Little House in the Mountains

I've always admired tiny house living, and part of me always wished I could have one myself. I don't like excess stuff, and I'm not a fan for having a big home with lots of wasted space.

I love efficiency and for everything to have it's place.

But I'd say it was living in the truck with my husband for three years that truly made me a believer in minimalist living. We survived with only a carry on size bag of clothes for each season, enough books to keep us from getting too bored, and most importantly we got so used to being together in such a tiny space, that honestly we didn't want to upgrade and move into a big house when we came home.

We learned that living with less is truly more.

I couldn't be more proud of David and my Father in law. Together they executed our dreams for a mini barn style tiny home and built the whole thing themselves with the exception of a few friends who graciously gave us their time to help out with things.

The idea for a mini barn actually started when David was dreaming about building his future study. He was talking about finishing it out and creating it to be the perfect place to unwind for the day and read a book. And then it was a lightbulb moment and he said "why don't we just go ahead and build a mini barn to live in".

And that we did!! We immediately started dreaming about what we wanted it to look like and making plans for the structure and the space inside.

We started building in late October. We tried to build it fast to get it completed before the snow came, but little did we know that we wouldn't get hardly much snow until February!

I've never had my own house before, I either lived with my sister, friends, and then once we got married obviously we lived in an 18-wheeler truck. I certainly never dreamed that when I did get a house it would be one that we built together from the ground up.

As with any building project it seems to go so slow at times. I was quite anxious for the boys to get done building the shell so I could have my turn on the inside!!

We chose to do a lot of windows, which helps with making the inside feel spacious.

When building a tiny house, you have to be real aware of every spare inch and make sure to put it to good use because every little space counts.

We chose to do a half loft for the bedroom, which gives a gorgeous tall vaulted ceiling over the living room. It makes it feel so open and spacious.

I'm so proud of David! He thought up so many good ideas and did not cut corners on anything. I obviously don't know the first thing about building a house, so all I had to do was sit back and watch while he made all the calls and chose which products were best to use.

One of David's friends Tim came to visit and helped us out so much! He ran the electrical wires in the house and helped connect it all to the power source.

It was so exciting getting power connected to our little place!!

Originally we weren't planning to have running water in our house, we decided we could survive the old fashioned way since we didn't have running water in the truck ;)

But a dear friend from our church insisted he would help us dig the trenches both for the power line, and the water line, and so thankfully we have running water in the house!! I'm forever grateful for that! It makes my life SO much easier!! :)

It was such a blessing all of the people who pitched in and gave us a hand.

We actually didn't pick out the stain ourselves, David's Dad had some leftover from a previous job that was excellent quality which he said he'd give to us. So I never saw the color until literally 5 min before they were gonna start spraying it on. I didn't care for the way it looked on the test board, but decided to just roll with it, and I'm so glad because it turned out beautiful!!!

When the roofing went on and the windows were installed, suddenly our little barn turned into a house!

Measuring and trimming out the windows. There's still things to be done on the outside, such as staining the trim in the spring. But I'm looking forward to that little project!

This is a view from standing right inside the front door. Our kitchen table now sits under that window!

We put tongue and groove pine for the ceiling and finished it with a simple clear coat.

We had the entire place insulated with spray foam, including the floor. In addition to that we also put batt insulation on top. So this little place is so tight and cozy, and guaranteed to stay warm in the winter and cooler in the summer!

We installed a bathroom fan in the middle of the ceiling to help circulate air out of the house. It comes in so handy when you're cooking and you don't want the smells lingering in the house, or in the summer it will be perfect for moving hot air up and out.

Like I said we insulated this place almost too good, haha! And so often we have to crack a window and turn the fan on to help move moisture out.

For the floor we decided to go with a higher grade pine plywood. Eventually we'll probably install a nicer more permanent floor, but for now this works just fine and once we got it stained and finished you barely even notice that it's actually plywood.

We chose tongue and groove pine for the ceiling over the loft and living area. We did 16 foot boards that span the entire length of the ceiling. I'd say that's one of my favorite things in the house, I love looking up at the ceiling, it's just so beautiful and really adds a lot.

Working on installing outlet covers, and the trim around the windows.

David is cutting out the space in the kitchen counter to put the sink in.

For the counter top we just did tongue and groove pine once again. Perhaps we'll upgrade in the future, but I actually love it! It looks like butchers block and I like the warmth the wood adds.

Under the counter we built a shelf the entire length, which gives me quite a lot of storage space.

We moved into our little house at the beginning of December, and I can't tell you how amazing it is to finally be living in my own home. There were still quite a few little projects to be completed after we moved in, but things are almost completely wrapped up now. I will be sharing details on the inside soon, I can't promise it will be next post but I'm definitely looking forward to putting that blog post together.

Our cabin is nestled in a little field surrounded by trees, and this is the view I get to wake up to every morning.

I'm so overwhelmed by the blessings God has poured out to us, and forever thankful for everything He has given us.

I hope y'all enjoy getting a peak into the building process, and feel free to ask me any questions you may have regarding building or living in a tiny house! :)