When Lillian faced a daunting home renovation after a career in the demanding field of nursing, she decided to make a radical change to simplify her life and downsize to a tiny home.
Lillian displayed her 24-foot-long, 280-square-foot house on the Tiny Home Tours YouTube channel, welcoming viewers inside her eclectic and cozy space.
"I sit here and literally just stare at my home sometimes because I love it so much," she says during the tour, highlighting her living space, tiny kitchen, bathroom, and lofted bedroom. She admits there was some adjusting, like eliminating some of her kitchen utensils and decor and other items, but says, "You learn to live with the minimum and it's fine, it works."
Lillian downsized from a 1,500-square-foot home in North Carolina, where she says several rooms were unused. Her former home required expensive roofing and HVAC repairs, which she was unable to afford. So, she began researching and found a tiny home, built by Daniel Kilmer of Sherwood Innovations, and a community in Maggie Valley.
With the sale of her home, Lillian was able to purchase the tiny home outright for $72,000 and pay off other debt, with some money left over to cover much of the setup for her space.
Now, in her tiny home community, she pays just $600 a month, which covers water, Wi-Fi, laundry facilities, and yard maintenance provided by the family who runs the property. Her only other expenses are propane and electricity, the latter of which she says costs between $60 and $100 per month.
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Tiny homes are growing in popularity thanks to their lower overall cost of living, from energy expenses to maintenance. Lillian notes it only takes her about 30 minutes to an hour to clean, a major time-saver that allows her to enjoy her space stress-free, another hallmark of tiny homes.
They are also better overall for the environment, as they take up less space and require fewer resources to construct and maintain. You can further reduce your resource consumption by utilizing solar panels, which can lower energy costs to as little as $0. EnergySage provides a free service that makes it easy to compare quotes from vetted local installers, which can save you up to $10,000 on solar installation.
People in the comments loved seeing Lillian's tiny home, including her sister.
"This is my sister's home and I have visited twice. It's very very cute and she really loves it!!! If you are looking to simplify, this is the way to go!"
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Under $1K 😎 Another person added, "I love Lillian's home! It's so cozy, great layout! I was so relaxed while watching her tour."
"I absolutely love your beautiful, cozy, eclectic tiny home! This is exactly how I would love to live," a third said.
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