A COUPLE have swapped their big city house for a tiny DIY home in a bid to battle rising living costs and remain debt free.
Mitch Grant and Meg Ensor from Christchurch, New Zealand, designed their own miniature house to enjoy a more simplistic lifestyle.
6
6
6
The pair now live in Eyrewell Forest, a small rural area in the Waimakariri District, on a patch of farmland owned by Mitch’s friend.
Thanks to Mitch being an electrician by trade, they had valuable help from a building company to help them build their dream home and move in within eight months.
Speaking on the YouTube channel Living Big In A Tiny House, he said: “We tried to do as much as we could ourselves to keep costs down”
“Luckily, I’ve got a lot of contacts through my business so we got a lot of help with costs and labour.”
Previously, Mitch and Meg were renting a large house but revealed they weren’t even using three-quarters of it.
As a result, they paid out around AUD $160,000 (£80,400) to complete their brand new project.
The tiny home is 25 ft (7.8 m) in length, 8 ft (2.4 m) in width, and 14 ft (4.3 m) in height.
The exterior includes decking made from left-over panels, which is complimented with a comfy outdoor L-shaped sofa and a swing chair.
The walls are a combination of black-coloured steel and macrocarpa wood, giving it a classy look.
One of the most prominent features of this mobile house is the number of windows, which the couple say was a “non-negotiable”.
Mitch and Meg were set on having a lot of light going in and being able to open up all their doors and windows.
On the roof of the house are three sky-lights, which offers views up into the sky and allows them to stargaze at night.
Inside, there is a living room with a sofa bed, a fully-functional kitchen and a small but luxurious bathroom on the ground floor.
The centrally-located kitchen has full-size appliances such as a large sink, fridge, oven, and stovetop.
Along with extra storage inside the staircase, there is also a laundry machine and a large wardrobe within the kitchen area.
At the rear of the house is the bathroom, which includes dual showers and a composting toilet.
There are two lofts, with the first being used as an office and the second as a bedroom.
Speaking on their perfect home, Meg said: “We just love the lifestyle of living simple and living with purpose. We just really love simplicity.”
The couple have lived in their DIY home for 18 months and originally moved in as just the two of them.
However, they are now looking to expand the house to better accommodate their eight month old baby and two large dogs.
Elsewhere, a couple from Auckland constructed their off-grid home whilst at university for only £57,000.
Even more impressively, a woman in the United States revealed that she built her own tiny house in just seven days.
6
6
6
