A few years ago, we met Richard Ward, a designer, artist, and DIY tiny house dweller. He told us about how his life changed after a serious motorcycle accident. This event made him rethink his priorities, leading him to leave his office job and build a tiny house on wheels.
Richard designed a smart, small space that includes a home office. He built it using many salvaged and reclaimed materials. His tiny house is perfect for a bachelor, with efficient storage for his three bicycles and two beer taps.
My name is Richard Ward, and you are in my tiny house on wheels that I designed and built myself. A few months ago, I quit my job to start my own business. Now, I have more time to do what I love and don’t have to wake up dreading the day.
I work when I want, for people I like, and if it’s a nice day, I might go biking instead of sitting at a desk. I work at night if I need to. This is my journey in the tiny house world.
My story began with a tough year. After graduating from college, I treated myself to a motorcycle. I had only had the bike for three days when I was riding home from work and a lady who was texting while driving hit me.
The accident broke my femur and shattered my leg. I had to have surgery to put a rod in my femur and a plate in my ankle.
It took about a year to recover from my accident. During that time, I spent a lot of time in a hospital bed, thinking about how short life is. I was just going home from work, looking forward to the weekend, and living my life, then suddenly everything changed.
After the accident, I realized I didn’t want to keep working a corporate job, working 40 hours a week and dreading each day. I started thinking about what I could do instead, to live the way I wanted.
I stumbled upon a tiny house on Facebook one day, just clicked on it out of curiosity. I didn’t think much about it at first, but the idea stuck in my head. I kept seeing more about tiny houses and started doing more research.
Eventually, I went from thinking I could never do this to designing my own tiny house. I decided to actually do it, and soon the trailer and the walls arrived. Four and a half months later, I was living in my tiny house.
