Marc and Trudi Boese and their bright yellow 115 square foot house were recently featured in a video and an article in the Florida Times-Union. Their decision to live more lightly on the land was influenced by a trip they took around the U.S. in 2009 in a biodiesel car and a handmade trailer. They are also living smaller for their new baby daughter, who is due in August.
The couple built the house on wheels on an acre of land in Florida that also houses several chickens and their vegetable and fruit garden. The house contains a small kitchen with a sink, microwave and fold down table, a bathroom with a shower and toilet, a small TV room with a couch, and a sleeping loft. The baby’s crib will be placed in the kitchen next to the dining table. They also have a workshop for tools and a prefabricated shed for some boxes of clothes and books. The TV, refrigerator, water pumps, air-conditioner and LED lights are powered by solar panels.
Marc, a university professor and videographer, and Trudi, a graphic designer, have been living an eco-conscious lifestyle for several years. They’ve documented their conservation and tiny life in their blog, A Greener Boese. The house was modeled after some homes the couple saw in Oregon and cost $12,000 to build over the course of a month. The solar panels cost an extra $8,000. Trudi mentions in the video that the transition to a smaller house was easier than she thought, and that getting rid of most of their possessions was liberating.
Photos Courtesy of Bob Self/Times-Union
By Christina Nellemann for the [Tiny House Blog]
solar panels are expensive! awesome house! I love the first picture 🙂
Luna, I don’t know if you are a Costco member, but they have a package for sale that’s grid tied, so you’d have to have batteries, etc., but 880 watts will run $3300, shipped to your house.
The cost of soalr panels is supposed to be going down further this year as well.
can somebody help me about any person or handyman help me to built tiny house in jacksonville
Just a thought, but having the crib in the kitchen will likely affect your use of that space during nap and sleep time. The expression “let sleeping babies lie” takes on a whole new meaning! I suspect your TV room will end up being a baby room fairly quickly.
Thanks for sharing your home! It’s great to see one that is really lived in, with all the daily activities.
Yes, it is a challenge living in a small home with a child, but definitely can be done. Our son needs LOTS of sleep (it takes a lot of sleep to grow a body), and noises are intensified in a small house, so we fixed it by using ‘noise makers’ – he prefers the sound of rain.
You will be teaching your child the best values, those of simplicity and conservation, good for you! Enjoy the extra time you will have with him/her since you will not have to work all the time to pay a mortgage and all other costs associated with a large life! My son is now 13, and he thanks us every day for this, he remembers what it was like before in our ‘large life’.
I recall a couple I knew long ago who liked to throw parties. Many times I would see their little kid sleeping next to the stereo speakers.
haha. My FIL is a musician and when my husband was a toddler he used to fall asleep in the big drum set on occassion. It really does depend on the kid though. One of mine always needed quiet and dark, another would fall asleep just about anywhere.
Hi Debra! (above) Love your family’s video.. 🙂 My husband retires from the military in a few years.. and we’re looking at slightly larger than yours. We have a 10 1/2 yr old girl and a 8 yr old boy, so they’ll be closer to your son’s age by then. We’ve already challenged to a short term rental that was approx. 980 sqft and did perfectly fine…Our first home (when the kids were infants) was a 2 bdrm w/1050 sqft. Regarding the Boese family, so excited to see this on THB.. They live in our area (we’re in the suburban area near them).. and it’s encouraging to see others here in North Florida living a more simplistic life. Sure that for several months, they can use a moses basket.. and maybe convert to a portable style crib (and utilize the under crib space for baby necessities). They’re really creative, sure they’ll come up with something. The only thought that I had was that I’d probably screen in the small porch area (it’s buggy here in Florida) and have a pair of easy stow foldable chairs). Remembering our kids in the 2 bdrm when they’d become so excitable and unable to sleep. I had to go to the other side of the house for a bit till they settled 🙂
I love this! Beautiful job on the house, it is super cute!!!
When you have LAND 🙂 the size of the house doesn’t really matter much! You won’t feel closed in.
When my first two kids were small, 3yrs, and 6 wks, we lived during the week in an 8 x 24 fifth wheel trailer while their dad went to various places to work – going back home every other weekend. It was a very laid back lifestyle, simple and enjoyable for the 6 months we did it.
My only concern with the baby is the same as it would be in ANY house… being on a different level is going to be inconvenient that first year…meaning going up and down the ladder/stairs several times a night for the baby becomes very tiring. May you be blessed with one that sleeps more than 3-4 hours at a time the first few months! 🙂
Nice! looks like the Lusby. i like how the Loveseat in the 1st floor bedroom faces the door- the pictures on the Tumbleweed House makes it look like a sofa horizontally positioned wouldn’t fit, but here it sure does. 🙂
Love to read about Florida tiny houses and living on the land as Fla holds my roots (east coastal). I have no doubt that as the baby grows, adjustments will be made, on the keep it tiny scale…babies do that!
Great home, and love the plantings on the land. Good for you two/three!
I had the same initial thought as some others that the baby would end up in the tv room. And eventually he/she might. In the meantime though, have you considered a Moses basket or a co-sleeper in the loft with you? You might have to put up railings, but many baby prefer to be with Mom and Dad anyway. And middle of the night feedings are much easier if the baby is close rather than having ot climb down the ladder, settle in a chair and feed the baby. I always found this simpler. Is there a loft above the front door (this oine looks pretty much identical to one of the Tumbleweed houses except maybe a tiny bit wider?)? If so, that could eventually be a sleeping area for the child (not infant or toddler for obvious reasons).
Construction in Florida is regulated very strongly compared to many other places in the U.S. primarily due to hurricane regulations. How did you find the design/approval/permitting/inspection process?
We call that camping. Great article. I love the corn patch
Thank you for showing us your small house. I am sure that you enjoy it very much
I live in Florida also, and I would like to build myself a traveling tiny house (the Tumbleweed Popomo to be exact). And I was wondering where I would move my tiny house during a hurricane?
HI , I live in St Augustine and I am having a time trying to do what your doing. Can I ask where in Jaxs are you doing this? In ST Johns Co they are so (FU) on letting people do as they want to do. I even tryed to do the Park Model rv with a loft but no go unless I put it in a RV park. Can you give me a heads up on how to go about doing what your doing. Help is needed!
Out of curiosity, how did the two of you get around the Minimum Living Area requirement in Duval County? I ask because I’m attempting to being a site-built Whidbey and I’m experiencing some push back by the local building officials and zoning department.
I’m interested in building a tiny house to live in full-time, but the building and planning department said the house can’t be smaller than 850 sq ft in Duval County. How did you get by this requirement? I”m still super interested to know how I can make this dream a reality for myself.
Does Florida require us to get permits and plans and all that? Building on wheels, is it ok to just do it or does the building department need to know about it. I want to build a house on a 7’x15′ dual axel trailer. Tiny houses is the way to go.
No, you don’t have to tell anyone if it is built on a trailer. The technical term for the house on a registered trailer is called a “cute load.”
Also, there are no inspections if built on a trailer, so you can build any way you want to, but securing it to a trailer is always something to do properly. When I build my tiny homes, I always allow for full access to all plumbing through false doors and or cabinets and never install pipes on outside walls. Electrical needs to be done correctly to avoid a fire, but with some knowledge, it is straight forward. I’ve been a building contractor for 17 yrs, so I’ve learned construction, plumbing, and electrical along the way, but there is no reason with someone overseeing and walking you through the process, you can’t do the work yourself.
I love your tiny house! I want to build one for myself on an 7’x15′ dual axel trailer. My question for you is…Is it legal to build it or do I need crazy permits and go by building codes? I just want to hire an electrician for the electric & hire a plumber for plumbing. I want to build it myself. I live near Gainesville, Fl. Thank you for your help.
I was told first-hand by a COJ inspector and Thomas H. Goldsbury(Chief of COJ Building Inspection Division) that these are illegal..
I too own a small piece of land in COJ and was told the closest thing to this was a temporary permit you can get when you have a valid building-permit, that allows you to temporarly have a RV or manufactured on on the property..
Technically they can make you demo or move it..
Don’t take this as hostility.. I want to do the same as you..
Old thread… but I’m looking at lots around Jax too. The area I’m looking at owners seem to do whatever they want. But neighborhood not really developed yet, streets not even paved. I think if I rolled something in they wont even notice or care, but I have two challenges before I buy:
* It’s a very small lot, so need to find out what the smallest allowed structure is and/or if they allow mobiles, which I don’t see any. It’s zoned RDL-60 per COJ.
* Getting water and power hookup without a building permit or existing service or structure? Clearly i need water and power to even build and of course need a permit to build.
I have lots for tiny homes for $450.00 a month including water. water/sewer/electric is already hooked up on sites. If interested please call 904-264-7131 or visit our park at 5291 Collins Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32244.
I would like to know where you can look at one in Jacksonville Florida. I would love to. We want to sell but just love to look at smaller. Thank you