More people are turning to tiny homes for a more frugal lifestyle. With the tiny home industry expected to grow to $14 billion in 2026 and to $17.73 billion by 2030, the rise in popularity can likely be attributed to lower living costs.
According to the American Planning Association, tiny houses are typically 100 to 400 square feet. For Lisa Davis, a divorced woman living on disability in eastern Tennessee, a tiny home was the perfect solution to begin her new, solo chapter at an affordable price.
“When I found myself filing for divorce, it’s like great: what are you gonna do? Where are you gonna go? Where do you want to go?” she shared in a recent video in her tiny home, featured on the Tiny Home Tours YouTube channel.
Lisa’s tiny home story
Lisa shares how she ended up in a tiny home. She explains that she has a number of “nasty” autoimmune diseases that ultimately placed her on disability, which is her “only income.”
“It was really important to me, being on disability and having that be my only income, that I live as frugally and as comfortable as possible,” she says. “I have a very, very tight budget.”
Her total cost for the tiny home is $450 a month, plus a minimum water charge and metered electricity.
After living in a camper for about six months after her divorce, she found that a tiny home offered her not only shelter but also a community where she wasn’t alone.
“There’s so many of us out there struggling. This is a relatively inexpensive way to live a quality life in a community,” she shared in the video’s caption.
Making the most of a tiny home
Lisa gives a full tour of her tiny home, which measures 14 feet wide by 34 feet long on the exterior and 14 feet wide by 28 feet long on the interior.
In the living room, she has a six-foot-wide couch that a guest can sleep on if needed, and it fits the space “perfectly” without feeling “cramped.” Her coffee table has a lift-top, which allows her space to work on a laptop or enjoy meals. She also invested in a fold-out kitchen table with storage underneath that can seat four people.
The tiny home also has French doors, two large windows instead of four small ones, a laundry nook, a bathroom with a shower and bathtub, and a bedroom with a double-size mattress. The galley kitchen has a full-size stove and microwave, and plenty of counter space with open shelves. Outside, she has a screened-in porch and deck for sitting.
“It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect for me,” she says. “Sometimes life requires a redo, and living tiny was the smartest choice for me and I’m really, really glad I made that decision. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with living this way. I wish I had done it a long, long time ago.”
