Meet ‘the Black Box’ a designers Tiny Home
Sarah Young is an award winning finalist & qualified Interior Designer who is the creative director behind the brand Young + Greenwood. She graduated from Auckland University of Technology with a Bachelor’s Degree in Art and Design with Honours majoring in Spatial Design.
Sarah and her partner Jason Greenwood Director of Solutions (Digital Agency) Moustache Republic have made to the move to Tiny Home living.
They are based in Waitakere, West Auckland . Here is their Tiny home story…
Q. Why did you decide to live in a tiny home?
Interested in Eco-Homes, Sustainable architecture and Urban design. We also enjoy living remotely and being out of the rent trap!
Q. How did you decide where to park your tiny home? Was it hard to find a location?
Asked friends that had land. Their property wasn't suitable due to accessibility and no water.
In the end, we dropped leaflets around the neighbourhood and had a response.
Q. Who built your home? How long did it take and did you have a budget?
Mike (Owner) from Gordonton Engineering Services Ltd and it took 3 months to build.
Q. What choices did you make in terms of your Tiny Home design and materials used to build it?
From talking to Mike, he wanted to build something modern and loved the all-black metal exterior colour scheme - called it 'The Black Box.'
Interior wise just black, white, and natural wood. Wanted the rustic but chic look of the place and definitely had to include a barn door!
The shape of the house was created to add in height - high ceilings when you were in the lounge and the curves cutting in was to keep the wind from blowing.
Crafted into a 'Trapezoidal Shape' it keeps the footprint small while offering more floor space upstairs.
Q. What was the final cost?
$95,000
Q. How long have you been living in your Tiny Home? Tell us what you think about living in a Tiny Home?
3 Weeks - It's very cosy and warm inside, it's bigger than it looks, it feels spacious, just perfect for us two!
I love our 2 mezzanine sleeping lofts and the only thing getting used to, is the Compost Toilet!
We had great training being in lockdown together so being in a smaller but compact space together is no problem!
Q. Why would you recommend to others to join the Tiny Home movement? What should they be aware of?
We don't want kids so it was a great living solution for us in owning an asset and not having to break the bank!
We had to sell many of our belongings and furniture on Trademe too! So, if you're prepared to live minimally and not have the luxury of a flushing toilet (recommended)
and learn basic outback living skills, it's worth looking into!
Thankyou so much Sarah & Jason for sharing your story. All the best in your new Tiny Home!
