After she had been living on a boat in New York City, Michelle decided to build a tiny house near Columbus, Ohio. Living in her tiny house allows her to spend more time with her family and friends as well as her passion, which is rescuing and caring for animals. She lives in her tiny house with an adorable Boxer and 6 rescue cats on an acre of land in Beloit, Ohio. By living in her tiny house with lower expenses, she is able to take care of these animals and work in a non-profit animal shelter. Like many people, Michelle first found out about tiny houses from the TV shows where people are shown getting into their tiny houses built by professionals. Michelle did things a bit differently though; she was able to strip a 16-foot cabin down to the bare frame and then rebuild the entire home you see now.
With the home, 95% completed, she just has a bit of molding and painting to complete in the loft. She had a composting toilet but plans on installing a flush toilet as time goes on. The entire project took her about one and a half years to complete. She was able to have the help of her ex-husband in his driveway, which brought her to the shell. Then she finished the inside herself doing the windows, deck and siding herself. For the first few months of living in it, it was just the shell, and she was able to build her ideal living area just the way she wanted it.
She started with an L shaped window seat for seating for 4 and also a china cabinet to display her mom’s antique china, which was a very important feature for her. The result is incredible; now, Mary lives full-time on a 300-acre farm that the owner separated into smaller lots. She has electric, water and septic out there and she’s even been able to grow her own garden on an acre of the land. She plans to have a chicken coop and goats as well. Then she wants to open up her own animal rescue and build that building herself too. She was able to find the land to park her tiny house on through Craigslist and even though it was the most challenging part of going tiny, she is very happy with where she ended up. Now she gets to work less, relax more and spend more time with her family and animals. The tiny house she created is a mixture of modern and Victorian style painted a fresh white color with black accents for the shutters and hardware. The exterior looks very inviting with the cute little deck on the front with enough space for a table and chairs set or some rocking chairs.
Inside, the home is so cute and fresh with a country style mixed with florals and gingham. She definitely included a lot of storage in the home, which is great for all of the antiques that she has on display. It’s like a life-sized dollhouse. Even the staircase leading up to the loft is made from a cabinet and some shelving to hold books and items, and the staircase is beautifully built and easy to climb up to the loft. She also has a kitchen where she’s able to cook nice meals and the bathroom is in the back. She even has a nice electric fireplace with a beautiful mantle she has decorated with flowers and antiques. This is a great tiny house to take inspiration from, and it shows that anyone can make their tiny home dreams a reality.