A Seattle lady sought a solution to soaring housing costs by building a personalized tiny home. Addie, who had always wanted to own a home, found typical options prohibitively expensive. “With today’s housing prices, I couldn’t afford a traditional house, so I started looking for alternatives,” she told me.Finally, she decided to take responsibility by designing and building a tiny house that was perfectly suited to her lifestyle.

The Search for the Right Builder The process began when Addie discovered Traci from Big Bliss Tiny Homes, a Tacoma-based builder. She was quickly drawn to Traci’s designs, which were warm and inviting. Addie’s goal for the bespoke tiny home was straightforward: she wanted it to seem like a natural home, although smaller. This meant practical elements like not needing a ladder to get into bed and keeping clothes storage separate from the kitchen.

Addie’s personalized tiny home, originally created for herself and her dog, evolved into a shared getaway once she met her now-husband. Even though he already had a home, the couple decided to make the little house their hideaway. However, with two adults and two dogs, the area, while comfortable, felt quite crowded. Despite the cramped confines, they enjoy the region and spend the most of their time outside, where the room seems much larger.

They discovered an ideal 2.5-acre property along a river, offering a serene and scenic location with the soothing sound of the river close.”Both my husband and I work remotely, which lets us spend more time here, often turning weekend getaways into weeklong stays,” Addie told me. Cost of Building the Tiny House Addie’s bespoke little home cost around $65,000 to build, with her father, a siding contractor, saving her even more.

He built the home’s façade with leftover materials from job sites. While Addie paid for these goods, her father gave free labor. The house measures 10 feet wide by 26 feet long, which is slightly larger than usual tiny dwellings.