MEET ‘N’ GREET #9 – People in Tiny Houses in Europe
Beautiful Tiny House from Sweden next up in the Meet ‘N’ Greet Interview Series sharing personal experiences from tiny house enthusiasts in Europe.
Meet Caroline and Emanuel with their newborn baby and a special thanks to them for taking the time to share their inspiring story and their future plans for themselves and the kids!
Let’s dive right in, right?
Topics
Where are you from and in which country was the tiny house built?
My name is Caroline. My husband Emanuel and I built our tiny house in a small village in the middle of Sweden.
Be sure to follow their tiny house experiences on their Instagram: tinylivingadventure and olarscarolinesaxe.
What inspired you to build a tiny house?
The most crucial experience that led us to build a tiny house was when we were out trekking for three months through the Swedish mountain range. We mostly stayed in our tent. We realized that we do not need a lot of space to live in and that we do not want to own a lot of stuff.
Less stuff = more freedom!
We wanted to create the best possibilities for ourself to be able to take time to do what we want and to live more financially free.
We also wanted to live in a healthy house which was not built with a lot of toxic material. One of the main reasons that we took the tiny house leap was that we wanted to live more close to nature.
We wanted to live a more simple life where we do not consume more than we need, and with as little impact on the environment as possible.
How did you build your Tiny House and did you consider other alternatives of living before deciding to go for a tiny house?
We wanted a base, a place to call home and come back to that did not cost us too much money if we left it for some months. We considered to live in a sailboat or a van but then we decided to go for a tiny house.
We thought the whole tiny house idea was interesting and we fell for the playfulness and the challenge to create something by ourself that was built for just us. We built the house by ourself.
How long did the entire project take?
We started to build the wagon frame in May 2018 and moved in the night before Christmas, but actually, we moved in a bit earlier and lived in the house while we were still building it.
We made the tiny house from scratch. My husband welded the wagon frame of some beams and I renovated a wheelset that we got from my dad. Then we continued with the woodwork and roof and after that the interiors.
What challenges did you run into?
I am a preschool teacher and my husband an engineer. We did not have any building experience before this project so we needed to do a lot of research along the way.
We wanted to build the tiny house as light as possible and in natural materials that have as little impact on the environment as possible. This was not always easy to find so we had to compromise and the tiny house turned out to be quite heavy and a bit more expensive than we first planned for.
Sometimes it was a bit frustrating when we ran into challenges that we did not count with. We were building in all kind of weather, from early morning into the late evening. It was really nice but also tiring.
We really started from scratch by preparing a bit of land in a forest, taking down trees and trying to get the ground smooth. It was fun but hard work!
What was the total cost of the tiny house?
Between 150 000- 200 000 SEK / 14 300 – 19000 €. That includes the frame, all building materials and also solar- and wind power, batteries and converter (which are pretty expensive). We are not totally finished.
We want our house to be completely self-sufficient. In winter it is still pretty hard because of the lack of sun in Sweden during wintertime.
This summer we will build a proper terrace.
What are your monthly living costs in the Tiny house?
It is less than before because we are not paying any rent. We pay for some insurances, food, gas for our car and cellphones.
Has your tiny house had an impact on your life as you were hoping it would?
Yes, it has in some ways but not as much yet, as I hope it will have in future. Me and my husband have been working full-time the last couple of months to save up some money. This is not what we want and our future plan is to work less and spend more time doing what we love.
We recently got our first child and living simply as we do now will make it possible for us to stay home with our daughter for a couple of years, which we find important to do.
How is a tiny house living with a child?
Our child is only three months old so it is all pretty new. We find it easy to live here. We think that a tiny house is perfect for a child. Small children, as we know them, like to be close to their parents and a tiny house makes that possible in another way compared to a more regular-sized house.
We spend a lot of time in the outdoors. To live in a small house makes it more natural to step outside. Our tiny house has erased the barrier between the indoors and outdoors.
Do you have any plans for when the kid/kids grow a little older?
During the building process of our house, we decided to make it a few meters longer than we had planned for in the beginning. That was mostly because of that we wanted to have children.
Our house is in total about 35 square meters and we have the living room and kitchen in the same space. There are two lofts, one for sleeping and one for storage, and a bathroom. We also have a little room that became possible to build when we made the house a bit longer.
My husband uses this room as his music studio now but later on, we will use it for our daughter. Also, one of the lofts can be used for a child to sleep and play in.
We watched a Youtube video of a family of four living in a tiny house. The parents said that their extra room had been crucial for them living in their tiny house for over four years old.
We also will use the outdoors as a playground for our children and we look at nature as an extension of our home.
Many thanks to Caroline and Emanuel for sharing their story.
The question: ‘What are you going to do when you have kids?’ is the most commonly asked question i’ve experienced.
So it’s refreshing to see a couple making it work and thriving after adding a third individual to the Tiny House Family! Congratulations to you guys again.
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