When a custom home builder and an architectural designer decide to build a tiny house together, there is a guarantee that something special will be born. Shane and Carrie Caverly of Clothesline Tiny Homes are currently living in their new 144 square foot baby and are also available to design, consult and build custom homes for anyone looking for a simpler lifestyle. The married couple decided they were fed up with paying rent and mortgages and having nothing to show for it, so with their 30+ years of combined building skills they drew up their own design that is timeless, clean, and modern.
So why the funny name?
“Shane thought of it!” Carrie said. “I came up with about a hundred names, including Roadrunner Tiny Homes (which I still think is awesome) but none of them were sticking. We were out in the backyard at our former rental house, next to the clothesline, and Shane said ‘What about Clothesline Tiny Homes, because it’s so small you’re going to need a clothesline.'”
Carrie feels their home design is unique not only because of the size, but because of the shape and design as well. The Clothesline tiny house is one level on a gooseneck (5th wheel) trailer, so there is no loft and tall ceilings throughout. The couple veered away from the typical tiny house use of pine paneling inside and went with white, painted drywall which is smooth, clean, bright and modern. They also modernized the exterior siding by combining a readily available siding product with galvanized metal flashing for a smooth surface. The home also has closed cell poly-iso foam for insulation, a steel roof, a gray water collection tank, an incinerating toilet and an on-demand hot water heater.
[View the Caverly’s tiny house construction and moving videos]
“Our house is also unique because it is designed for two occupants,” she said. “There is a large “great room” comprising the living room and kitchen. A galley bathroom separates the bedroom from the great room so we can occupy separate spaces in the house at different times with visual and acoustic separation.”
Living in a tiny house has allowed the couple to accumulate less stuff and get outside and live life. They own the house outright and this has allowed them to live debt free and save up money to buy their own land. Currently they are parked on their family’s 5-acre property outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The tiny house has a water and electrical line running from the main house.
“It’s a beautiful rural area dotted with pinions and junipers about 15 minutes from town,” Carrie said. “The trees afford both of our families privacy — we can’t see each other’s houses — but we have neighbors that we love and can share life with. It’s wonderful having community.”
Carrie and Shane were initially concerned with finding a place to park their home on wheels.
“We almost abandoned the whole idea of a tiny house when we started researching where to park it. They are almost illegal in most places and we envisioned ourselves wandering around, house in tow, searching for a place to park ourselves,” Carrie said. “Thankfully, we have had nothing but wonderful luck finding places to park it. Our first spot in Prescott, AZ we found on Craigslist: a landlord had torn down a garage on one of their rental properties and was advertising an RV space for rent with full hookups.”
While they love the lifestyle, there are a few things that the house does not have.
“It’s tiny! I don’t have an office or an art studio and Shane doesn’t have a garage or shop, which are spaces that we both need. We make it work though,” Carrie said. “The toilet has been a huge source of irritation and frustration. I understand the beauty of traditional flushing toilets and sewage systems! Living in the water starved Southwest, we didn’t want a flushing toilet though. It also seems insane to defecate in pure, filtered water. The incinerating toilet is not a perfect solution and I’m not sure composting toilets are either.”
Besides the imperfections, the Clothesline is allowing Carrie and Shane to move away from a past foreclosure and rental costs to a debt-free life. They are also working on a new project — the Beehive Mini Mart.
Photos courtesy of Clothesline Tiny Homes