How a 196 Square Foot Tiny House was Adapted to Fit a Growing Family of Four (Plus a Great Dane!)

updated May 3, 2019

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I always love a good tiny house story, but all the articles about people living in tiny houses, whether it’s a single person or a couple or a young family, are only a snapshot of a particular time in their lives. What happens to the tiny house perfectly adapted for one person when you get married? What happens to the tiny house that works for a young couple when the family starts to grow? Macy Miller and her partner, James Herndon, faced that last dilemma, but instead of moving, they chose to make a few big changes to their home to keep pace with the changes in their family.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

I first spotted Macy’s home in a Dwell article from 2014, and was impressed with its efficiency and clean, streamlined look. I was also impressed that she built the whole house for only $11,400. (Macy, an architect, built the house both as a way to save money and to teach herself construction, and as an added bonus met James in the process.)

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

At the time of the Dwell story, Macy was living in the house with James, their newborn, and a Great Dane. (Yes, a Great Dane.) But reading it, I couldn’t help but be curious about their current situation. A lot can happen in two years. So I started hunting for updates. Were they still living in the house? How had their home adapted as their daughter grew?

(Image credit: Mini Motives)

Happily, Macy has been writing a blog about her adventures living small, and I was able to catch up with her family there. Since the Dwell story her daughter has grown up a bit, and she and James have enclosed the front porch to create a kids’ room. (The baby originally slept in a cosleeper, which you can see on the right in the very top photo.) The addition, which brings the home’s square footage to 232, includes bunkbeds for daughter Hazel and baby #2, a boy.

(Image credit: Mini Motives)

There are changes in other parts of the house, too — enclosing the bed means mom and dad have a little more privacy.

(Image credit: Mini Motives)

Here’s the whole family (Great Dane included) in the living room of their home. Maybe someday, when the kids are older, further adaptations will be needed — but for now, for this little family, this tiny home is a perfect fit.

You can read the original article about Macy’s house at Dwell. You can also check out her tiny house blog here, and find many many photos of the home’s progress here.