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Building their dream of living in a tiny house has been a project that’s come together relatively quickly for Max Carter, 28, and Zoe Hopkins, 27.
Together for nine years, the pair may have been daydreaming and planning their tiny home for three years, but they managed to get the actual build done in just 12 months, all on their own.
The countdown began when they purchased the trailer 18 months ago. It was left to sit around for a bit, before, guided by online tutorials from the likes of YouTube, Carter and Hopkins began to build the structure around a year ago.
Even then, the process was drawn out. Working in specialised mining machine maintenance in Australia, Carter was only available to work on the tiny house when he flew back in every few weeks or months. Hopkins, an operational analyst in biosecurity, would visit to do work on the tiny home in the weekends.
But with the building site at Carter’s father’s farm in Timaru, the couple slowly chipped away.
After a six-month sprint to finish it with Carter working on it full-time, the tiny house was finally finished last month.
In total, it’s 8m long, 2.5m wide, and 4.3m high from the ground, with a large wrap-around deck for outdoor living and a separate office pod for when Hopkins needs to take Zoom calls.
MARK TAYLOR / STUFF
Buyers can add extra living space as and when they need it.
“We had access to a workshop on my dad’s farm in Raincliff, so that was the landing site to build it and then we moved it down to Wānaka for a bit of a lifestyle change,” says Carter.
Funded entirely by their savings, they estimate the build has cost around $90,000.
Inspired by Japanese minimalism, the couple have used large double-glazed French doors at the end and side of the living area to help to make the home feel more spacious and create an easy flow out onto the deck.
Max Carter and Zoe Hopkins
The master bedroom of the tiny home has a large skylight.
Stepping first into the lounge space, walking through the home, you’ll next enter the kitchen, then storage and the bathroom. Then above the bathroom is their bedroom, and above the lounge is a loft-style space which the pair use for watching movies.
“We did it all ourselves,” says Carter. “We’re lucky to have friends and family who are in various trades that kind of, you know, offer advice when needed.
“We came into this with literally zero experience, and I’d say a lot of the time spent on it was actually like learning from online YouTube as well just being prepared to learn everything, how to do everything.”
Max Carter and Zoe Hopkins
The kitchen features gas hobs. Appliances such as the dishwasher are hidden away behind cabinets. The ladder on the right goes to the couple’s mezzanine “movie-watching” area.
“Zoe’s estimate was 80 and my estimate was 100, so we ended up bam-smack, in the middle. I think we saved a lot by doing literally everything ourselves. And we had the luxury of time, which was the big saver, really.”
The home boasts underfloor heating for those chilly southern mornings, as well as heated towel rails.
“It’s well-needed down in these climates,” says Carter.
Max Carter and Zoe Hopkins
The Japanese influence can be felt in the bathroom with these jade finger tiles.
The gas hot water and gas hob are powered by two 18kg refillable bottles, connected at the rear of the home.
“We’ve got a built-in dishwasher. All of our appliances we tried to do integrated. So they’re all hidden behind cabinets and things like that.”
They made all the design decisions together.
Max Carter & Zoe Hopkins
The tiny house as the deck goes up. French doors flank the home on two sides.
“We call it Scandinavian-Japanese style,” says Carter. “For the oak and the cork floors and things. We tried to keep it quite simple and open flowing.”
The addition of skylights has helped to keep the home feeling interesting and bright.
“There’s actually a skylight directly above our bed. So we’ve been lucky like this week, it’s been all clear starry nights, which has been amazing. And then we’ve got one skylight which is above the kitchen that lets in a bit of light from the high ceiling.”
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The couple chipped away at the home for six months during free time before Carter took some time off from work to finish the job.
As for living in such a compact space, it’s a notion that’s always held appeal.
“We’ve always loved the idea and concept of tiny houses and having a minimal footprint,” says Hopkins. “In living in a bit more of a minimalistic way. And I guess we were up for a challenge.”
“All the stuff we acquire has to have a purpose,” says Carter.
Keeping in tone with the Japanese theme, their most expensive element in the build was the cladding.
“The cladding was quite expensive, because it’s all wrapped in a shou sugi ban-like burnt cladding, around the exterior,” says Carter.
Now relocated to a section they’re renting in Wānaka, the couple have no plans to live in a normal house any time soon but will re-evaluate their living situation as their family grows one day.
“It’s amazing. It’s been a labour of love for the last few years and we’re really, really happy to have finished and be living down here.”
This home is an entrant in the 2023 NZ Tiny House Awards, and the winner will be announced at the Tiny House Expo in Auckland on August 11.
* CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story referred to Zoe Hopkins as Holly Hopkins. (Amended July 28, 2023, 8.19pm.)
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