The Tale of Ellen

This tale begins long before we met Ellen in April 2018.  You see, long before that she had been planning her journey to tiny and began part of the process here with us at TE and we were happy to have been there to see part of her journey and her tiny dreams come to life.

She has lived in the suburbs of Philly for a very long time also with roots from New England.  There she raised a family and worked for many years and now her children are grown and on their own and she has dreamed of something different. Something just for her.

She booked her first tiny home here at TE, and appropriately chose the tiny house named The Journey, a charming farmhouse from Liberation Tiny Homes.  This was the beginning of a year-long relationship.  Ellen continued to book a different house and would return each month for 7 days to stay in a different one.  She was doing research.  Serious research. She continued to visit us monthly and investigate each and every house she stayed in and has toured many others.  She has become quite familiar with the staff and houses on the property.

Downsizing hasn’t been something to come very easy for her, she is taking her time and adjusting to the upcoming change at her own pace. Each time she arrives she has a van full of this and that she sorts through and either throws it away or keeps for future use.  Ellen is anticipating quite a lifestyle change and seems to be taking the rights steps to do it.  She hasn’t jumped right in, she has definitely taken her time, which may have better prepared her.  She has sorted through several builders and learned as much about them as possible.

In the end, which actually was the start of something new, she chose a life-long friend who has been building and contracting for many years.  Ellen had sketched out her dreams on graph paper and with help from Cody, friend, and onsite manager at TE, she sifted through many different ideas and designs for some time before she finally settled on a very unique style that would work for her.  Her friend, John, was up to the task.  He recently started a new tiny house building company, Tiny Homes by Design in Hudson, NH. He took on building the tiny house as his first initial project in his back yard in New Hampshire.  He kept everyone updated throughout the build by posting pictures on social media for 

everyone to follow.

Securing an owner spot for a short term lease, early on, Ellen had planned to bring her build here to TE and she will become part of the small fabric of our tiny house family. Building a tiny house may be very adventurous to some, but for Ellen, it may not be as adventurous as she.  Recently Ellen got her first tattoo in the representation of her mother. Also, she arrived in Marietta, PA  recently to wake up the next morning to skydive from 10,000 feet at a local small craft airport in Maytown.  At age 63, Ellen knocked yet another one off the bucket list as she had successfully completed the tandem dive and landed safely in the arms of her instructor, Chuck. She ended her day with dinner and brew as she tried to regain her land legs again. Transitioning into a tiny house should be nothing for her adventurous spirit.

John, owner of Tiny Homes by Design,  will make a big impact on tiny homes being built in that neck of the woods.  He was given some instruction for the necessities for Ellen’s build but was also given some creative freedom.  Having known Ellen her whole life, he took that freedom and carefully considered Ellen’s personality and brought to life so very cool elements to this house. He had a local artist, Ron Wood out of Lowell, NH airbrush a massive tree of life and full moon on the front of Ellen’s house on the wood accent panels.  On the bump out you will find a faux bookcase made from scrap wood from the project.  Inside, you will see the bathroom pocket door that looks just like an authentic outhouse door with a moon and stars carved right through. And yes, you can see right in! He also built for her a hydraulic storage bed so lifting won’t be an issue, and she can easily access hidden storage under the bed. The house also features a walk-in first-floor bedroom with and an additional set of double sliding glass doors to allow in a lot of extra sunlight and provide another exit.

In the living area, where the main door is located, you will see a large built-in bookcase and spiral staircase that leads up to a skylight. Travel up the stairs and around, open the skylight and you will be standing in a rooftop moon deck. Not just any rooftop deck, this one actually sinks into the tiny house so it has walls that are about 4’ tall. Ellen can sit quietly on her deck unnoticed by others,  and she can sleep under the stars. It will be a great place for her to practice growing herbs and other ingredients she might want to use in some of her homemade remedies.

Ellen perfectly named the house, Moondance, and as she will continue to enjoy gazing and dancing under the moon and stars on her moon deck for years to come. 

Moondance is an owner home and is not available for rentals.