Welcome to Tiny Home Profiles, an interview series with people pushing the limits of living small. From space-saving hacks to flexible floor plans, here’s what they say makes for the best tiny homes on the planet. Know of a builder we should talk to? Reach out.
In 2013, Shaye Boddington was expecting a daughter. Dreaming of an out-of-the-way place to put down roots and raise her child, Boddington and her then-partner bought property and built Lucy: the house that would inspire her to start a tiny home company with her mother, Sheila.
The ten years to follow would see the mother-daughter team design more than nine different models, some of which have elevated hallways connecting loft spaces at either end. This idea and other innovations, says Boddington, have earned Shaye’s Tiny Homes upwards of 450,000 followers on TikTok, adding, “Mums are allowed to blow their trumpet a bit!”
Here, she tells us about the company’s model of licensing out designs to builders across the world and shares a modular design recently added to the company’s lineup.
Shaye Boddington, cofounder of Shaye’s Tiny Homes, built a roughly 255-square-foot design that the company now sells as the Hazel model.
What qualities make your tiny homes stand apart from the rest?
The head-height walkways linking two lofts with a “bridge.” No other designs had that feature prior to our initial Hazel design. Prior to our walkways, lofts were crawl spaces only. This is copyrighted, and companies around the world have asked for permission to build them as licensed builders.
The Hazel was the company’s first model to feature a hallmark catwalk that connects lofted spaces at either end of the unit. The flooring is made predominantly from hardwood reclaimed from trees that had fallen into nearby rivers.
What’s the most exciting project you’ve realized to date?
I think the first one we built, a Hazel model, was the most exciting because we realized we had hit on something special. It was bought by a young couple so they could raise money to buy their own property—it got them out of the rent trap. We then went on to adapt Hazel’s features to many more walkway models.
One of Shaye’s Tiny Homes’s larger designs, Lisa, was launched last year at a starting price of around $167,000 USD.
The Lisa has a full kitchen with an island and three bedrooms.
What does your base model cost and what does that pricing include?
Prices will always vary by country since they’re governed by the costs of labor, materials, workshop rents, and so forth, in a given market. It also depends on the standard of the building itself. We pride ourselves in going the extra mile in making things like the flashing, insulation, framing, fittings, and finishings. New Zealand tends to be more expensive to build than other places, but to lend some perspective, our houses range from 8-meters to 12-meters long (26.3 feet to 39.4 feet) by 3 meters wide (9.6 feet) and prices have ranged from $180,000 to $350,000 NZD (around $110K to $214K USD) for a modular home made out of two or three sections, like our Ashleigh design.
Shaye’s Tiny Homes welcomes custom projects, which typically start with an offered model. The Cherry, for example, is a modified version of the $140,000 USD Jasmine model.
This Cherry model has custom furnishings, modified windows, and slatted screens for some of the partitions.
Is your design currently pre-permitted in any U.S. municipalities?
Yes, it has been amended to fit with U.S. regulations for towable and park model homes by our licensed builders.
Understanding that lofted bedrooms aren’t for everyone, Boddington designed Lara: a $136,000 USD model with a ground-floor sleeping area for a queen-sized bed.
A staircase access a flexible lofted space.
How long can a client expect the process to take after they put down a deposit?
We have a bit of a long waiting list, so clients put down a deposit to book their starting date. We measure the time from the start of the build to the date of delivery. This takes three months for our biggest models.
Do you assist with the placement of the tiny home?
We give clients a list of setup instructions and what to expect. We also give them a list of subcontractors who are available to help. Clients in Auckland have typically organized installation on their own.
Another custom project, Fabian features a broad veranda that doubles as an outdoor kitchen and lounge. Large blinds can be pulled down to close the porch off on rainy days or expand the interior.
Without the walkway, the space is more open. Accordion windows in the kitchen connect it with the outdoor lounge. Spaces like the bedroom and bath are stowed in a millwork structure at the end of the unit, where there’s a separate entrance.
