Tiny House Hunters (2014–…): Season 4, Episode 2 - Bohemian Family Goes Tiny - full transcript

Homebuyers across the country

are saying goodbye
to big houses...

MAN ♪1: Wow, look at that.
That is tiny.

...And hello to small spaces.

MAN ♪2:
With the push of a button,

this house contracts
to half its size.

- Wow.
- What is this?

MAN ♪3: This is the bedroom.

- It's a fold-down sink.
- That's so cool.

- Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!
- Wow, this just got weird.

Hi, neighbors.



But the smaller the house,

the bigger the challenge
fitting inside.

It'd be six of us up here.

Where am I gonna sleep?

This swings back. Whoa.

That's the loft. Whoa.

I think I see
- a problem already.

This is so awesome.
Look how shiny this thing is.

Heather and Beau are going tiny

in L.A.'s
secluded Topanga Canyon.

- Wow.
- Check this out.

That's like a circus
tent almost.

- You're little Bohemian Cove.
- Yeah.

Finding a small space
that works for this young family



is a tall order.

What about Hendrix,
where's his area?

Well it's really comfortable
walking up, though.

Yeah, for you.

This is amazing.
We're so lucky to live here.

I'm Beau, and I'm
a photographer and a writer.

I'm Heather,
and I own a boutique,

and I'm
a fashion consultant.

What do you think baby?
You like the jewelry?

Hendrix is our 15-month-old,

and he is the cutest kid
you will ever see.

Yeah.

This family of three
is currently

staying with friends
in Topanga Canyon,

a secluded enclave

of the Santa Monica Mountains
of Los Angeles.

We love Topanga Canyon.

We've both wanted to live
up here for a long time.

It's the best
of both worlds really.

You get to work in the city
if you want to,

and you can live in nature.

We wanted to go tiny
because the rent here in Topanga

is about $3,000 a month,

and there's no way
that we could do that,

if we want to continue to work
on our small businesses.

My store is
a boutique in Venice,

it's a mobile boutique,
in a 1979 travel trailer.

When we started
the mobile boutique,

we renovated it
from start to finish.

Wood floors,
wood walls, painted it.

Once we had it finished,
it felt like a new space.

How wide is it?

It definitely would need
to be bigger than this.

Well, I mean, we almost have
100 square feet in here,

it's like as big
as a big bedroom.

Working in my shop
every day got us thinking

that maybe we could live tiny
in something like that,

but definitely,
we would need bigger.

My store is unique
and beautiful,

but it's 100 square feet,

there's no way
we could live in that.

I think it would need to be like
three times bigger than this.

Wow, that's a big trailer.

Pbht!

- What do you think, baby?
- Could you live in here?

Our budget is $60,000,

but I'd like to keep it
under if we can.

Because we'll probably have
to rent land, as well.

The style that I'm looking
for is Bohemian chic,

I like the vintage feel.

But definitely
has to have character.

I love the cabin style,

wood on the walls,
wood on the floors.

It makes you feel
really homey and cozy.

Beau and Heather are working
with local real estate agent,

William Preston Bowling,
who already lives tiny,

to find the perfect home.

So I really do live
in a tiny house.

- This is so cute.
- Wow, this is awesome.

I brought Beau and Heather
out to my tiny home,

so they could see that,
they can do it, too.

That's beautiful.
I love the interior.

Yeah, that kitchen
is really nice.

Yeah, that kitchen,
it's got like

a full oven and stove.

I love to bake.

It has a little loft
in it, as well.

I like the loft,
but it worries me

with these stairs.

It's even
a ladder getting up there.

Right, for Hendrix, yep.

I would prefer,
you know, a safer,

like one level type home,
for the baby.

- Right.
- That's true.

Okay. For sure.

Our son Hendrix is
15 months old now,

so I need to have a space
for him to grow,

and you know, crawl, walk,
and everything.

I think we do need
an actual bath,

shower,
and a regular bathroom.

Yeah,
that's important to us.

Would you be able to live
in a space that small, though?

- I mean...
- You have so much clothes.

You have a wardrobe
that takes up the bedroom.

My clothes would
not fit in there.

With my store,
I have a lot of clothes,

I do a lot of styling.

I don't know where we're
going to put it,

but we're going
to figure something out.

I feel like living
in a tiny home, no matter what,

we're going to be
making compromises.

To get this search underway,

William is taking them
to a builders workshop,

to show them
a tiny house on wheels.

Wow, it's so cute.

Hmm, this might be
a little too cute for me.

- Huh.
- Nice.

Yeah, it kind of looks

more like a doll house
on wheels to me.

This one is about
240 square feet.

- Okay.
- Pretty tiny.

That is tiny, yeah.

And what's the price?

This one's at $69,000.

Oh, wow, that's way
over our budget.

Well it's a little
bit above your budget,

but it's totally
ready to go.

Wow, it's beautiful.
Look at that ceiling.

Oh, it is nice. Yeah.

So you've got
the hardwood floors,

and then you've got that cabin-y
feel with the wood ceilings,

and these beams right here.
- Love that.

- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah.

- I like the stairs, too.
- Amazing.

- Yeah, real stairs.
- Those are nice. Mm-hmm.

- Not like the ladders
that go straight up.
- Right. Yeah.

These stairs are
a little bit safer for Hendrix,

if you could see.
- Definitely, I really like that.

And this is a couch,
maybe it pulls out.

Yeah, it does.
It pulls out into a bed.

Oh, that would be awesome.

That will be good
for Hendrix.

- That's cool, yeah.
- What's this little dinette set?

This dinette set,
it just flips down

so you can have a little bit
more room here.

- Okay.
- Oh, nice.

Yeah, you could maybe keep
that down during the day.

Oh, cool.

Right, it kind of widens
this area up a bit.

- Gives a little more room.
- Yeah, awesome.

I'm loving all these
little shelves,

the details are so great.
- Yeah, they're cute.

I think that I could add

some little Bohemian
touches here and there.

- Yeah.
- Look, there's my closet.

- Yeah.
- It's not big enough.

We would need three
of these, probably.

There's some more
shelving here.

Maybe you could put some shirts
up there, folded shirts.

Yeah, and this kitchen
is really nice, wow.

Mm-hmm.
Washer/dryer, is amazing.

- Yeah, combination.
- Combo. Yeah.

And you've got a full-size
fridge, which is nice.

- Yeah.
- And that country sink.

Love the deep sink
and the fixtures.

Look at this backsplash.

Metal, I'm loving that detail.

I can bake, which is exciting.
- Yeah.

The kitchen is very nice.

It's something that I think
we could appreciate.

It's not something
that I want to spend

a lot of money on, though.

And check out how big this
bathroom is-- it's huge.

Oh, look babe,
you can step in here,

and you can turn around.

Wow, I can actually
stand in here.

Yeah.
Little toilet.

- Yeah.
- I think it's adorable.

- It looks like you'd fall off.
- Aww.

Let's check out the loft.

Well it's really
comfortable walking up.

Yeah,
I don't know about this.

I think I'm stuck, almost.
- Are you stuck?

It's like an adventure.

It's actually kind of cozy
once you get up here.

Maybe cozy for you.

There's no storage up here.

You could put
a couple of cabinets

over here, right over here.
- Mm-hmm.

The storage situation

in this tiny house
won't work for me,

especially for my business.

I think in addition
to getting a tiny house,

we're going to have
to get a storage unit.

Oh.

Yeah,
I do like the cabin feel.

The wood floor,
the wood ceiling.

I'm really surprised
how much I love it.

I love the cottage feel,
even though it's not Bohemian.

But I can make it like that.
- And that kitchen.

Yeah, the kitchen,
the butcher block.

Oven, I can bake.

You can stand up
in the shower.

- Mm-hmm.
- That's great.

But the loft.

Yeah, that's
definitely an issue.

And the storage, too,
is an issue.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- Have to build something.

You've got some room
for Hendrix.

- Yeah.
- I love that little area.

- It is over budget though.
- It's great.

Yeah, I think we have
a lot to think about.

Since cost is an issue,

William is taking them
to see something smaller.

But is it too small?

What is the price
of this toaster on wheels?

In order to afford
L.A.'s pricey neighborhood

of Topanga Canyon,
Beau, Heather,

and their son, Hendrix,
are going tiny.

They love the kitchen
and space for Hendrix,

at a cottage on wheels.

But the loft is cramped,

and it's above
their $60,000 budget,

which leaves little room
to rent land to park it on.

With cost in mind,
their agent, William,

has found them
something more affordable.

- Hey.
- Hey.

- Oh, wow.
- Wow. That's a trailer.

This is so awesome.
Look how shiny this thing is.

I brought Beau and Heather
to look at this

because Airstreams are cool,

retro, Americana, Route 66.

I think Heather
and Beau's personality

totally works
with this retro RV.

Yeah, this awning
is really pretty,

and I like the Bohemian
chic feel of it.

And how big is
this thing?

This is about 150 square feet.

Yeah, like one
and a half times my store.

- Yeah.
- That's not a lot of space.

I know that Beau loves it,

but I'm in a trailer
almost every day for my store,

and I'm not sure I want to live
in one every single day.

Well there's a lot
of storage in here,

you'd be surprised.
- Okay.

And what is the price
of this toaster on wheels?

This one is $65,000,
list price.

- Ooh. That is above our budget.
- Oh, wow.

Wow, wood floors, babe.
Check this out.

Yeah, that's pretty.

Oh, your head's
almost touching.

- Yeah.
- That's all right.

Look at
all the counter space.

- That's cool.
- These are cool, too.

Yeah, I love
these big windows,

got a nice little draft
coming through.

Fridge, freezer.
You got some more storage here.

Oh, that's good storage.

I guess there's no oven.

That's one of
the drawbacks of this.

- Okay.
- No baking.

Could always do like
a toaster oven.

Right, right there, you've got
plenty of counter top space.

Yeah, that's true.

- I love this backsplash.
- I love that.

I love the colors, that's like
my favorite color combo.

- And some more storage up here.
- Mm-hmm.

Yeah, it's got
a lot of storage.

Storage up here.
Yeah, and check this out.

You've got some huge storage
down here, as well.

Oh, wow, all my shoes
could go there, maybe.

Maybe half.

This is a nice,
big dining table.

We can have family dinners.

And a high chair right here.

And this also
doubles as a bed.

That slides in there.

And you know what?
I kind of like this.

You know, we have all
those really big pillows.

We can like,
leave it like this,

and just kind of
chill like this.

Our little Bohemian heaven.

Yeah, it's your
little Bohemian cove.

Yeah. What about Hendrix?
Where is his area?

Well there's another
little pull-out bed here.

- Wow, that's pretty big.
- Yeah.

This could be like
his little baby nook.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- Okay.

Hendrix would have his own area,

he would definitely have a bed
once he's big enough for one.

We could definitely make due
with the space inside.

- Shower in here.
- This shower, babe,

is like,
you're never going to take

a standing shower again
if we do this.

Yeah, we might have to do
some kind of outdoor shower.

Definitely.
This sink is really nice.

But this toilet is, I don't know
what going on with that.

Not into that.

I'm pretty surprised
about the storage,

but it's still not enough room
for all my clothes.

Yeah, I mean,
if I'd built a deck,

I could definitely build you,
you know, like

a big storage shed.

That bed too, I don't know
if we could do that every day.

It's like a lot of work.

Can set it up all Bohemian
for you, you know.

Right, yeah.

Yeah, and then the bathroom,
gotta think about.

I mean,
you can not fit in there.

And that toilet is so weird.

Yeah, I mean I can always
just shower after

I'm done surfing,
so, for me...

What about the kitchen?

I mean there's no oven.
- I love the kitchen.

I mean, the stainless
steel is great.

You know, put a convection oven,
will take care of that.

Yeah,
I'd really miss baking,

but something to think about.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- And the price.

I mean, that's over budget.

William's found them
something that's in budget,

but it might be too far
out of the ordinary.

- Wow.
- Check this out.

It's like a big tent.

- Hey.
- Wow, it's so cute in here.

We renovated it
and did all the wood.

- All yourself?
- Mm-hmm.

After transforming
an old trailer

into their own mobile boutique,

Los Angeles couple
Beau and Heather

are looking to take
their Bohemian lifestyle

a step further
and raise their son, Hendrix,

in the hills
of nearby Topanga Canyon.

With $60,000 to spend,
they're considering

a 240-square-foot cottage
on wheels

that, while they'd all fit,

lacks storage
and was over budget.

Their agent, William, has also
shown them a retro trailer.

While it's not
Beau's cabin style,

both he and Heather
love the vintage vibe.

But it's more than
they want to spend,

and at 150 square feet,

it might be too small
for them and Hendrix.

And neither place
comes with land.

William's taking them
to see a yurt,

that's more in their
price range.

But since it's sold as a kit,

they'd have to build
it themselves,

or hire someone
to do the work.

- Wow.
- Check this out.

It's like a big tent.

It's like a circus tent
almost, kind of.

Wow, it's pretty cool.

I can kind of see
my Bohemian chic feel here.

- Yeah, Bohemian chic.
- Yeah.

This wood deck gives it

a little bit of the cabin,
rustic feel.

Yeah, but the canvas
is not very comforting.

Yeah, what is
this made out of?

It's like a canvas,
nylon, or something.

Yeah, it's like a vinyl.

It just kind of scares me
that the walls

are not really walls,
and they're canvas.

I mean, weather and rain,
wind, I don't know.

How big is it?

- It's about 450 square feet.
- Uh-huh.

And we're looking
at a model right now,

so the base price
is about $10,000.

And then they put about $30,000
worth of amenities into it.

- Okay.
- Oh, wow, okay.

- So you can customize them.
- Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, still under budget.

- Wow.
- Look at this.

Look at that ceiling.

Yeah, it's really
nice and open in here.

And these wood beams
are cool.

Very cool.

Kind of gives it that cabin-y
feel that you like.

Mm-hmm.

And these bamboo floors
are amazing.

Yeah,
I like the wood floors.

Yeah, and this, I mean,

I thought it was going to feel
like a tent in here,

but this feels
like a real home.

Well they added
this drywall feature.

It's probably
another $5,000 on top of it.

Behind,
there's some lattice.

It's like a criss-cross
structural device.

Oh, wow, and I think that,

that might be cooler,
like more Bohemian feel.

This feels a little bit stark.

And now there's
this big loft bed,

which seems very
dangerous for Hendrix.

Right, so they kind of utilize
this space with the loft.

There's a restroom
behind there.

And then they put a little loft
in there on top of the bathroom.

Okay.

And the kitchen
it one of the upgrades.

It's really cute.

I mean it's small,
but it's a full stove.

Yeah, it works
for the tiny home.

This storage is kind of,
not that much, you know?

Yeah,
we could also add another,

you know, shelving
situation here.

Yeah, but I mean, it's got like
a real sink and everything,

so that's kind of cool.

And this--
this would be great,

but this is really dangerous
since we have Hendrix.

- Right.
- I'd be so scared.

So you have a toddler
running around,

you might not need
the wood-burning stove.

And this could be
an issue right here.

I can't even really
walk past this.

Yeah, you would hit your head
on that all the time.

- Right, you can customize it.
- It's okay for me.

And modify it how you like.

Yeah, it takes up
a lot of room, too, though.

And there's a bathroom
back here.

Oh wow, yeah.
It's pretty big.

Yeah, it's a nice
size bathroom.

You can stand up
in there.

Nice.
I'm going to check this out.

Oh wow, yeah.
- You fit, you can turn around.

That would be amazing if you
could have a shower like this.

- Mm-hmm.
- Real toilet.

- Right, nice sink
- Yeah.

- I'm loving all the windowsills.
- Those are nice, yeah.

We could use it
for storage or-- yeah.

I like all the air

and light that comes in through
this big window.

It's a good, good size.

Good size, especially
for a tiny home.

Now what about, these stairs?
These are really sketchy.

And I just don't
think this is safe.

Oh, my head.
- What do you think?

Your head's going
to hit up here.

I'm going to have
to crawl up somehow.

- Can you even fit?
- Yeah, I think so.

- Oh, my God.
- Do you like it?

Well, it's really hot up here,

and it's very dangerous
for Hendrix.

I mean, he would slide right
through these cracks.

I just don't think
this would be good for him.

Yeah, there's no,
there's no way he could

use this as a bedroom.

Maybe just as like storage
or a secondary space.

- Storage would be cool, yeah.
- Storage would be cool

because now I'm noticing
that there is no closet space.

I gotta
come down sideways.

Yeah, I mean, I could build you
some kind of closet storage.

- Yeah, there's storage outside.
- Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I don't
really want to go outside.

I don't think
that's a good idea.

I'm really surprised at how,

like, not like
a tent it feels like.

It feels like a real home,
and I really like that.

It's great.
I like how open it is.

Kind of open floor plan.

Like, if we didn't need
to build a loft for instance.

Yeah, it's a kit, so you can
modify it however you feel.

You have to think about that.
You have to build it.

- Yeah.
- That's a lot of work.

I mean, it would be
a huge process.

The full kitchen, too.

I mean, like who has
a full fridge in a tiny home?

- Yeah, that's great.
- That's pretty cool.

And then we have
a whole bathroom.

I mean, like, no one
has that in a tiny home.

Stand-up shower that
you can turn around in.

Yeah, that I can fit in.
That's awesome.

- The price is right, yeah.
- The price is great.

I just don't know if I feel
comfortable living in a tent.

Figuring out which tiny house

makes the most sense
for this young family

might be a challenge.

I just don't know
if it feels like me,

like somewhere
I want to live.

House hunting just got
a little bit smaller,

with people on the hunt
for tiny homes.

Oh, aren't you adorable?

Beau, Heather,
and their son, Hendrix,

are going tiny
in the Los Angeles enclave

of Topanga Canyon.

With a budget of $60,000,
they need to decide

which of the three
unique tiny homes they've seen

is right for them.

Well, William showed us
some really amazing places.

Yeah, all three
were so different.

So different.

What about the cottage?
I thought that was so cute.

And it just has everything.

Like, you just walk in,

bring your food and clothes
and we're like home.

Yeah, that's true.

I just don't know
if it feels like me,

like somewhere
I want to live.

Like 240 square feet,
I think, but it is $69,000, too.

- That's true.
- But it has everything.

I mean, there's
a washer/dryer in there.

And I just didn't really
feel that loft, you know.

Like it was cramped up there.

Yeah, it's small for you,

but there's also
extra storage space up there.

And it is like that
cabin feel that you like.

Yeah.
What about that Airstream?

- I mean, I think it's cool.
- I know you love it.

This retro trailer
is priced at $65,000.

It's great.
It's 150 square feet, though.

I mean the store
is 100 square feet.

It's just a little bit
bigger than that.

It's so small.

The shower, you can't
even stand up in there.

- Yeah, that's true.
- Storage, that's an issue.

There was all those
little compartments.

You know? Up top.
There is.

- Make the most of those.
- Yeah, it's just not enough.

But, babe, we can do so much
with the outdoor living space,

I can make
an outdoor shower.

We can have, like,
barbecues out there.

You know?
I do love that,

and I love that little bed where
I can make it all Bohemian.

Yeah.

It had a great,
like, little space,

to sleep in
for Hendrix, too.

And speaking of building,

if we do the yurt,
you're going to have

to build the whole thing.

Yeah, but I mean,
you know, I'm pretty--

- pretty handy, you know?
- Yeah.

Yeah, that's going to be
a huge undertaking.

I like
how the yurt is round,

and it feels more open,
and it has the high ceilings.

- Yeah.
- And it was 450 square feet.

Yeah, I mean it was
the biggest one we'd seen.

Pretty big.

And the kit price was
like 10 grand to start.

So we could really
customize it.

I mean, they had spent
another $30,000 on those,

you know,
renovations and stuff.

Right, I don't think
we would need all of that.

I think we could
do it more minimally.

And what about that loft?

I just didn't really
like those stairs,

it was so dangerous.

And we have to think about like
where are we getting the land?

Is it going to be
big enough for that?

I just don't know what's going
to happen with that.

And then there's no storage.

Yeah, I mean I can definitely
work out the storage situation.

- I'm down for that Airstream.
- I know you like that.

I really like the cottage.

The middle ground would be
to just build something our own.

Yeah.

It's a lot of work, but the yurt
seems like it could be good.

We could even
do a smaller one.

- Yeah.
- Should we build a yurt?

- Yeah, let's build one.
- Ah, okay.

Good job, monkey.

- We chose the yurt.
- We chose the yurt.

Our budget was $60,000,

and we ended up
paying $20,000 all in.

Yeah, that's the materials
that we spent to build the yurt.

But the yurt we toured
was about 450 square feet,

the one we ended up
with building is about 330.

We built this thing
from scratch.

I'm a handy guy. I've definitely
built some things in the past.

But it was a big project.

We had to cut down trees.
We had to level the land.

They're renting land
from a friend in Topanga,

which has some major perks.

We live on the most
amazing land.

We have access to a pool
and a hot tub.

A full bathroom,
which we're lucky,

because we ended up
going with a smaller yurt,

and couldn't fit a bathroom.

And we just have
the most amazing views ever.

One at a time, don't put
too much in your mouth, okay?

The yurt and its style really
gives us both what we wanted.

I think we have a little
bit of the cabin feel
with the wood floors.

It also has the lattice walls,
kind of Bohemian chic feel.

We made a couple
compromises coming here,

but it's been good.

All of our food
and storage is in here.

Yeah,
we have all the basics.

We have the mini-fridge,
toaster oven.

I put a big sink in here,
so we can

actually give the baby
some baths in there.

And we really have
everything that we need.

Going tiny,
having enough storage was

a really big concern for me,

but I think we're all good.

Yes, somehow we were able
to fit all of her stuff in here.

I don't know.
I found
this really great rack,

and I have
all my clothes here.

I found all these baskets,
where I can put all my shoes.

Didn't have to
get rid of any.

Look at this baby,
look at this baby.

Living in the yurt has been
really liberating.

Gives us a lot more freedom.

And we can definitely focus on
our family and our businesses.

Oh.

Whoo.

I can wake up to this
every single day.