I searched through skips and saved £38,000 to build my own house – the bills were only £200

LARA Skowronska, 34, is a costume and set designer who lives in Gloucestershire with her dog Monty.

In 2022, she started building her own tiny home, having saved £9,000 and doing all the work herself.

4

4

“With a kitchen painted by Farrow & Ball, a cosy wood-burning stove and beautiful countryside views, my house has everything I could want.

You might be able to walk from one end to the other in five steps, but for me it’s perfect – and I built every inch of it myself.

I have always been creative.

After graduating in costume making in 2012, I fulfilled my childhood dream and used my skills to work in the circus, where everyone lived in small spaces.

During the six months we were on tour, I slept in a wooden wagon that was so small that I could touch both walls from my bed.

The rest of the year I lived in my van and worked as a costume maker.

At 1.78 meters, I have never lived anywhere where I could stand.

All my belongings were in my parents’ house.

Sometimes I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little more space?’

Then, in March 2020, the pandemic hit and the circus closed.

To keep myself busy, I rescued a 1920s gypsy caravan that was going to be burned down and decided to renovate it.

I watched endless YouTube videos to help myself and soon realized that it would be easier to start from scratch: I was going to build my own tiny house.

In November 2021 I spent my entire savings of £3,000 on a trailer base.

My parents supported me, but my friends thought I was crazy.

For six months, while the trailer was sitting on a friend’s land, I saved like crazy and planned my build.

I looked up all the size and weight regulations because I knew I would have to take it with me on my travels.

I decided it would be an off-grid house, with solar panels and a composting toilet.

I dreamed of underfloor heating, a wood stove and a bath.

In May 2022 I finally had the £9,000 I needed to get started.

For the next six months, while I lived in my van, building my house was my full-time job.

I couldn’t afford the work and I also wanted to learn all the skills to do it all myself.

4

With the help of my mother Anne and father Tony, I put together the wooden frame.

Inside it was an amazing experience. Even though it was only 2.4 by 5.4 meters, it felt huge.

I made all the furniture myself, because the standard chairs and cabinets didn’t fit. I also milled the wood for the worktop, kitchen cabinets and the cladding of the house.

I watched every penny.

I found my front door and two stained glass windows in a dumpster.

Then, in September, disaster struck when I broke my ankle falling down the stairs.

But a week later I was lugging my cast around everywhere while laying the floor.

By Christmas that year my house was ready.

I had a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room and a mezzanine with my bed.

I even had a bath and underfloor heating, all for £12,000, much cheaper than the £50,000 it would have cost to buy ready-made products.

‘COMPROMISES’

I curled up with my new puppy Monty by the wood stove feeling so proud. I had created the home of my dreams.

Eighteen months later, I still love it.

Compared to living in a van it is spacious and the cost of living is low as you are off the grid meaning your outgoings are kept low at around £200 a month.

The only downside is that I’m constantly worried about where to put it.

British planning laws are so strict that it is difficult to find a place to live.

I research a campground or private property where I can stop and then go from place to place.

Driving to any new location is scary: one bump or wrong swerve and my precious home could be damaged.

Every time I move I have to take all my stuff out so the suitcase is light enough to attach to a car, then I load it all back up.

Living in a tiny house certainly involves compromises.

I don’t have a door to the bathroom, so if a friend comes over and needs to use the toilet, everyone has to go outside.

I’m falling more and more in love with furniture and furnishings that I can’t buy because I have no place to put them.

I have to maintain a strict one-in, one-out policy for everything from lamps to pillows.

But it stops me from spending money!

Maybe one day I’ll be lucky enough to own a piece of land and get a building permit to settle there.

But for now I’m glad this little house is mine.”

Follow Lara on Instagram @Larastinyhuis.

4