Meet Lauren and Patrick, Kansas City natives with wanderlust fever. In 2015 they decided to quit their jobs to build a Tiny House RV for a cross country roadtrip. The catch? They wanted to begin traveling by April 2016 and neither of them had any construction experience.
In order to get a leg up on their build, Lauren and Patrick purchased a Tumbleweed Tiny House Shell. By doing so, they saved themselves hundreds of hours of build time with the opportunity to cuhttps://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/products/amish-barn-raiserstomize and complete their own Tiny House RV.
Lauren and Patrick chose the Tumbleweed Linden design with customizations including a side door and skipping the porch to allow for more interior living space.
The couple picked up their shell on January 24th, and thus began their mad scramble to finish construction by the end of April. They worked 40 hours a week, and, over the course of three months they installed the siding, windows, roof, door, trim, insulation, plumbing, electricity and much more!
From Tumbleweed Barn Raiser Shell to Finished Tiny House RV
“We’ve always loved grey-colored houses with bright doors.” – Lauren
Lauren and Patrick’s custom interior layout feels very open. They placed the entrance to the bathroom in the corner, allowing for a spacious L-shaped kitchen. They also painted their interior walls with bright, light colors – a classic interior design trick that can make small spaces seem larger.
Lauren and Patrick believe the extra headroom provided in the Linden design works perfectly with their staircase, which also doubles as storage for the couple’s refrigerator/freezer and off-grid gear: water tank, water pump, solar battery and inverter.
All of the cabinets in Lauren and Patrick’s house were purchased at IKEA, a space saving super store. If you’re interested in building tiny, IKEA is a great resource.
You might also noticed that Lauren and Patrick mimicked the color orange (as seen on their front door) throughout their interior.
The couple achieved their goal of finishing construction in three months and left for their cross-country adventure on April 20th! So far Lauren and Patrick traveled through Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Mostly they’ve been parking in State Parks because they enjoy the open space and scenery.
Oh and did we mention that Lauren and Patrick are traveling with two doggy companions? One of them is 115 pounds. That’s four bodies in one awesome traveling cabin!
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*Follow along on Lauren and Patrick’s travels on their website and Instagram
*All photos provided by Wanderlust Tiny House
