Last August, we introduced you to Austin Hay, who was building his very own 130-square-foot home in his parents’ backyard. Hay, who is now 17 and a senior in high school, planned to live in his tiny house after college to avoid getting a mortgage.
Now, Hay is done with his house, and it looks beautiful and well-made and very, very tiny. He’s been living in the house instead of in his childhood bedroom, and he has it registered as a trailer, so he can drive it to college if he has somewhere to park it. This video combines two tours — an early one before the project was done, and a recent open house showing the finished home and its features.
The house has electricity, a shower, and a composting toilet (though it’s a bit hard to watch him demonstrate that last one to his visitors — you have to feel for the guy having to say “urine and feces” in front of girls).
It’s also got a small (but bigger than a dorm room minifridge!) refrigerator and a lot of shelves and storage.
Austin sleeps in the loft, which fits a standard double bed.
Although Hay says he “doesn’t have a lot of parties,” the couch expands into a guest bed so he can at least have overnight guests.
Like many tiny homes, this one’s full of clever space-saving solutions — like this stove that’s got a lid so it can turn into extra countertop.
You can fit a lot of people in this house! And in the video, tiny house blogger Christina Nelleman calls it “a chick magnet.” Austin’s got a girlfriend, and they both seem like really serious kids (she’s already worried about the house not having enough room for her children), but still, we’d guess Austin and his homemade home will do just fine in college.
