Taylor McClendon moved to Hawaii two years ago to launch a wedding photography and videography business with his wife Michaella, then the global pandemic hit and their bookings were cancelled. They decided to use the downtime to build a tiny house with family and friends and were so happy with the result that they've now started their own tiny house firm and are selling the plans.
"Two weeks into the shutdown, I woke up one morning dreaming of using this time to pursue a previous but tucked away desire to build a tiny house (Michaella and I always liked the idea of tiny living – and wanted to build one for ourselves here – but thought this first one could be a good experiment/test run)," Taylor McClendon tells us.
He enlisted a pair of handy friends who happen to be a longtime builder and carpenter and an interior designer, as well as his brother in law, who is also a carpenter, and the whole team got to work, working weekdays for 25 days straight, adding walls, floor, and insulation, then the entire interior, until the Ohana tiny house was complete.
They did a fine job, especially for first-time tiny house builders. It measures 30 ft (9.1 m) in length and is based on a triple axle trailer. The exterior is finished in northwest cedar tongue and groove with black metal accenting and has a contemporary design that's a little reminiscent of Baluchon's Escapade.
French doors open onto the main living area, which looks spacious and has a living room nearby with some seating. The area is light-filled thanks to all of the glazing, some of which runs almost the full height of the home.
Nearby is the kitchen, which features a small breakfast bar, a fridge/freezer, oven with four-burner propane-powered stove, and a sink and cabinetry. A door opens onto the bathroom, which contains a shower, sink, and a composting toilet.
There are two bedrooms in the tiny house, both of which are typical loft-style areas with low ceilings. The smaller loft is reached by a ladder integrated into the wall that people access from the window seat in the trailer's bump out and is suitable for storage use or for guests. The larger bedroom is accessed by a storage-integrated staircase and contains a double bed.
The home gets power from an RV-style hookup as standard though is also wired to accept solar or run from a generator if preferred.
The McClendons recently sold the tiny house shown and is planning a move from Hawaii to Texas. They have now launched a tiny house building firm and architectural plans for this first tiny home are available for US$250 on their website from September 1. They will also build the tiny house too, though we've no word on the cost for that.
Source: Tay&McKay
