Jonea Dance with daughter Willow in their tiny home. Photos / Rebecca Mauger
''It's just like living in a treehouse!''
Jonea Dance's nephews love crawling, exploring and checking out every inch of Jonea's teeny tiny home.
Jonea and her daughter Willow, 4, have been living large in their tiny home in Te Puna for the past three years.
They love it... it's perfect for them.
''When you tell people the size of it — they hear it's 2.4 metres wide and you can nearly reach that lying down — and then they come and see it and think it feels so much bigger.
''And of course, kids are really attracted to it. I have nephews who still love coming here, they race up and down the stairs and hang out in Willow's little room.''
Jonea decided to invest in tiny living after renting for a long time. She works part time and couldn't afford to buy a house in Tauranga.
A tiny home was the answer. Part owned with her mother, their 8m long home cost $113,000 and was built by Build Tiny Limited based in Katikati.
It probably won't be their forever home though.
''I always thought 'how long would a child enjoy this'? At what age would they be like 'mum, I need more space. I need a door.' This was no more than a 10-year thing and we'll see what happens.''
The house is two storey — downstairs there's a living area, a kitchen and a bathroom. Upstairs there's two bedroom spaces. Jonea altered the tiny home plans to include a walkway between the two bedrooms making it safe for Willow.
Outside there's a deck and pergola where they spend a lot of their time.
''Living tiny makes you feel safe. I have been so attached to Willow since she was born, the thought of putting her to bed in a room and me being at the opposite end of the house kind of worries me... I always like to hear if she's makes a noise, if she's having a bad dream, I like to be close by.''
There are surprise cubby-holes throughout the home, such as the stairs, and it is double glazed with a heat pump.
Jonea says there are lots of options and alterations you can do in a tiny home. Jonea rents land at the back of a friend's section and this is its second location. She had it trucked there.
She loves the easy-care aspect.
''It's so easy to clean. Vacuuming is two minutes. I talk to other people and they have this list of things they have to do around their house — I don't really have those problems.''
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