-square-foot cottage
that would fit her queen-sized
bed and furniture,
but it was too big
to tow herself.
And hiring somebody to move it
from place to place
would add to the already hefty
$18,500 price tag.
Next was a minuscule
64-square-foot house
that Patrick thought
was way too small.
But Natalie liked its price tag
and portability,
although the wet bath and loft
ladder could be problematic.
Hoping to see a place
with a little more elbow room,
they're now looking at something
slightly larger
with a more
functional bathroom.
Wow. This one looks like a real
New England cottage.
It's got shutters
and a rooftop deck.
Uh, we're 8x16.
So 128-square-foot footprint
plus 64 square foot
in the loft
and 64 square feet
in the deck.
Too large for Natalie
to move herself,
this house would also
require professional towing.
We are at $15,000,
$16,500
if we put it on a trailer.
Important.
This is really cute
on the inside.
It reminds me of, like,
a studio apartment
in that the kitchen is just
one part of the wall.
Like, right here.
Well, it's kitchen
and living room
depending on
what you're doing.
Does the furniture come with it?
Yep. Futon comes
with it, all the appliances.
I know there's a bathroom
in here somewhere,
but where is
the bathroom?
It is behind...
It's actually not a door, though.
We didn't have room
for a pocket door here.
There would be no stopping any
noise from out here or in there.
Could change your diet,
or we can change the door.
Uh, the bathroom,
as you'll notice,
actually has a pretty
large shower.
This is huge!
3-foot-by-4-foot shower.
Get in that.
- Oh, my God.
- Get in there!
I feel like we could
have parties in the shower.
Shower party!
I like this a lot.
There's more storage
than I thought.
Fourth bedroom!
There's a lot of storage
in this bathroom.
Got enough room for all
of your girly products.
I have lots of lotions,
curling irons.
Makeup, perfumes.
I like that I can actually
stand up in here.
Now, I'm not sure Jasper
is gonna be able to climb
these stairs.
We can add some treads
if we have to for him.
Let's see.
Queen-sized bed
fits up here.
It's got this, like...
Ceiling is really high.
I can really see myself
relaxing up here.
What do you think
that tiny door is for?
Is that little door
the way to the deck?
It is. Head on out,
and I'll follow you up.
Okay.
Oh. This is neat up here.
I feel like this is somewhere
where you really don't
have to worry about space.
You could have quite
a few friends over up here.
You don't get this
even in a studio apartment.
This is incredible.
I know this is
a little smaller.
Is it any less expensive
to move?
It's a little smaller
of a house, but it's really--
there's not gonna be any
difference on the delivery.
I want to sit down
and really consider.
You got some
decisions to make.
All right.
Natalie has
to decide which tiny home
is the right fit.
And it isn't gonna be easy.
- You look so sad.
- I'm stressing.
Our house hunters
are moving on up
to a much smaller space.
Could you live in a tiny house?
See how people make
the small space work
You look so sad.
I'm stressing.
Nashville,
Tennessee, native Natalie
needs a mobile, tiny house that
can be her permanent home base
no matter where her job
as a traveling nurse takes her.
With a new job in Denver
starting soon
and a budget of $15,000,
she has to make a decision.
We went to the blue house.
What did you think
about that?
Even though
it starts at $18,500,
I want to go ahead
and add the $2,500
it's gonna cost me
to move it.
The blue house had a lot
more storage, I felt like.
I felt like those boxes
that were on the wall
were great.
The storage built into
the staircase was wonderful.
I do have a lot of clothes.
The loft
was actually spacious.
It felt really open.
Plus it had that
cottage look that you like.
That wall of windows
was just bizarre.
Yeah, but if your biggest change
is adding curtains
to something, like, probably
in a pretty good place.
What about the small,
towable house for $9,000?
Immediately, I'm drawn
to the towable factor.
I love the idea that you'll be
able to tow it yourself.
I don't love
anything else about it.
I think it will take
some adjusting for you
to get used
to sitting down to shower.
I just felt like
the design of that one
was so incredible, though.
Just so much storage
in such a small space.
That one is gonna be
absolutely inaccessible
to Jasper.
And you have to imagine
that when you're going
on 12-hour shifts,
he's gonna be stuck in just
the downstairs of that one.
I guess we can come to the
rooftop deck house with that.
That one was perfectly
in my budget at $15,000.
Plus $2,500 to move it
'cause you're not gonna be able
to tow that one either.
I really, really
liked that rooftop deck.
The yellow house downstairs
just felt so much smaller
than I would have anticipated.
Do you think that
I could train Jasper
to climb those stairs?
Man, I don't know.
With enough chicken, I think
he can do a lot of things.
I think it'll make it
a little bit easier for us
if we at least knock one of
the houses out of the running.
The only real thing that makes
me keep the rooftop deck house
in the running is the rooftop
deck and the cost,
and I feel like those two things
are not enough.
I really feel like,
right now,
it's in between
the blue house for $18,500
and the towable one
for $9,000.
No matter if you can tow it
or you can't tow it,
it's got to be
if you can live in it
with all of your things
and with Jasper.
I think that
every shift I work,
all I would think was...
my poor dog.
Stuck in a place smaller
than prisoners get.
I can absolutely picture myself
living in the blue house.
Blue house.
The blue house.
All right.
Buddy.
It's so deep!
I have just come from Nashville
to Denver, my new home.
Look at him sinking in it.
I was so excited to see it.
I-- I couldn't wait
to get inside.
Natalie had her tiny
home towed to an RV campground
in Golden, Colorado,
just 15 miles away from her new
nursing job in Denver.
Okay.
Here you go.
All right, mom.
How much are you gonna give me
if this fits?
Does it fit?
I don't know yet.
It does!
It's been interesting to see
what exactly fits inside
of the house and doesn't.
It looks so good.
Everyone's gonna want to sleep
in my tiny loft
in my tiny house.
The cubes that I'm standing by,
my sewing machine fits
inside them,
and I did not think
that it would.
And I'm so thrilled with that.
Scott quoted me at $18,500,
and that's what I paid.
I paid $18,500.
It was a little out of what
I really wanted to pay,
but honestly, it was worth it.
I love it.
When I first saw the house,
it didn't have a sink
in the bathroom.
This is the sink that Scott had
a local artisan make for me.
It uses hot and cold water.
And the water
actually fills the tank
that you use to flush with.
It's been exciting
to make it my own.
Come inside of this house.
It's really bright.
Even though it doesn't give
much privacy,
the see-through wall
opens it up.
I will be putting up
small curtains for guests.
Jasper, come here. Jasper.
- Look, Mommy's got it.
- Come on.
For me, it was a feeling
coming into the house.
Come on.
There we go.
I think this looks like home.
Don't you?
I wanted to be able
to tow it myself,
but as soon as I walked inside,
it just felt right to me.
It felt like home.
This house was the one
that was for me.
Want to stay here
for a little while?
I think we should.
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.
There's a lot of storage
in this bathroom.
What about a dog?
Now, I have a dog.
Traveling nurse
Natalie can't bear the thought
of moving all of her stuff
yet again.
I've got to find a better way
to do it.
That is a little awkward.
Hey.
- Hey.
So with the help
of her best friend, Patrick,
she's looking
for a tiny house on wheels
that she can bring with her.
Is that little door
the way to the deck?
It is.
Oh.
Shower party!
But finding one
that's the perfect fit
will be anything but easy.
So, do you have to sit
on the toilet to shower?
I'm Natalie, and I'm
from Nashville, Tennessee.
This is my favorite place.
I'm an RN,
but I am a traveling nurse.
So anywhere from three
to nine-month assignments.
I love being a traveling nurse
because it gives me the
opportunity to see the country.
Here.
You try it.
I have lived
in quite a few places--
Southern California,
Idaho, Washington State.
I live right now in Nashville,
Tennessee, with my parents,
and I'm getting ready
to move to Denver.
There we go.
Good boy.
It's really hard to make a home
and then pack it up.
If I'm gonna keep doing this,
I've got to find a better way
to do it.
I know.
So before her job
in Denver starts,
Natalie wants to find a tiny
house that can go wherever she
and her beloved dog, Jasper,
are called.
I really am looking forward
to just having a home
that gets to come with me.
But for an avid
crafter with lots of stuff,
moving to a smaller space
is going to be a big adjustment.
As far as my crafting
and sewing goes,
I think I will
definitely have to downsize.
Baskets of extra material,
not gonna have room for that.
I plan on having my sewing
machine with me, dang it.
I don't know how big
the house is gonna be,
but no matter what size it is,
you need a pillow.
- Yes, you do.
- Or two.
But Natalie's
got the perfect person
to keep her in check.
So it's a box.
Sort of like
a walk-in closet.
Like a porta-potty.
Just like a porta-potty
on wheels.
I'm taking my friend
Patrick on my house hunt.
We've been friends
for 10, 15 years now.
I think that he's gonna be
the perfect person.
You need to keep in mind,
like, durability
and, like,
practicality of moving.
He's not gonna sugarcoat anything.
This is about three times
what you're looking for.
This would be
a tiny mansion.
I think Natalie's plan
for living in a tiny house
will work out really well
for her.
Uh, for one, I'm tired
of helping her move.
Your feet are
about 12 inches, right?
Let's see how big it is.
A lot of people,
I think, when they buy
a tiny house,
they don't think that
they're gonna move it
like I'm gonna move it.
I'm gonna use it
like an RV.
Six, seven, eight.
I drive a small car.
I would love to be able
to have a tiny house
that I could pull myself.
A lot of them, I know, are so
big you have to have them moved.
You could fill up
half of this space
with just your clothing.
- This is true.
If I go with the bigger one,
I'm really gonna have to do
a lot of work
looking into how much it costs
to have it moved.
My budget really is $15,000.
I could go up a little.
I don't want to.
My dream home is that
cottage/bungalow style,
like you would-- something
you would see in Nantucket.
Like, bed-and-breakfast-y,
kind of.
- Exactly. Quaint.
- Yeah.
Ideally, I'd like to fit
a queen-size bed in the loft.
I really like this one
because of the stairs.
I don't want a ladder
to get to the loft.
I would like some sort of stairs
so that Jasper can go
anywhere in the house.
I'm really looking forward
to finding one,
one that's gonna be mine.
After doing extensive
research on multiple builders,
Natalie's decided to work
with Scott Stewart
of Slabtown Custom Homes.
But since he's headquartered
over 300 miles away
in Mountain View, Arkansas,
she and Patrick are
road-tripping it to see him.
We're here.
We made it. Whoo!
Hey, guys.
Hey, Scott.
Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Patrick.
- Scott.
- Nice to meet you.
Well, I know you're serious
to come out
in this kind of weather.
I'm very serious.
I'm ready now.
All right. Well, let's go.
Got a few to show you.
This is an 8x20.
So it's 160 square feet
plus the loft.
Single loft adds
about 80 square feet.
Ah. Doesn't look that tiny
from the outside.
That's what everybody says initially.
It's got that quaint
cottage look
you've been looking for
as well.
That's true.
It does.
We're at $18,500
for this unit.
Complete.
- All right.
So it's a little more than my
budget but still maybe doable.
Oh, wow.
This is huge.
This-- look how high
the ceilings are.
It makes it feel
a lot bigger.
I feel like you could fit
a couch in here.
Like, this is, like,
regular furniture.
There's enough room
for a futon.
And this is...
You've got
your extra storage.
Oh.
This is great!
Actually,
a lot of storage there,
but it doesn't take up
a lot of room off the wall.
You could fit
so many clothes in here.
You know what else
could go in here?
Craft supplies.
That is so true.
The kitchen
is just 48 square feet,
but to maximize space,
Scott's built a rolling island
for food prep and storage.
Right?
That gives you all
kinds of stuff you can do.
That's great.
That's a red oak
butcher block.
That's actually local product.
- Oh.
It grew and was milled
and made here.
This is cool.
I wonder if this is really--
if these are...
Are these really old?
- They are.
They're
like,
"This is real."
The barn wood that you're seeing
trimmed around that,
uh, 100-plus years old on that.
Pardon me.
Oh.
That's awkward.
That is a little awkward.
Hey.
- Hey.
It seems odd
that you would build a wall
that you can see through
in front of your toilet.
Look at this.
Oh, this is cool.
I like that, too.
Corrugated metal.
Oh, there's a curtain here.
So, at least even if you don't
have privacy on the toilet,
you've got privacy
in the shower?
Right.
There is no sink
in the bathroom.
Just-- are you supposed
to use the kitchen sink?
Which is big.
Well,
in a lot of tiny houses,
it is common for no sink
to be in the bathroom.
Mm-hmm.
But I have a local potter
that is actually in the process
right now of making
a handmade sink
that will fit over
the toilet lid.
That gives you
more bathroom space.
You actually have more...
You know, you can actually put
your bathroom stuff someplace.
That's true.
I like the shelving.
There's a lot of space in this.
Oh, so you use this
to get to the loft.
Yep.
What about a dog?
Now, I have a dog.
This is really important for me
for my dog
to be able to get up these.
Bring your dog by
and let him try it out.
If we need to adjust it,
we can.
Okay. Oh.
Watch out, Patrick.
- Watch your head.
My foot takes up
the whole block, Natalie.
To see
if Natalie's queen-sized bed
can squeeze into the loft,
which is only 80 square feet,
they brought a queen-sized
bedsheet along.
Oh, yeah.
There's plenty of room.
I don't know, though.
I don't think I could put
a bed up here.
It's not...
Hit my head.
Probably not
a regular mattress, no.
But you could do, like, one
of those thin memory-foam...
Something thin.
See if getting down
is just as easy as getting up.
Yeah.
So I really like this place.
However,
it's pretty obvious to me
I'm not gonna be able
to tow this myself.
How much is it gonna cost me
to have it towed?
Looking at
right around 2,500.
- Ah, okay.
- That's not that bad.
That's like a down payment
or a security deposit
on an apartment.
That's true, but if I do it,
you know,
three or four, five times
a year, that's gonna add up.
This house
is only 160 square feet,
but it feels like it might
even be a little bit too big.
Is there anything that you have
that would have the possibility
of me being able to tow myself?
I do. I have one
that's a little smaller.
- All right.
- Be a little easier to tow.
Okay.
Scott is now showing them
the smallest home
his company makes.
But while it's towable,
is it even livable?
I think people
have more room in cubicles.
That's the place
we went to last time.
I love this place.
- Yes. I do too.
Traveling nurse
Natalie is tired of packing up
and moving every time
she gets a new job.
Currently staying with
her parents in Nashville,
Natalie doesn't want
to move again
until she can take her house
with her.
The solution--
a tiny house on wheels
that's just big enough
for herself and her dog, Jasper.
Do all RV parks
allow dogs?
I guess I'm just, like,
feeling stressed about it
because it's--
it's happening.
With a new job in Denver
starting soon,
there's no time to waste.
So she's enlisted the help
of her friend Patrick,
and they're in Mountain View, Arkansas,
where tiny house builder
Scott Stewart is located.
So far, they've seen a tiny
cottage-style place
with dog-friendly stairs
and an open layout.
But the bathroom
was a little too open,
and at 160 square feet,
the house was too big
to tow herself.
So today,
Scott is showing them a place
that's a whopping 60% smaller.
Oh.
It's really cute.
I feel like I could pull that.
Yeah. Looks like, uh,
it's a little bit bigger
than your walk-in closet.
You asked for something
small enough to tow,
and this is it.
64 square feet, full loft,
and 9,000 bucks.
We'd mount it
on a trailer.
Probably park it in
a single parking space, too.
I don't think there's room
for Patrick and I both
with you in there,
so I'll stay out here.
Oh, wow.
There's a lot of space
in such small space.
What an interesting use
of the word "a lot."
Where do you--
where do you hang out?
Just, like, right here.
What do you do other than
sleeping and making food?
Well, you could put,
like, a chair here.
I think people have
more room in cubicles.
This is the only place
in the entire house
where I can actually
stand up straight.
A lot of room.
There's a kitchen.
Look at
the little everything.
Yeah.
I mean, that's perfect.
I think it's just
for storing dishes and stuff.
- What's underneath there?
- Nothing.
So you can--
For more storage.
I could put all kinds of stuff
in there,
all of my craft supplies.
And I can tow it.
I guess this is
the bathroom in here.
Ooh.
Shower-toilet combo.
So, do you have to sit
on the toilet to shower?
Oh, you can, uh,
you can go to the bathroom
and shower
at the same time.
Well, honestly, it doesn't
really make a difference.
You don't need them
to be separate.
No, but don't you
want 'em to be?
I understand why the bathroom
is designed the way it is,
but I would much rather go
to the bathroom
someplace separately
than I bathe myself.
It's a shower chest
instead of a showerhead.
I appreciate
Patrick's side of things.
He doesn't fit in here.
But honestly, I have to shower
in there, not Patrick.
All right.
Let's go upstairs.
Oh, I'm sure glad
Jasper has opposable thumbs
and arms and legs
to get up there.
I know. I wonder if
there was any way
that we could get him
to get up here.
Well, it's probably
short enough, though,
that you can set him
up here if you need to.
You know?
- Yeah. That's true.
No way your queen-sized bed
will fit up here.
No. A queen won't fit.
But that's okay.
It seems like
there's a lot of storage.
Oh.
This is nice.
There's even a little bar
you can hang your clothes on.
So I can touch both walls.
I feel like
that's not a good sign.
Such a great design, though.
It
is.
There is so much
in not very much space.
You can never
have a guest over.
I can-- I can have four
or five child-sized guests.
I get that this house
is really small,
but I think that, for me,
it's definitely livable.
So, what do you guys think?
I-- I think you did
an incredible job
of utilizing
every inch of space.
Yeah. It's about, how tiny
can you tolerate, though?
Because you're gonna be
in there
for 6, 12 months at a time,
at least, you know?
Like, I just want
to make sure
that it's livable for you
while you're in there.
I mean, this is a little small.
Do you have one
that's in between?
I do. I have one
that's gonna fit--
actually hit just
between these two models.
- Okay.
- It may be just the fit.
But the mid-sized
model home Scott's showing them
takes open concept
to a whole new level.
I know
there's a bathroom in here.
It looks great.
Yeah.
It's small enough, I think.
You know, tiny furniture
for a tiny house.
Natalie's job
as a traveling nurse
takes her all over the country.
So she's looking
for a tiny cottage-style house
that she can tow and is within
her budget of $15,000.
To find the best house
out there,
she and her best friend,
Patrick, have traveled 360 miles
from Nashville
to Mountain View, Arkansas,
where tiny house builder
Scott Stewart is headquartered.
They've seen
a 160-square-foot cottage
that would fit her queen-sized
bed and furniture,
but it was too big
to tow herself.
And hiring somebody to move it
from place to place
would add to the already hefty
$18,500 price tag.
Next was a minuscule
64-square-foot house
that Patrick thought
was way too small.
But Natalie liked its price tag
and portability,
although the wet bath and loft
ladder could be problematic.
Hoping to see a place
with a little more elbow room,
they're now looking at something
slightly larger
with a more
functional bathroom.
Wow. This one looks like a real
New England cottage.
It's got shutters
and a rooftop deck.
Uh, we're 8x16.
So 128-square-foot footprint
plus 64 square foot
in the loft
and 64 square feet
in the deck.
Too large for Natalie
to move herself,
this house would also
require professional towing.
We are at $15,000,
$16,500
if we put it on a trailer.
Important.
This is really cute
on the inside.
It reminds me of, like,
a studio apartment
in that the kitchen is just
one part of the wall.
Like, right here.
Well, it's kitchen
and living room
depending on
what you're doing.
Does the furniture come with it?
Yep. Futon comes
with it, all the appliances.
I know there's a bathroom
in here somewhere,
but where is
the bathroom?
It is behind...
It's actually not a door, though.
We didn't have room
for a pocket door here.
There would be no stopping any
noise from out here or in there.
Could change your diet,
or we can change the door.
Uh, the bathroom,
as you'll notice,
actually has a pretty
large shower.
This is huge!
3-foot-by-4-foot shower.
Get in that.
- Oh, my God.
- Get in there!
I feel like we could
have parties in the shower.
Shower party!
I like this a lot.
There's more storage
than I thought.
Fourth bedroom!
There's a lot of storage
in this bathroom.
Got enough room for all
of your girly products.
I have lots of lotions,
curling irons.
Makeup, perfumes.
I like that I can actually
stand up in here.
Now, I'm not sure Jasper
is gonna be able to climb
these stairs.
We can add some treads
if we have to for him.
Let's see.
Queen-sized bed
fits up here.
It's got this, like...
Ceiling is really high.
I can really see myself
relaxing up here.
What do you think
that tiny door is for?
Is that little door
the way to the deck?
It is. Head on out,
and I'll follow you up.
Okay.
Oh. This is neat up here.
I feel like this is somewhere
where you really don't
have to worry about space.
You could have quite
a few friends over up here.
You don't get this
even in a studio apartment.
This is incredible.
I know this is
a little smaller.
Is it any less expensive
to move?
It's a little smaller
of a house, but it's really--
there's not gonna be any
difference on the delivery.
I want to sit down
and really consider.
You got some
decisions to make.
All right.
Natalie has
to decide which tiny home
is the right fit.
And it isn't gonna be easy.
- You look so sad.
- I'm stressing.
Our house hunters
are moving on up
to a much smaller space.
Could you live in a tiny house?
See how people make
the small space work
You look so sad.
I'm stressing.
Nashville,
Tennessee, native Natalie
needs a mobile, tiny house that
can be her permanent home base
no matter where her job
as a traveling nurse takes her.
With a new job in Denver
starting soon
and a budget of $15,000,
she has to make a decision.
We went to the blue house.
What did you think
about that?
Even though
it starts at $18,500,
I want to go ahead
and add the $2,500
it's gonna cost me
to move it.
The blue house had a lot
more storage, I felt like.
I felt like those boxes
that were on the wall
were great.
The storage built into
the staircase was wonderful.
I do have a lot of clothes.
The loft
was actually spacious.
It felt really open.
Plus it had that
cottage look that you like.
That wall of windows
was just bizarre.
Yeah, but if your biggest change
is adding curtains
to something, like, probably
in a pretty good place.
What about the small,
towable house for $9,000?
Immediately, I'm drawn
to the towable factor.
I love the idea that you'll be
able to tow it yourself.
I don't love
anything else about it.
I think it will take
some adjusting for you
to get used
to sitting down to shower.
I just felt like
the design of that one
was so incredible, though.
Just so much storage
in such a small space.
That one is gonna be
absolutely inaccessible
to Jasper.
And you have to imagine
that when you're going
on 12-hour shifts,
he's gonna be stuck in just
the downstairs of that one.
I guess we can come to the
rooftop deck house with that.
That one was perfectly
in my budget at $15,000.
Plus $2,500 to move it
'cause you're not gonna be able
to tow that one either.
I really, really
liked that rooftop deck.
The yellow house downstairs
just felt so much smaller
than I would have anticipated.
Do you think that
I could train Jasper
to climb those stairs?
Man, I don't know.
With enough chicken, I think
he can do a lot of things.
I think it'll make it
a little bit easier for us
if we at least knock one of
the houses out of the running.
The only real thing that makes
me keep the rooftop deck house
in the running is the rooftop
deck and the cost,
and I feel like those two things
are not enough.
I really feel like,
right now,
it's in between
the blue house for $18,500
and the towable one
for $9,000.
No matter if you can tow it
or you can't tow it,
it's got to be
if you can live in it
with all of your things
and with Jasper.
I think that
every shift I work,
all I would think was...
my poor dog.
Stuck in a place smaller
than prisoners get.
I can absolutely picture myself
living in the blue house.
Blue house.
The blue house.
All right.
Buddy.
It's so deep!
I have just come from Nashville
to Denver, my new home.
Look at him sinking in it.
I was so excited to see it.
I-- I couldn't wait
to get inside.
Natalie had her tiny
home towed to an RV campground
in Golden, Colorado,
just 15 miles away from her new
nursing job in Denver.
Okay.
Here you go.
All right, mom.
How much are you gonna give me
if this fits?
Does it fit?
I don't know yet.
It does!
It's been interesting to see
what exactly fits inside
of the house and doesn't.
It looks so good.
Everyone's gonna want to sleep
in my tiny loft
in my tiny house.
The cubes that I'm standing by,
my sewing machine fits
inside them,
and I did not think
that it would.
And I'm so thrilled with that.
Scott quoted me at $18,500,
and that's what I paid.
I paid $18,500.
It was a little out of what
I really wanted to pay,
but honestly, it was worth it.
I love it.
When I first saw the house,
it didn't have a sink
in the bathroom.
This is the sink that Scott had
a local artisan make for me.
It uses hot and cold water.
And the water
actually fills the tank
that you use to flush with.
It's been exciting
to make it my own.
Come inside of this house.
It's really bright.
Even though it doesn't give
much privacy,
the see-through wall
opens it up.
I will be putting up
small curtains for guests.
Jasper, come here. Jasper.
- Look, Mommy's got it.
- Come on.
For me, it was a feeling
coming into the house.
Come on.
There we go.
I think this looks like home.
Don't you?
I wanted to be able
to tow it myself,
but as soon as I walked inside,
it just felt right to me.
It felt like home.
This house was the one
that was for me.
Want to stay here
for a little while?
I think we should.