Joanie, Sandy, and Karen had a shared dream of building their homes close to each other ever since they were kids. Growing up, they loved playing together, and even had their own matching houses they had built with their parents.
As children, the trio had developed a strong bond that lasted throughout their lives. They remained close friends through their teenage years, and made grand plans to never part ways. Joanie, however, ended up leaving for university, while Sandy left chasing a boy. Karen married and settled down in their hometown. They kept in touch, but for many years, they all thought they might never see each other again.
Fast forward a few decades, and Karen’s husband had passed away, Joanie had retired from her illustrious career, and Sandy had gone through a divorce. They all found themselves back in their hometown, reminiscing about their childhood memories and feeling a sense of nostalgia for the good old times.
One day, during a conversation, Karen brought up how they always dreamed of building houses next to each other. Sandy and Joanie immediately knew they had to make it happen. They gathered around a table, discussing the logistics and excitement of building their tiny house neighborhood, finally fulfilling their childhood dreams.
Joanie had worked at an architecture firm for over a decade, and they were able to get some assistance in planning. The trio quickly got to work, designing their tiny houses to fit their individual styles and needs. Joanie went for a modern and minimalist design, Sandy opted for a cozy and rustic cabin-like feel, and Karen chose a quaint and colorful cottage-style house. For the exteriors, they all agreed that they would have matching exteriors in each of their favorite colors: teal, burgundy, and yellow.
Finding an appropriate lot to build on was a little challenging, due to zoning concerns, however they finally were able to find a modest empty site that was zoned for multi-family residential, and began the difficult process of permitting and construction.
The process was not without challenges; the supply shortage being a big one. Even with Joanie’s professional experience with building commercial projects, the permitting process took 18 months. Fortunately, the tiny homes themselves were able to be built off-site, to be transported once work was allowed to begin on the lot.
Many changes needed to be made to their original designs to meet various building codes. Karen’s tiny home actually ended up being almost completely redesigned to meet some of her personal needs, as time had taken its course and she found it challenging to go up stairs.
However once permitting was complete, and the design changes finished, they were able to move the pre-built tiny homes onto the property within a few months! The multi-year process that seemed like it would never finish finally paid off, and the trio were able to move in to the tiny home neighborhood they had dreamt up with as children.
Sandy’s house was burgundy. She loved nature, and chose to have her house placed in the very back of the lot, which sloped down a bit, but had trees on either side. Every day, she wanted to feel like she was waking up in nature.
Karen’s house was canary yellow, her favorite color since she was a child. Due to her weak knees, she opted for a fold-out sofa instead of a lofted bed, to keep everything on one floor.
By the end of this journey that lasted a lifetime, the trio had overcome obstacles, worked together, and made sacrifices to make their childhood dream a reality. And in the end, they had not just built a neighborhood, but created something more profound; a community of love, friendship, and shared memories. Looking out on their tiny houses from their rocking chairs, Karen, Joanie, and Sandy realized that it had all been worth it, and they wouldn’t have had it any other way.
