- April 24, 2024
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The Young family gave up the luxury of space to live in a ”tiny house” for eight months.
One Ormond Beach family has found more in living with less. David and Michelle Young live in a 250 square foot “tiny house” in Ormond Beach.
“I’ve always loved small spaces,” David Young said. “My parents owned a house that had a canning cellar in it and when I was younger I made that small space my own.”
“People don’t realize how comfortable a small space is,” Michelle Young said. “We have everything we need. We’re not missing anything.”
“It’s actually lagged on the trailer and made out of two by fours,” Daniel Young said. “It’s insulated just like a house.
Young built his tiny house after reading about The Tiny House Movement that was started in 1996 as a way to help people prioritize their lives and simplify. David Young said he wanted to edit parts of his life for his family.
“I grew up in an almost 4,000 square foot house,” David Young said. “We wanted to get rid of all the stuff in our lives. We had so much junk. At one point in our life we had a four bedroom house and every room was full. It was just us two.”
The Young family also started with the Tiny House Movement to save money.
“We wanted to be debt free,” Daniel Young said. “That was one of the biggest things.”
“We wanted more money to do fun things,” Michelle Young said. “Travel, things like that.”
The family used the money they saved to help start up Makin’ Waves Surf Shack, an all-natural smoothie concession stand. David Young hopes to franchise the business this month.
“We’ve had lines of people,” David Young said. “We’ve been up and down the east coast.”
After building his tiny house in in Aurora, Ohio, he moved his family down to Ormond Beach for his business, which is also built on a 18-foot long trailer.
They have also been raising a baby in the tiny house. Now 8-month-old Charlotte, was two months old when they first moved in.
“At first I thought it would be really challenging,” Michelle Young said. “But we adjusted really easy. But I don’t know how it will be when she starts moving. That’s why we’re going to end up in an actual house.”
Though they have a sentimental attachment to their tiny house, the Young family recently decided to sell it and move into an actual house to have a safer environment to raise their child. But that doesn’t mean they will forget the lessons they’ve learned in their small space.
“I don’t think we will ever go above 1,400 square feet for the rest of our lives,” David Young said. “But because of Charlotte and depending on any other kids we may have, this is the wise thing to do.”
David Young said this isn’t his last tiny house. He plans on building more for other people, definitely another one for himself, and possibly even a playhouse for Charlotte. Still, they will miss their unique place.
“The skylight, sleeping up there is so beautiful,” David Young said. “You can see the stars. We’ll miss that.”
