How one couple built a 300-square-foot expandable tiny house on just $25,000 using scraps from a film set and the town dump

Hillary HoffowerSep 8, 2020, 21:34 IST

Chloe and Brandon in their respective tiny house offices.Pat Piasecki

Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder live in a 300-square-foot tiny house in New Hampshire.
They've spent $25,000 building and decorating their tiny house so far, which expands when parked.
The tiny house is mostly made of recycled materials from the town dump, the road, and the film sets they work on.

Five years ago, Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder set out to achieve financial freedom by living tiny.

The couple began building a 300-square-foot tiny house in New England on a very tight budget. "We would pay our bills, and whatever little money we had leftover, we used on materials," Chloe told Business Insider. "In the long-run, it's been great, because now we own it free and clear."

They turned to recycled materials from the town dump's recycle center, the side of the road, and the film sets they worked on to build and decorate their tiny house for just $25,000, she said.

As the recyclable materials indicate, this isn't your average tiny house. The couple also designed the house so it's expandable, providing more living space when it's parked. And, in contrast to the minimalist aesthetic that typically characterizes tiny houses, they decorated the tiny house with a maximalist cottagecore-meets-steampunk vibe.

Here's how they did it all.

Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder live in a 300-square-foot tiny house in New Hampshire.

Pat Piasecki

They began building the tiny house in 2015, a process Chloe said was fun but challenging. The most challenging aspect was building during the winter, she added, which was seeing record-breaking snowfall in New England at the time.

Pat Piasecki

They began building the tiny house in 2015, a process Chloe said was fun but challenging. The most challenging aspect was building during the winter, she added, which was seeing record-breaking snowfall in New England at the time.

Their financial situation was also challenging. "We decided to live in a tiny home for financial freedom, but it was hard while we were building it, because we had to pay for everything in cash, upfront," Chloe said.

Chloe Barcelou

Their financial situation was also challenging. "We decided to live in a tiny home for financial freedom, but it was hard while we were building it, because we had to pay for everything in cash, upfront," Chloe said.

Chloe said they worked paycheck to paycheck during their build, which meant they had to get "highly creative." They often took free materials from the town dump's Swap Shed or the side of the road.

Chloe Barcelou

Chloe said they worked paycheck to paycheck during their build, which meant they had to get "highly creative." They often took free materials from the town dump's Swap Shed or the side of the road.

They also salvaged building materials from their film sets, which helped them design their old-fashioned timber frame with a French Tudor style.

Chloe Barcelou

Building the structure of the home took about nine months, and they moved in a year after the frame was completed.

Courtesy of Chloe Barcelou

But the design itself was challenging: Their 12.5-foot-by-8.5-foot tiny house expands to 15.5 feet by 15 feet when parked. It can be expanded by using a series of block and tackle pulleys, a ship's wheel, and customized black pipe fittings.

Pat Piasecki

But the design itself was challenging: Their 12.5-foot-by-8.5-foot tiny house expands to 15.5 feet by 15 feet when parked. It can be expanded by using a series of block and tackle pulleys, a ship's wheel, and customized black pipe fittings.

The expansion includes extra headroom in their loft and a space below their floor, which they plan to use for a fold-out, four-season pergola-inspired tented deck.

Pat Piasecki

The folding wall sections in the upper loft area allows the space to incorporate 14 windows, providing 360-degree views in the loft and creating what Chloe describes as an open and roomy feeling.

Morgan Karanasios

The folding wall sections in the upper loft area allows the space to incorporate 14 windows, providing 360-degree views in the loft and creating what Chloe describes as an open and roomy feeling.

The expansion also includes two offices that open "like cardboard boxes," Chloe said.

Brandon's office. Morgan Karanasios

Their offices feature built-in furniture, which provides stability while moving. "We recently built in a complete wardrobe storage system in each of our offices that pack a lot of punch for our space," Chloe added.

Chloe's office. Morgan Karanasios

Their offices feature built-in furniture, which provides stability while moving. "We recently built in a complete wardrobe storage system in each of our offices that pack a lot of punch for our space," Chloe added.

They also built a space under the stair to the kitchen, which they nicknamed the "rabbitat," for their rabbit. It has a "Tom & Jerry" style entrance and exit in the front of the stair, which they access by lifting the top of the stair like a chest.

Courtesy of Chloe Baarcelou

They also built a space under the stair to the kitchen, which they nicknamed the "rabbitat," for their rabbit. It has a "Tom & Jerry" style entrance and exit in the front of the stair, which they access by lifting the top of the stair like a chest.

Chloe said the tiny house's aesthetic comes naturally, describing it as bohemian or eclectic. "People on TikTok refer to our home as 'cottagecore,'" she said.

Morgan Karanasios

Chloe collects items she likes when thrift shopping. "I just know if I like something when I see it, and it magically just seems to 'go' together," she said.

Pat Piasecki

Brandon has also had a heavy hand in establishing the aesthetics of the home. "Brandon has a very natural knack for inventing contraptions of all kinds, as well as a natural sense of good design," Chloe said.

Pat Piasecki

Brandon has also had a heavy hand in establishing the aesthetics of the home. "Brandon has a very natural knack for inventing contraptions of all kinds, as well as a natural sense of good design," Chloe said.

She said the design of the home was inspired by French Tudor homes, old train cars, ship cabins, and DaVinci inspired contraptions.

The shower. Morgan Karanasios

But their tiny house is far from finished. Living in it for five years has taught them what works and what needs to be improved. "We're technically still building out the interior of our home, so we have lots of fun additions to make," Chloe said.

Courtesy of Chloe Barcelou

But their tiny house is far from finished. Living in it for five years has taught them what works and what needs to be improved. "We're technically still building out the interior of our home, so we have lots of fun additions to make," Chloe said.

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How one couple built a 300-square-foot expandable tiny house on just $25,000 using scraps from a film set and the town dump

Chloe Barcelou and Brandon Batchelder live in a 300-square-foot tiny house in New Hampshire.

They began building the tiny house in 2015, a process Chloe said was fun but challenging. The most challenging aspect was building during the winter, she added, which was seeing record-breaking snowfall in New England at the time.

Their financial situation was also challenging. "We decided to live in a tiny home for financial freedom, but it was hard while we were building it, because we had to pay for everything in cash, upfront," Chloe said.

Chloe said they worked paycheck to paycheck during their build, which meant they had to get "highly creative." They often took free materials from the town dump's Swap Shed or the side of the road.

They also salvaged building materials from their film sets, which helped them design their old-fashioned timber frame with a French Tudor style.

Building the structure of the home took about nine months, and they moved in a year after the frame was completed.

But the design itself was challenging: Their 12.5-foot-by-8.5-foot tiny house expands to 15.5 feet by 15 feet when parked. It can be expanded by using a series of block and tackle pulleys, a ship's wheel, and customized black pipe fittings.

The expansion includes extra headroom in their loft and a space below their floor, which they plan to use for a fold-out, four-season pergola-inspired tented deck.

The folding wall sections in the upper loft area allows the space to incorporate 14 windows, providing 360-degree views in the loft and creating what Chloe describes as an open and roomy feeling.

The expansion also includes two offices that open "like cardboard boxes," Chloe said.

Their offices feature built-in furniture, which provides stability while moving. "We recently built in a complete wardrobe storage system in each of our offices that pack a lot of punch for our space," Chloe added.

They also built a space under the stair to the kitchen, which they nicknamed the "rabbitat," for their rabbit. It has a "Tom & Jerry" style entrance and exit in the front of the stair, which they access by lifting the top of the stair like a chest.

Chloe said the tiny house's aesthetic comes naturally, describing it as bohemian or eclectic. "People on TikTok refer to our home as 'cottagecore,'" she said.

Chloe collects items she likes when thrift shopping. "I just know if I like something when I see it, and it magically just seems to 'go' together," she said.

Brandon has also had a heavy hand in establishing the aesthetics of the home. "Brandon has a very natural knack for inventing contraptions of all kinds, as well as a natural sense of good design," Chloe said.

She said the design of the home was inspired by French Tudor homes, old train cars, ship cabins, and DaVinci inspired contraptions.

But their tiny house is far from finished. Living in it for five years has taught them what works and what needs to be improved. "We're technically still building out the interior of our home, so we have lots of fun additions to make," Chloe said.