A single mom, 2 kids, and 2 dogs all live inside a 270-square-foot tiny house. Here's how they make it work.
- Amanda Burger lives in a 26-foot-long tiny house in Florida.
- Her home has two lofts. The children share one loft which doubles as a bedroom and a playroom, thanks to innovative beds that fold up into chairs.
- The tiny house also has a full kitchen, bathroom, living room, and master bedroom.
- Burger built an outdoor yard that has a swing set and a children's playset.
Living in a tiny house can be difficult, especially when it comes to storage, downsizing, and cost. But one mother has it especially hard since she lives in her 26-foot-long house with her two small children and two medium-sized dogs.
Amanda Burger has been living tiny for more than a year now, and her two sons, who are both under 5, live with her part-time. Insider went to visit her at her Florida home in September 2019 and, though the space is crowded, she said she loves her tiny house life and doesn't regret her decision to downsize.
Keep reading to step inside her tiny house and see what her life is like.
Burger started building her tiny house in December 2018, and one month later, she moved into her new home.
Before she moved into her tiny home, she lived in a 2,800-square-foot house with her wife and two children. When she and her wife decided to part ways, Burger thought it was the perfect time to follow her dream of downsizing.
"I like the idea of all of us being in the same space. My kids are always within five feet of me so I knew it wasn't going to feel crowded because they're always right there anyway," she said, laughing.
Her 270-square-foot house cost her $40,000 to build.
First, she bought the outside shell, which consisted of the exterior wood and interior studs. She decided to finish the inside herself, which included the staircase, the windows, the kitchen, and the bathroom.
It wasn't easy. Burger had just a month before she had to move from her big house. She said she remembers falling asleep with the brush in her hand when she was painting the ceiling of the loft. But she said it was all worth it in the end.
"It's everything I wanted it to be," Burger said.
Inside the modest house, there are two lofts, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom.
Burger said she chose a white color scheme because it makes the space feel larger. She did, however, admit that it's harder to keep the all-white surfaces clean, especially with two children.
Burger said having a living room for everyone to fit in was very important when she designed her house.
When you enter the home, the living room is to the right. It has a couch, a flat screen TV, and a cage for her dogs.
Her kitchen has a sink, a stovetop, a coffeemaker, a toaster oven, and shelving for storage.
To the left of the entryway is the kitchen, which has limited counter space, but Burger loves that the countertops are granite.
To save space, Burger has to place her toaster oven on top of her burners.
This is just one example of Burger maximizing space in her tiny house.
The staircase on the opposite wall of the kitchen doubles as Burger's storage space.
The staircase also houses Burger's stainless-steel refrigerator.
The bottom step of her staircase is one large drawer filled with clothing.
The giant drawer goes all the way back to the wall, wasting no space in the tiny house.
Burger also uses a cabinet in her stairs as a pantry.
Burger said finding storage in her tiny house is a constant challenge.
"I joke that it's one big Rubik's cube," she said. "It's all about constantly changing things."
Another cabinet in her staircase acts as her closet, where she hangs her shirts.
Burger said she has always been a minimalist, so downsizing wasn't difficult for her. She could not, however, get rid of her Chuck Taylor collection, which she also found space for in the house.
"You don't need what you think you do," she told Insider. "[But keep] what makes you feel happy, what feels like home to you."
Burger even found an ingenious way to store her kitchen table — behind a painting.
It may look decorative, but this painting is actually extremely functional.
When the painting is pulled down from the wall, it becomes Burger's kitchen table.
If you look closely, you can see the black frame of the painting now acts as the table's legs.
If you pass through the kitchen, you can find a decent-sized bathroom.
The bathroom has a toilet, a full sink, and a stand-up shower.
Up the stairs, you can find her children's bedroom, which also doubles as their playroom.
Burger bought beds that could be packed away into chairs so that there is enough room to play.
Burger said her children love living in their tiny house.
"They just think it's the coolest thing in the world," she said. "Every time I pick them up somewhere they're [excitedly] like, 'Are we going to go to the tiny?' I'm like, 'Yes, we live there, guys.'"
From the children's loft, you can see the rest of the tiny house.
Across the way is Burger's bedroom, and downstairs is the living room.
In the other loft, which you can only access via a ladder, you can find Burger's master bedroom.
The pitched roof makes the loft feel bigger, but it's impossible to stand in. She does, however, have enough room for a bed and a shelving unit for storage.
Outside, Burger created an entire outdoor space that she calls the yard.
She has outdoor seating, a children's playground, and a swing set that hangs from the back of her tiny house.
She's chosen to park her home in the Orlando Lakefront community, which is a neighborhood of tiny houses.
Orlando Lakefront in Florida is home to over 30 tiny houses, and Burger pays $500 per month to be part of it. She said it's worth every penny.
"There's something about the fact that we're all living simply that brings us together," she said when talking about her neighbors.
Despite living with her two children and two dogs in a small space, she said she doesn't regret any part of it.
"I think it's worth every compromise," Burger said. "The stuff I've given up I don't even miss."
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