[VIDEO] Single Mother of 3 Builds Her Own Tiny House
The Power of a Can-Do Attitude…
Motherhood is typically associated with loving, nurturing, and attending to one’s children, which usually doesn’t leave time for much else. And being a single mom? Well that makes it even harder. Kelley Lewis (aka “Cabin Chick”) didn’t let that stop her from also finding a way to single-handedly provide for her family not only in terms of maintaining a career, but also by deciding to take matters into her own hands and build a place where she and her 3 children could make a lifetime of memories. If you want to see what true grit looks like, check out her story below.
CLICK HERE FOR INSTRUCTIONS TO BUILD YOUR OWN TINY HOME
How did you decide to build a house?
I became a single parent just weeks prior to giving birth to my third child and wanted to buy something for myself that symbolized a celebration of motherhood, growth, and moving forward. So I purchased a 1.3-acre lot on a lake just west of Columbus, Lake Sylvan in South Vienna, Ohio. When I was able to purchase this piece of property, I didn’t know what exactly I was going to do with this land, but I knew that it would be an oasis to my children and I where we could make memories for a lifetime. The building is 16 feet by 12 feet with 16 foot ceilings, a four-foot front porch and an eight-foot back porch. The sleeping loft has two full sized beds. The downstairs is complete with an open great room, a kitchen with bar, and bathroom with a sink, standup shower, and composting toilet. We will utilize this cabin as a weekend getaway, which in turn has already made us appreciate our small home in Columbus, a home that at 1,100 square feet was feeling small, but is greatly larger than our 192 square foot cabin!
What did you get your materials?
All of our windows and a lot of our building supplies have come from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore as well as Craigslist. One of the best experiences in this whole adventure is meeting all the people I have met along the way while picking up supplies. People love knowing how their old stuff is going to be repurposed and I love knowing that this “old stuff” is going to have an awesome new home.
What was the most fun part of the process?
Every moment we are working on the cabin we are looking at water and getting to take breaks on our hammock or floating dock.
Will you ever live in the house full-time?
If it was just me, I’d totally live here, but I have three young children who need a good school district and neighborhood. Our cabin is a great getaway for us and a place to escape.
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