By Lara Fominoff @fomsy1 on Twitter

“Tiny Home” trend takes off in Lethbridge

May 1, 2017 | 4:05 PM

LETHBRIDGE – They’re not the conventional RVs, nor are they the usual manufactured homes –  they’re a little bit of both, with a lot more room for customization. Basically, take a regular sized home, and cut it down to 300 square feet or less, and you have a Tiny Home.
 
And if the idea of owning your own cozy, fully customized, moveable home, with the option of adding decks and all kinds of hidden compartments and storage space is something you like, then you have become part of the newest North American home- based movement.
 
Shows like “Tiny House, Big living,” “Tiny House Builders,” and “Tiny House Hunters” have become favorites on many home and garden channels across North America.
 
Lethbridge’s Teacup Tiny Homes opened for business in the Fall of 2016, and with its first fully functional residence completed just a few weeks ago, owner Jennifer McCarthy already has orders for at least two more.
 
“We have our second trailer arriving Mother’s Day weekend, and it’s a tiny home shell. That one’s going to head out to BC. We have another one we’re working on with some clients from northern Alberta. I want to do the fourth sometime in the summer as a showhome.”
 
She recognizes that it’s not for everyone, but so far, her clientele is diverse and includes a family of three, vacationers, and singles.
 
“With tiny living, a lot of the kind of the parts of the movement that are behind it, is simplifying life, simplifying your things, and going a little more minimal.”
 
McCarthy’s background is in design, and while on maternity leave she was encouraged by friends and family to start a Tiny Home business.
 
“I spent 14 years doing interior design for homebuilders in Lethbridge…. and one of my friends said ‘you’d be great doing that’ and I said yeah, yeah and I brushed it off. Then after the third or fourth person (said that), I thought yes, I would be good at building those homes.”
 
She says the trick to making it work is looking at what you have, what you need, and making sure there’s a spot for everything.
 
“To be a good designer, you have to really analyze the space that it’s meant to be for,” she explains. “Whenever I’m designing a space, I create the ideal person in my head, and I designed for that person. So this home (#1) is created for a single person or a couple, and someone that would like to cook.”
 
Local tradespeople and suppliers are used, and she’s even found re-claimed materials on swap and buy sites.
 
“The countertop, the piece of live- edge wood came off of ‘Lethbridge and area swap and buy,’ and guys in Coalhurst made it into a nice top.”
 
While vacationers, those who live in mobile home parks, or those who have a piece of land with water and sewer hook ups can park a Tiny Home more easily, there are some things that still need to be worked out.
 
McCarthy says the homes can’t be set up as a permanent secondary home on a single piece of property in Lethbridge at this point, getting insurance can be tricky, and (to her knowledge), RBC is the only bank that will approve mortgages for spaces smaller than 500 square feet.
 
She believes there is a market in this area for them, including snowbirds who want to take it with them across the border, seasonal workers, or as rentals.
 
“If you’re moving this home every weekend, then this isn’t the option for you. You should have an RV. But if you want to move or change locations once or twice a year, this would be the perfect option. Seasonal or non- permanent living is the ideal option for these right now.”
 
Depending on the length of the trailer, completed homes can cost anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000.