Meet ‘n’ Greet #5 – People in Tiny Houses in Europe

Beautiful Tiny house in Slovakia. One of the first Tiny houses built in the country. 

Next up in the Meet ‘n’ Greet series, which features interviews and stories from people living in Tiny Houses in Europe is:

Barbora and Tibor, who built their own eco friendly Tiny House for the incredible price of 10.000 €. 

Click here for more information on Tiny Houses in Europe

Barbora and Tibor, where are you from?

We are from Slovakia.

In which country was the Tiny House built?

Our tiny house was built in Slovakia, in Barbora´s father´s garden.

Check out Barbora and Tibor’s website about Tiny Houses in Slovakia 

What inspired you to build a Tiny House?

The decision to build a Tiny House was not just the one day talk. We’ve been thinking about it for almost a year.

I (Barbora)was in my last year of studies to become a master of architecture.

In the last year of studies, one starts to think about the future, career and of course, the main thing: Where the hell am I going to live? : D. The rent is crazy high and we didn´t have much money saved.

So we started to think of an alternative. We did not even dare to think about purchasing our own house or flat.

We were not sure whether we want to settle in Martin, where we currently live, or Zilina, where I work, or if we want to move to our capital city Bratislava or even abroad.

We considered buying a cottage at first, but we couldn´t find one that would actually meet our requirements.

The second idea was to buy a mobile home. They say one does not need a building permit for a mobile home. What they don´t say is, that if you want to connect to the water, sewage and electricity, you really need a building permit in Slovakia. Even the transport of the mobile home is very expensive.

The most extraordinary option was to buy a caravan. We found the perfect old caravan from Germany for 1,700 euros. It had a separate bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen with a living room.

It was really strange looking from the outside, but once you were inside it was so cosy. While we were looking for a land to park it, the caravan had been sold to somebody else. 

That’s when we realized that we can build our own house on the wheels. We started browsing the internet and were really surprised by how many mini-houses exist. 

And so we´ve begun the endless internet searches, interviews about what it should look like, design solutions, etc. 

What kind of building experience did you have before your Tiny Build started / How did you design/order your Tiny House? ?

I am an architect (Barbora) and Tibor is an engineer. We did have some theoretical knowledge but no experience with an actual built. 

We had to design it the way we could build it ourselves easily.

After about twenty changes, we created the concept that has changed only a little since. We wanted a big couch, decent kitchen, table and a big sleeping loft. We didn´t want it to feel cramped from the inside. 

We kept 3 factors in mind while drawing the design.

First, it needs to be a bit aerodynamic so we can tow it easily.

Second, it needs to look good from the outside and spacious from the inside. It needs to have a modern look but also some kind of traditional feel, so it looks ok in rural areas as much as in the forest.

The third factor was that it needs to be easy to build.

How long did the entire project take?

Much longer than we expected. 😀 We thought it could be ready in 3 months, but it took almost 7 months because we were building only during weekends. 

When we moved in there were so many things unfinished (like hot water, proper ladder to the loft, electricity,… :D)

We finished everything later…but the first weeks were so romantic. Like watching the fire, spend the evenings with only candlelight, … 

What challenges did you run into?

There were so many challenges we can´t even count them. 😀 We started to build the first Tiny house in Slovakia.

There was nobody we could ask how to do it in our region. We had to google everything that we needed to know. We needed to find a trailer that is suitable to build a tiny house on and is big enough.

The main problem is, the trailer needs to be checked every 4 years in Slovakia (without the house on it :D), so we needed some plan on how to put it down easily.

The biggest challenge was to calculate the weight of the material used. Our trailer allows only 3,5 t maximum so we needed to plan the skeleton that is light, but strong enough for transport and insulated enough for Slovak winters when the temperature goes below 0.

The second challenge was to choose natural materials that are light, relatively cheap have the best quality. We wanted our house to be eco-friendly.

The third challenge was the chimney. Almost nobody does the chimney straight up through the roof in Slovakia. It was a nightmare. 😀

The last challenge was plywood interior cladding. It was the worst job ever. 😀

What was the total cost of building your Tiny Home?

The overall cost was 10 000 euros – the off-grid system and appliances included. The price is so low because we built it completely ourselves and used some repurposed materials.

We bought a repurposed trailer, windows, woodstove and gas caravan oven. That saved us so much money. 

For the reference, the cheapest studio apartment in our neighbourhood costs 40 000 euros. 

We hit the price we hoped for. 🙂

What design features make your house unique?

It´s built from eco-friendly materials like wood, sheep wool, … and is 100% recyclable. 

What are your monthly living costs in the Tiny House?

 We love the fact that our monthly living costs are so small, we can save most of the money we earn now. 

We buy only wood for the winter, gas and pay rent for the land we park on. 

Did your tiny house end up exactly how you designed it? 

It ended up even better. Almost everything was built according to the plans that we drew before, except the interior.

For example, we planned to have stairs with storage, then decided to make just a wooden ladder. It looks so much better and the interior feels much bigger now.

If you had to start would you have built / purchased your Tiny House in any other way?

The only problem is the floor. It needs to be built with more insulation and more wood. :D. Everything else is just perfect.

The upstairs bedroom makes a lot of privacy. We have a lot of privacy from neighbours too, because our windows are planned properly.

Has your Tiny House had the impact on your life as you were hoping it would?

We totally enjoyed the work with wood during the building process. We gained a lot of skills and realised we can build anything we want. 🙂

Living tiny and off the grid, we are connected with nature more. 

We realised that the space in a tiny house is all we need for now. We love the fact that we have a garden and the freedom to move.

The only thing that annoys us is water. We collect rainwater and it´s very challenging. We plan to have our own property in the future and dig a well. 

In your network do you feel decrease or growing interest in the Tiny House way of living?

In Slovakia, there is a growing interest in the Tiny house way of living. We do have many people over interested to build their own house on wheels.

In contrary, there are still so many people here that don´t understand the idea at all. 🙂

Best tip for someone wanting to live a Tiny House but not sure if it’s something for them?

 If you feel it´s the right choice for you, don´t let anybody talk you out of it. 🙂

If you are not sure just find the closest tiny house and go for a visit. It´s much easier to imagine living in a tiny house when you actually stand in one. 🙂

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Thanks to Barbora and Tibor for sharing their personal inspirational story and showing us that a lovely tiny house can be built on a budget !

Check out their Instagram and Facebook for more!

Looking forward to seeing whether Barbora and Tibor have kick-started the Tiny House movement in Slovakia. 

More interviews with Tiny House owners and enthusiasts lined up. Add your email for a reminder when the next interview is live. 

Read more on Tiny Houses in Europe here.